raising water temp to treat ich?

[sniperfreak]

I have a cardinal tetra that has a few white spots on the dorsal and caudal fin, so I suspect ich, and the tank is stocked, planted and cycled, so I have fears about meds, but I've heard that raising the water temp to 86F for a few weeks should kill the ich parasites. Is this true? also, I've maxed out the adjustments on my heater and it's only running 82F, should I add another heater to get it up to 86F?

 

[LyndaB]

Firstly, know that with ich, you are treating the entire tank and not just the one fish. You can treat most illnesses without meds.

86 is the best temp, so yes, you might want to get yourself either a better or an additional heat source.

Add an airstone to the tank to increase oxygenation.

Do gravel vacs every 2-3 days to remove ich spores from the substrate.

Maintain schedule for a minimum of 2 weeks.

What is your normal tank maintenance schedule and what are your current readings? Sometimes ich can be jumpstarted due to poor water params.

 

[sniperfreak]

I've been doing 30-50% pwc's every 4-5 days, my current parameters are 0 ammo, 0 Ites, 10 Ates. So getting the temp up to a steady 86 will kill the ich spores and stop the spread?

 

[LyndaB]

It will definitely help rush the ich cycle along, thereby eradicating the disease more quickly.

 

[Retired_AF]

I agree with Lynda. I usually keep my tanks at about 80 degrees. I also treat the water with aquarium salt. You can do this as long as you dont have smooth-skinned critters that the salt would irritate. My plants dont have any issues with it, and I htink the warmth actually helps plant growth.

I havent had an outbreak of ich in a long time (knock on wood).

 

[sniperfreak]

but will the increased temps harm my fish? Liveaquaria says that 77* is the max for te bleeding hearts, 79* for the oto's and 81* for the cardinals...will the 86* temp harm them?

 

[LyndaB]

Few fish have trouble adjusting to the temp as long as the change is made slowly.

 

[sniperfreak]

just lost two of the cardinals, and a third won't come out of my cave, I believe the bleeding hearts are bullying them, as the two biggest ones seem fine, but the smaller ones look terrorized...

 

[Maltimomma]

Firstly, know that with ich, you are treating the entire tank and not just the one fish. You can treat most illnesses without meds.

86 is the best temp, so yes, you might want to get yourself either a better or an additional heat source.

Add an airstone to the tank to increase oxygenation.

Do gravel vacs every 2-3 days to remove ich spores from the substrate.

Maintain schedule for a minimum of 2 weeks.

What is your normal tank maintenance schedule and what are your current readings? Sometimes ich can be jumpstarted due to poor water params.

I think I may have an angelfish with ich. I have gouramis, rainbows, rosy barbs, bn plecoand corys in this tank. If I were to raise the temp to 86 would it hurt the other fish. My tank is 55g with plastic plants but am slowly adding live plants.

 

[Gboy66]

If you only increase the temp, after a couple of weeks will it go away?

 

[ashleynicole]

I just finished an ich treatment for about 2 weeks. I had the temps at about 84-86 and have done daily to every other day 50% water changes because as ich goes through the lifecycle, there can be free floating parasites in the water. This is why water changes are so important. And if you have gravel, vacuum the gravel. I was succesful. I have my temp at about 82 now and the fish seem to be doing very well. I didn't use salt due to my plants.

 

[Maltimomma]

I know you're supposed to take out the charcoal filter while treating your tank. Did you leave the filters out the whole two weeks?

 

[ashleynicole]

I know you're supposed to take out the charcoal filter while treating your tank. Did you leave the filters out the whole two weeks?

I do not use Activate Charcoal at all in my tanks. If you research it you will find out that it only lasts 7 days anyway, and after a time if you don't replace it, it will start to leach chemicals back into the tank. It is also not good for planted tanks because it removes beneficial elements, minerals, and nutrients the plants need.

If you are treating with heat only, charcoal doesn't matter if its there or not. If you are treating with medications, the charcoal needs to stay out the entire time during the treatment. Then if you want to remove the meds, you can put the charcoal in for a few days to a week to remove the medications, and you can remove the medications with water changes.

 

[Reygan2]

I just finished an ich treatment for about 2 weeks. I had the temps at about 84-86 and have done daily to every other day 50% water changes because as ich goes through the lifecycle, there can be free floating parasites in the water. This is why water changes are so important. And if you have gravel, vacuum the gravel. I was succesful. I have my temp at about 82 now and the fish seem to be doing very well. I didn't use salt due to my plants.

It certainly doesn't hurt, but IME daily or every other day pwc's aren't necessary. I only did a couple during my treatment and my tank was completely clear in 10 days.

 

[ashleynicole]

It certainly doesn't hurt, but IME daily or every other day pwc's aren't necessary. I only did a couple during my treatment and my tank was completely clear in 10 days.

You can't go wrong with water changes when you have disease. Pristine water conditions alone can help cure and prevent most illnesses.

 

[Gboy66]

You can't go wrong with water changes when you have disease. Pristine water conditions alone can help cure and prevent most illnesses.

And a bubble wand or airstone is needed? Problem is, my heater doesnt give exact temps, so i can just put the temp were i want it and know the exact temp. I have to just keep doin it until the temp is right

 

[ashleynicole]

And a bubble wand or airstone is needed? Problem is, my heater doesnt give exact temps, so i can just put the temp were i want it and know the exact temp. I have to just keep doin it until the temp is right

You should do something to increase air Exchange. An airstone helps. Also if you have a HOB filter, you can lower the water level so it splashes more, that's what I did.

As long as you have a thermometer and can keep the temperatures where you want them it should be ok. Not all heaters have the greatest thermostats, but once you get it where you need it just try to keep it steady.