bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
For all you doubters of using chemicals to treat Ick, I've got bad news for you. It works, and it works well.
Until recently, I had no firsthand experience with using "Quick Cure" to treat Ick, but I often recommended others to use it. I simply trusted the words of professional discus keepers and experts who also use it. Well, on Friday I noticed that in my 29g Endler tank, one of the females was extremely skinny and was covered in Ick! When I went to feed the tank in the morning as per my usual routine I noticed that one female had given birth as there were many fry amongst the java moss and guppy grass. Then I noticed the skinny female with Ick and knew that she was the one who had given birth as she was hovering on the bottom the night before and was bloated with babies inside of her.
So, what was the cause for the sudden outbreak of Ick? First, Ick is always present in any aquarium. Secondly, a fish will normally be resistant to the parasite because of it's slime coat and normal flora (the beneficial bacteria present which prevent diseases from starting) but if the fish is stressed for any reason ranging from not being acclimated properly, to aggressive tankmates, or even the stress of giving brith, Ick may be able to infect the fish as it is an opportunistic parasite. It will attack when the conditions are right for it to do so and you will not see any signs of it until it attacks.
For treatment, I used my own advice that I normally give to others. After all, what good is giving advice if it's something that you would not practice yourself? I treated the tank with 1 drop per gallon of "Quick Cure" that contains active ingredients of formalin and malachite green. The temperature in the tank was at 84 degrees and I left it alone. On Saturday I repeated to dosage and noticed a small decline in the amount of Ick present on the fish. Yesterday, I repeated a third dosage and noticed that there was about half of the amount of Ick on the fish as there was on Friday, the first day I noticed the Ick was present. I never did a water change between treatments and none was recommended. Today, I feed the tank and get ready to treat one more time. I see the female that was infected with Ick and there wasn't a single spot of Ick present. Ick problem solved in THREE DAYS without rasing the temperature to possibly stressful levels. What's more? All of my fry that were alive from the first day of treatment including the ones that were 12 hours (at most) old are still alive and kicking and eating flakes, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworms.
Hopefully now some of you will take other's advice when it is suggested to you that you treat with "Quick Cure" or something similar containing formalin or malachite green or a combination of the two. If you want the fish to live and if it's in bad shape, three days is all it will need. If it's safe enough to use on extremely young and fragile fry and if discus experts around the world use it on there extremely expensive fish, why is it not good enough for YOU?
Until recently, I had no firsthand experience with using "Quick Cure" to treat Ick, but I often recommended others to use it. I simply trusted the words of professional discus keepers and experts who also use it. Well, on Friday I noticed that in my 29g Endler tank, one of the females was extremely skinny and was covered in Ick! When I went to feed the tank in the morning as per my usual routine I noticed that one female had given birth as there were many fry amongst the java moss and guppy grass. Then I noticed the skinny female with Ick and knew that she was the one who had given birth as she was hovering on the bottom the night before and was bloated with babies inside of her.
So, what was the cause for the sudden outbreak of Ick? First, Ick is always present in any aquarium. Secondly, a fish will normally be resistant to the parasite because of it's slime coat and normal flora (the beneficial bacteria present which prevent diseases from starting) but if the fish is stressed for any reason ranging from not being acclimated properly, to aggressive tankmates, or even the stress of giving brith, Ick may be able to infect the fish as it is an opportunistic parasite. It will attack when the conditions are right for it to do so and you will not see any signs of it until it attacks.
For treatment, I used my own advice that I normally give to others. After all, what good is giving advice if it's something that you would not practice yourself? I treated the tank with 1 drop per gallon of "Quick Cure" that contains active ingredients of formalin and malachite green. The temperature in the tank was at 84 degrees and I left it alone. On Saturday I repeated to dosage and noticed a small decline in the amount of Ick present on the fish. Yesterday, I repeated a third dosage and noticed that there was about half of the amount of Ick on the fish as there was on Friday, the first day I noticed the Ick was present. I never did a water change between treatments and none was recommended. Today, I feed the tank and get ready to treat one more time. I see the female that was infected with Ick and there wasn't a single spot of Ick present. Ick problem solved in THREE DAYS without rasing the temperature to possibly stressful levels. What's more? All of my fry that were alive from the first day of treatment including the ones that were 12 hours (at most) old are still alive and kicking and eating flakes, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworms.
Hopefully now some of you will take other's advice when it is suggested to you that you treat with "Quick Cure" or something similar containing formalin or malachite green or a combination of the two. If you want the fish to live and if it's in bad shape, three days is all it will need. If it's safe enough to use on extremely young and fragile fry and if discus experts around the world use it on there extremely expensive fish, why is it not good enough for YOU?