new to aquriums

[jlk]

If not all your fish can handle salt, heat will be your best route. Gradually, gradually increase the heat to 87-88f. Do not increase the temp more than 1 degree an hour or 8 degrees in one day. Add additional aeration because warm water holds less oxygen. You will need to maintain this for approximately 2wks. The ich may become worse before it starts to improve. Good luck!

 

[frshwaterfish]

ok are the meds going to just be a waste of money then? i just dont want to have a big mortallity rate by the time this runs its course. ive read that when the ick falls off the fish the spores hatch into new parasites that re attack the fish all over again. how often should i vacuum the gravel so i dont have spores turning into new ick parasites?

 

[jlk]

I would opt for the heat before the meds. Meds will work but a natural approach is always the best method before considering treating with meds. Frequent grav vacs to suck up the spores will help as well. Check out the stickies on ich in the unhealthy fish section, too.

 

[frshwaterfish]

ok i will opt out of the meds then. i was just reading on an ick thread that pleco and eel wont like the meds much case they have no scales. if the salt wont hurt either of those in a massive dose i should be good on the others handling the extra salt in the tank. if i add the extra salt how much would i add to a 55 gallon tank? im going to start slowly raising the temp on the tank.

 

[jlk]

I dont have experience with plecos & eels with salt. I would post a question in the unhealthy fish section & do some searching for more information before considering adding any salt. I believe (i may be wrong) they can handle low doses of salt but not the amount needed to treat ich.

 

[frshwaterfish]

just posted it in unhealthy fish as a new thread. thanks for the addvice hopefully all my fish will pull through.

 

[frshwaterfish]

hey everyone my ick case was a false alarm and ended up being comfirmed as natural markings on my fish from the pic i posted ... also my tank is finally showing the signs of cycling ive been waiting for! ammonia is almost constintly around zero and nitrates and nitrites are starting to show up in my tests of my water in low amounts.

 

[frshwaterfish]

still havent found a background for my 55 i like yet and im waiting for fed ex to bring the spongebob one my 21 month old son like to come in the mail but finally figured out how to post pics and am putting up 2 of the 55 and one of the 10. i cant wait till i have enough money to get a tank over a 100 gallons