Treating "Ich"
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