Some advise

[dgso1036]

I am new to this hobby and this is only the second time I've posted. I have a 20 gallon tank and had ick pretty bad. I first treated it with copper-safe and after a week it was worse. I spoke to my lfs and they told me to try rid-ich and turn the temp up in my tank. They also told me to do a 50%+ water change to get most of the copper out before starting rid-ich. I did all of that and turned the temp up to 84 degrees in low increments. When I turned the temp up my catfish and algae eater started stressing out bad, so I turned the temp down to about 81 degrees. I've been treating with rid-ich for five days. I have 2 tiger barbs with the white specks all over their body and fins. I have no idea if the treatment is working since they do not seem to be getting better. Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or try something else?

 

[tonedogz]

Well you shouldn't be treating your main tank with anything you should have a qt tank for that. But if thats your only alternative I would use cupramine its a copper based med. for both freshwater and salt. It is very effective against ich and its not as stressful on fish as other coppers. Make sure you follow the directions carefully. You'll also need a copper test kit that test for ionic copper.Good luck.

 

[dgso1036]

Unfortunately I don't have a qt tank. Should I quit the rid-ich and go back to the coppersafe or go get the one you recommended?

 

[librarygirl]

Raising the temp causes less oxygen in the water, so either lower the water level so more water splashes into the tank from the filter or add an air stone if you don't have one already. Catfish can be sensitive to copper and salt so you might want to be careful with those. You can treat Ich with just heat, although you might need to get it to a higher temp than what you have currently but if that is stressing the fish (even after adding extra aeration as noted above) just go as high as you can so that they aren't stressed (try to only raise it 1-2 degrees every 8 hours or so). You can use heat and Rid Ich. You might not see results right away though; Ich has a life cycle and it can take at least 2 weeks to see any improvement and often the Ich will get worse before it gets better. Since it's already in your main tank youll need to treat the whole tank anyway. Here's an article you can read: Freshwater Ich? Yuck! - Aquarium Advice GOod luck!

 

[tonedogz]

Unfortunately I don't have a qt tank. Should I quit the rid-ich and go back to the coppersafe or go get the one you recommended?

It would be a good idea to get one in the future to prevent the problems your going through right now. I would run some carbon to remove some of the medications also do a water change. The cupramine is very good this is a freshwater tank correct.

 

[dgso1036]

Yes this is a freshwater tank. I'm doing approximately 25% water changes a day like the rid-ich instructions say. I also placed an air stone in it. I'm curious if what I'm seeing is it getting worse before getting better. When they first had it the specks were dim in color, now they're starting to get a bright white in color. Does that mean It's coming closer to the surface of the fish and about to fall off? Thanks for the advise.

 

[dgso1036]

The link about ich was very informative. Thank you

 

[tonedogz]

Yes this is a freshwater tank. I'm doing approximately 25% water changes a day like the rid-ich instructions say. I also placed an air stone in it. I'm curious if what I'm seeing is it getting worse before getting better. When they first had it the specks were dim in color, now they're starting to get a bright white in color. Does that mean It's coming closer to the surface of the fish and about to fall off? Thanks for the advise.

When they become more visable there maturing and getting ready to drop. Thats when there most vulnerable to medications when they leave the fish.

 

[dgso1036]

That's great news. Hopefully I can be done with this outbreak and continue to have fun with this hobby. Thank you for all the advice.

 

[ML42]

treated tick before so this is my input

okay the copper thats a bit rought on the catfish, I would recomend doubling up I know some fo the old school FW are going to disgree but I have adapted to new methods over the years, okay you have 2 ways to go about it in my viewpoint.

solution one (I have used plenty of times)
1.Kordon Ich attack (buy the green one) its organic and wont hurt if you overuse, plants and fish will continue normal.
2. at the same time you are using the organic formula use API super ick cure, its blue iodine something cant remember but the label on my box says API super ick cure.
3. temperature is on spot between 80-84

4. water changes will help 20-40% for more drastic ick


solution two (have tried it takes a bit longer, but haven't used it since I used the option 1)

1. ich guard or w/e
2. a bit of freshwater tank salt (they say it will help with the fish sores)
3. Nite-out to bring nitrates down which help the growth of ick
4. temp between 80-84
5. water changes limited to 25%
6. gravel vac to kill the newborns that are left on you substrate


also be careful when you buy fish check for abnormalities in behavior, fin damage, or any characteristic thats not fish like lol also heads up techniques I have also heard when you are bringin a new fish or from a different tank you can help you tank by using that organic ich attack by KORDON.

any help or questions you have shoot it to my inbox, i know its hard and a long road but it is rewarding, hope you tank gets better.

one more thing I had forgot and I cant remember where I read it, you might be able to cheat the ich cycle by using a UV sterilizer but idk, where i read it in here. worth trying to look for but it is the more expensive route

 

[Zevyn]

Just for future reference, Ich is a problem that I wouldn't advice quarantine tanks for. It's a tank-wide problem that needs to be dealt with in the display tank, not by moving the fish to a hospital for treatment. Don't get me wrong, quarantines are a definite must for anyone serious about the hobby, but forgo it in this instance. Using a quarantine tank for Ich should just be limited to new arrivals to be sure they don't have it to begin with, before adding them to your display tank.