ick

[Trainer_Ruby_]

at my lfs there is a fish that i've been looking for for about a year now and i managed to get him finally. the only problem is the tank that hes in has ick and their policy is they wont sell a fish that is sick in any way shape or form. him and the rest of the tank have been in quarantine for about 2 weeks now i haven't been back to check on him in a couple of days so he might be better now but how long does it normally take to cure ick? i have been fortunate enough to never have an infected fish so i know nothing about the process

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi. It really depends on the treatment. Medication can only kill the Ick in the free swimming stage and not in the 'spot' stage. The time taken for the cycle from spot to free swimming and reinfect a fish will depend on the temperature of the tank. Above 80f and it can be as short as 5 days, cooler and the cycle takes longer. At about 86f the parasite can be killed by heat alone.
So you see there is no straight answer. Ask the fish shop what temp they are keeping the fish at and if it's a fairly normal temp, say 76-78f then I would wait two full weeks without any fish being infected before buying your fish.
Having said that, if you intend to quarantine the fish at home and it really is your dream fish then I would risk it and buy it as soon as the LFS will release it. I would quarantine it for 6-8 weeks to ensure its fully free of Ick and has recovered its strength. I quarantine all my fish for at least that anyway, so it's not a ridiculous length of time.


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[Trainer_Ruby_]

Alright. The lfs that I go to should hold him as long as I check on him every so often if I ask them too. Does salt in water help to cure it as well? I ask because it's a knight goby and he'll be in a brackish tank once I get him and probably a brackish qt as well.


Keep calm and rock on

 

[ScotJudd]

I have heard about people using salt, it's not a cure for Ick but helps to stop infections caused by the spots. I haven't used it myself because my fish won't tolerate any salt.


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[Trainer_Ruby_]

Alright. I checked with the lfs and all the tanks are ick free now but their keeping them under qt for awhile yet. Apparently they had a shipment with a lot of infected fish.


Keep calm and rock on

 

[Mebbid]

I have heard about people using salt, it's not a cure for Ick but helps to stop infections caused by the spots. I haven't used it myself because my fish won't tolerate any salt.


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Salt actually does help kill thebparasite.