For treating ick, how much salt?

[dotswithchemicals]

I bought some rummy nose tetras for my 55 gallons and it appears that they brought some ick with them. So now I'm gonna try the heat and salt route like I had with another tank, but I'm wondering how much salt I should use that wont harm live plants and fish that shouldn't be in salt water like Angelfish.

I have the API salt.

[LyndaB]

What other species do you have in the tank?

Some can handle salt, some can't.

Plants don't do well with it at all. You might want to try just the heat treatment without salt.

[dotswithchemicals]

Just common fish like guppies, mollies (those for the most part), 1 red tail shark, 1 betta, and 3 platys. And those rummy noses and pencil fish.

[LyndaB]

The shark can be sensitive to salt, if memory serves correctly.

I'd use a half-dose (1 level tablespoon per 10 gallons).

Raise heat slowly to 86 F.

Add an airstone to increase oxygenation.

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

Maintain this schedule at least 2 weeks and for 1 week after you see last spots on fish.

Rummies are extremely sensitive, so don't be surprised if you lose some.

How old is your shark? Mine ate my zebra danios and I had to rehome him to someone with 125 gallons.

[dotswithchemicals]

My shark is one of my first fish! I've had some aggressiveness start with smaller tanks but I've kept him by himself with 2 bristlenose plecos in a 15 until I got the 55. My shark honestly harrasses no one in my tank.. its my betta that flares up at HIM. He doesn't go after my shark because my betta is pretty active and pays attention to nobody really except the plants. Even had a female in there and he looked at her once, and then continued swimming away.

But I've had him since January, so not so long. I keep an eye on the betta and shark since they may become aggressive.

[dotswithchemicals]

And my shark has been in salt water before and has survived major ammonia spikes when I first started out with a bright red tail! So he's also probably my most hardy fish.

[BBradbury]

Originally Posted by dotswithchemicals

I bought some rummy nose tetras for my 55 gallons and it appears that they brought some ick with them. So now I'm gonna try the heat and salt route like I had with another tank, but I'm wondering how much salt I should use that wont harm live plants and fish that shouldn't be in salt water like Angelfish.

I have the API salt.

Hello dots...

Heat and salt are good remedies for "Ich", but can be stressful for both fish and plants. If you keep both to a minimum, you can still help your fish.

Most fish pathogens can't tolerate even a trace of salt, so if you dose a little more than a teaspoon for every 5 gallons of your replacement water, your fish and sensative plants will be fine. A little salt will boost the fishes' immune system and have a calming affect too.

You should also remove and replace half the tank water about every three to four days and vacuum the gravel where possible. A good percentage of the parasites will live in the substrate.

The water temperature doesn't need to be too high, 80 to 82 degrees is plenty.

Feed very little, a little once every couple of days is plenty. If fish aren't well, they'll eat very little, if at all.

Light should be kept to a minimum too. Even keep the lights off in the room. The "Ich" parasite locates a host by sight.

If you don't go the extremes with the salt and heat, you can maintain both for several weeks to make sure the parasites are no longer a problem.

Parasites live in most tanks. But a healthy fish is very unlikely to be infected. The problems start with careless handling of the fish and poor tank management.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B