My first ICH infection

[Linsay]

Ok, I've read ally's info on the subject and am gradually raising the temp in my tank. I bought a bristle nose pleco on Saturday. Could he be the culprit? Should I call the lfs and tell them about it? Of course I also bought 2 snails from another store so..... - never mind it could have come from anywhere!

Can you give me an approximation of how much salt to add per gallon? I don't have a hydrometer and am unsure if my local stores (petsmart and petco) will have them. I would have to drive an hour to get to a realy fish store!!

I'm not at all happy about this infection but I have to say I'm quite impressed with myself for catching it LOL.

 

[Linsay]

Oh, another question...is it ok to add salt with my plants??

 

[Allivymar]

I'd suggest just the heat treatment; without a hydrometer its near impossible to figure out if your salt levels are correct, and plants HATE salt (least the ones most often kept in tanks do).

Quite likely it came along with the new plec; I'm guessing you didn't QT it? 40 lashes with a wet fin!

 

[Linsay]

Quite likely it came along with the new plec; I'm guessing you didn't QT it? 40 lashes with a wet fin!

I plead the 5th !
Well, I tried to talk my hubby into getting the equipment for a QT tank but he thought I was silly - I'm guessing he may listen now !
Will heat alone kill it or will I need to add a treatment? Is heat ok for my snail and my frog??

 

[Linsay]

Oh, BTW, what good is a husband if you can't blame him when things go wrong!

 

[Allivymar]

As long as its not the rare strain of ich which is heat resistant, heat will be enough. Many folks (including myself!) have been successful with heat alone. Do be sure your heater is correct; temps MUST be above 86F else it won't work. Should take 5 days or so to see a reduction in the nasty parasites.

LOL and isn't being able to remind a hubby when he's wrong part of a woman's perogative?

 

[Linsay]

he is frustrating - he still says he doesn't want a QT !!

 

[Menagerie]

Get one!! It's easier to treat fish in a smaller tank, even if you don't QT them when they come from the store. Once you pull out an ill fish--5 gal is cheaper to treat than say 80 gal!!

 

[Linsay]

well, tricky me bought a filter/heater combo - we needed a larger heater to treat the ICH - so...I figure I can use it in a QT tank! What would you use as a lid? I have a 5 gal or so rubbermaid container but if I put a lid on it the fish would be in the dark. If I don't put a lid on it my cat will have a treat - any ideas - what do other people do?

BTW - the ich is not gone yet! I think it is better but the fish are still spotty! the tank ranges from 88-90 degrees. We are thinking of adding a couple of rainbows but need it to clear up first!

 

[Allivymar]

Grab some of that Gladwrap plastic wrap that seals itself; you can use it to cover the rubbermaid container without losing any light *grin* I forget the exact name of it, but its a little stickyish on one side (theres a commercial for it with the Mario guy from The Food Channel running on TV nowadays).

It can take a little while for the parasites on the fish to disappear. As long as you've seen a noticeable reduction in 5 days things are on the right track And yep; no new fishies in the tank till ich is gone. You can get new fish tho; figure at least 2 weeks of QT (if not more). By the time QT is done, the tank should be ich free. And there is nothing wrong with a longer QT period if you have to wait a little longer to rid the tank of the pesky buggers.