In a bit of a Dilemma

[hiett_431]

My oscar has just recently gotten ich. I searched the forums on this sight and found some very helpful info. I've got my heat up to 86 degrees, and have added 1tsp. of aquarium salt/per gallon of water. It's still a little too early to tell if this is helping yet or not. The problem is that next week is Thanksgiving and I am in college. I will be leaving for about 5 days and I'm not sure what to do about my fish and aquarium. I know that you are supposed to treat for ich for 14-21 days, but i've only been treating for 3 so far. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I had another question with the salt bath. Are you supposed to do daily water changes and re-add more salt like you would with the ich medications?

thanks

 

[Jchillin]

Welcome to AA Heitt! You've come to the right place. I've just completed an episode with ich and the salt/temp/meds did work. Almost all the fish recovered! Yes, when u do water change replace the amounts that you are removing. What type of set up do you have and what types of fish other than the oscar? Is their anyone staying on campus that can look in on your tank? You might as well post your tanks parameters also: PH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates, etc.

 

[hiett_431]

I think I might have gotten the ich beat. I adjusted my water/salt combination and then left it alone for the past 4 days. All the white spots are gone from my oscar and he looks great. I have a 30gallon aquarium with one 4in. oscar and one 3in. pleco. Hopefully I won't need anyone to do much with my tank while I'm gone. I will set up the automatic feeder, do a small water change tonight and hope he stays healthy while I'm gone. I don't have a test kit yet, but am planning on picking one up over the holiday weekend. Thanks for you help

 

[Jchillin]

Hiett - Hope you enjoyed your holiday! Your brood should be fine with what you've done. Make sure you get the test kits and do a PWC (20 - 25%). Keep me informed.

 

[MarkLehr]

Not sure about what other fish you have in that tank, but Oscars will tolerate an extreme amount of salt. You could almost go brachish in your salt level. If you only have the Oscar, I would consider buying a hydrometer and raising your salt level to 1.005 to 1.007 ;
At this level for a week you would be confident your parasites are a problem of the past. You could just allow the salt level to lower itself naturally as you do water changes.

 

[oscarbreeder]

I hope you have solved the ich problem in your tank.

Just a heads up here:
A 30gal tank is way to small for an adult Oscar.
They reach 12+ inches and need at least a 75 gallon tank to be able to turn around.