Moving and now ich

[Lazlo]

Had alot of fish in cycle dying, now have the tank cycled. Took advice from lfs to add fish after 2 days, didn't work out so well had alot of dead fish. Now past cycling and everything seemed ok. Problem is now we're moving. Water chemistry is finally ok and surviving fish seem healthy. Today our lone upside catfish was found in a corner, barely swimming, with 8-9 white dots on either side. I think it looks like ich, but no other fish are showing signs.

Problem is we're moving in one week. Which means I was planning all the fish being restricted to a few inches of water for a couple hours while we move. I'd hate to do it but should I just flush the infected fish, or will the rest be ok with the added stress of moving? I really don't have time to deal with this correctly what would you recommend?

 

[Masha]

Getting rid of the infected fish wont solve your problem, because ich is an infection of the entire tank, not just the fish that have the visible spots. By the time you see the spots, the parasite is in the water and in the gravel also.

THis is the best article I've found on ich, and how to treat it. I don't know if you'll be able to do this while you are moving, but I hope so as it's by far the most effective way, just using heat Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

 

[Masha]

Also, just a note, I'm not sure if you literally meant you'd flush the fish down the toilet, but if you do ever need to euthanize fish, there are much better ways. Flushing fish causes them tremendous stress. Using clove oil is much kinder. But that's beside the point, I don't think you need to euthanize these fish - with good water conditions and proper treatment, ich is not a big deal.

 

[Rivers2k]

Up the temp to 90% add aquarium salt to the tank and do water changes every 2 days and the ich should be gone before you move. No need to get rid of the infected fish. After you move you may go through a mini cycle but if you keep the filter media wet you should be back to normal in a few days.

 

[Mebbid]

Up the temp to 90% add aquarium salt to the tank and do water changes every 2 days and the ich should be gone before you move. No need to get rid of the infected fish. After you move you may go through a mini cycle but if you keep the filter media wet you should be back to normal in a few days.

You only need to hit 86 degrees to kill ich. Keep it at that temperature until there are no longer any signs of ich for 2 weeks. You also dont need to use salt as heat alone is an effective treatment but it doesnt hurt to use it. Water changes and aeration is important during this becauze higher temps increase the toxicity of ammonia and higher water temps drop the amount of oxygen the water holds.

Im also agreeing that you should never flush living fish, thats just cruel. Treatment of Ich is simple and just getting ridnof the infected fish wont solve your problem as the ich is living all over your tank.