Knee jerk reaction to Ich

[Meashkah]

So after my water change on 6/25 I noticed one of my little chili rasboras had a little white dot on each side of him. *heart sink* oh no! The dreaded ICH!!!! I ran out today and purchased quick cure. I dosed today and I'm totally second guessing myself. Dang it! My tank seemed so happy.
My perimeters are excellent too.
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5 ppm
Ph 6.5

80 degrees F

It's also planted.

*feeling bummed*

 

[Mcor]

Don't worry, you'd have been kicking yourself if you'd left it and it was ich. I just had ich in goldfish tank. I ignored the first spot I saw as I thought it might have been a grain of sand or something. And it disappeared really fast. Then a couple days later my poor fish was covered in spots. You got in there quick, that's excellent.

 

[Meashkah]

Don't worry, you'd have been kicking yourself if you'd left it and it was ich. I just had ich in goldfish tank. I ignored the first spot I saw as I thought it might have been a grain of sand or something. And it disappeared really fast. Then a couple days later my poor fish was covered in spots. You got in there quick, that's excellent.

Thank you for your encouragement. I think my temps changed too much on my water changes and that spurred the ICH. ??? So I'm really freaked out about the chemical I put in the tank too. It's pretty nasty (cancer causing) stuff. Green malachite/formalin. I agree that I may have been on the right track with how fast I acted, but I'm wondering about my choice of weapon now.

 

[Scottyhorse]

IMO, the best treatment for Ich is heat. Slowly raise the temp to 86. Clean the gravel often. Change water often. After you see the last spot of Ich gone, keep treatment up for about two weeks to make sure it really is gone.

 

[Mebbid]

I agree with avoiding medication when treating ich. The temperature method is by far the easiest and safest. Quick cure isn't really that harmful of a medication. I recently used it to treat a tank and due to a slightly plugged bottle and my brutish hands I accidentally did a MASSIVE overdose on the tank.. Probably 10x - 20x the recommended dose. After I did a quick water change none of the fish seemed to care at all about the medication dosage they received for a short time. I started mixing medication in a pitcher of tank water before adding it to the tank since that happened

 

[Peteostler43614]

It really is pretty good stuff. I successfully used quick cure recently to nab a ick dusted fish before the whole tank got it. Sadly there were brand new fry in the tank, but i didn't lose any after a treatment with quick cure. So, it now has a place in my weaponry against tank disease.

 

[Meashkah]

I agree with avoiding medication when treating ich. The temperature method is by far the easiest and safest. Quick cure isn't really that harmful of a medication. I recently used it to treat a tank and due to a slightly plugged bottle and my brutish hands I accidentally did a MASSIVE overdose on the tank.. Probably 10x - 20x the recommended dose. After I did a quick water change none of the fish seemed to care at all about the medication dosage they received for a short time. I started mixing medication in a pitcher of tank water before adding it to the tank since that happened

Wow! Thanks for that tip! I think I'm a little over thinking this, but it's my first ICK. I think I will finish out the treatment and maybe try the heat/water changes if it happens again. Did anyone use gloves or take extra precautions with the chemically treated water. It's a type 2 carcinogen. Or am I just being a hypochondriac?

 

[Peteostler43614]

Wow! Thanks for that tip! I think I'm a little over thinking this, but it's my first ICK. I think I will finish out the treatment and maybe try the heat/water changes if it happens again. Did anyone use gloves or take extra precautions with the chemically treated water. It's a type 2 carcinogen. Or am I just being a hypochondriac?

A lot of things fall into that category of type 2 carcinogen. When i was in college, i worked in a lab that used formalin (the carcinogen in the mix) and yes it can cause cancer in high doses for prolonged time periods. At the levels you would get in quick cure, it would take a very very long time of prolonged exposure to develop cancer. Your epidermis is very good at protecting you!

 

[Peteostler43614]

Malachite green is also as carcinogen in rats causing lung cancer with ingestion of large amounts of the chemical. Much higher amounts than you will be exposed to. There are no linked cases in humans in the research article i read on it.

 

[Meashkah]

A lot of things fall into that category of type 2 carcinogen. When i was in college, i worked in a lab that used formalin (the carcinogen in the mix) and yes it can cause cancer in high doses for prolonged time periods. At the levels you would get in quick cure, it would take a very very long time of prolonged exposure to develop cancer. Your epidermis is very good at protecting you!

I just have to say, I love this site. Thanks guys. I already feel better about everything. The fish do not seemed phased at all and I installed extra bubble bars. They act as I'd nothing is happening at all. I will keep my over protective watching mothering eye on them.

 

[Meashkah]

Malachite green is also as carcinogen in rats causing lung cancer with ingestion of large amounts of the chemical. Much higher amounts than you will be exposed to. There are no linked cases in humans in the research article i read on it.

Thank you. It's good to know.

 

[Darkseid76]

Quick Cure works pretty well but it's dangerous for inverts and its got a bad habit of staining decor and the silicone sealant.

I have a bottle strictly for QT use and haven't had to use it in a long time.

Easiest method for ich is the heat/salt/wc routine. And gravel vacs of course