Is this ich?

[Marinemammalover]

I I just got two honey gouramis last monday and I'm afraid one of them has ich they both have been flashing (rubbing against deco). My water parameters are all good and one of the gourami has one spot on his top fin and some white splotches that might be unrelated to ich on his anal fins. If any of you could identify if this is ich or not that would be great. Thanks!

 

[George9]

I can't tell anything from the pictures, but if they're scratching and one has white dots, it's definitely ich. Slowly raise the temperature of your tank to 86-7 , increase aeration and vacuum your gravel. Leave the temperature up one week after the last spot is seen

 

[meviva]

Ich looks like the fish has been sprinkled with salt.

 

[Marinemammalover]

Thanks for the advice. Will my zebra danios be able to tolerate that temperature? They are also in with my honeys....

 

[TheLadySmoke]

I raised my temp to 82F and added aquarium salt when my mollies got ich.. It cleared up really fast! I kept adding salt and the high temp for about a week after the spots were gone on the fish. Haven't had a problem since!

 

[Marinemammalover]

Thanks I might try that! How do you find out if certain species of fish can tolerate salt?

 

[TheLadySmoke]

I think the ones that don't tolerate salt are scaleless fish.. Pleco's and cories for example. I'm not sure if there are others. But because the salt won't be a permanent thing I think most fish can handle it just fine when using it for ich.

 

[Marinemammalover]

Ok thank you. I'll do some research and I might try that but I'll definitely increase my temp

 

[nereksnad]

Ok thank you. I'll do some research and I might try that but I'll definitely increase my temp

you sould increase your temperature slowly, say 2-4F every few hours. a rapid fluctuation in temp can have a bad impact on the fish.

 

[librarygirl]

It's hard to tell from the pic, I don't see any dots but if you see them then it's good to treat anyway. The fin issue could be fin rot or something else but I'd try the increased temp with the salt first. Keep the heat raised and the salt in there for a week after you see the dots disapppear. If you're not sure that the fish can handle salt you can just treat with heat, although salt might help the fin more too. The fish you mentioned should be fine with salt unless you have scaleless fish; if you have inverts (shrimp or snails) remove them during treatment. Higher temps cause less oxygen in the water so either add an air stone or lower the water level so that the filter water splashes into the tank to promote oxygen exchange. Do water changes with gravel vac frequently, every couple of days, to suck up the Ich spores as they fall off. If the fin doesn't look better after treatment with salt then it might be something else that needs a stronger medication. Also if the tank isn't cycled make sure you keep ammonia and nitrite down as low as you can as well.
Freshwater Ich? Yuck! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[Marinemammalover]

Thank you! That was extremely helpful! I will definitely use the salt and heat method and use a gravel vac. Hopefully this will help☺

 

[Marinemammalover]

Also it's only one dot on one of my fish that i'm concerned about and I have seen both of them rubbing is this enough evidence treat it or am I just being paranoid?

 

[Marinemammalover]

Any one? :-\

 

[Scottyhorse]

Wouldn't hurt anything to treat the whole tank, since ich is contaigios (sp) I believe.

 

[librarygirl]

I agree, Ich can get into the gills where it can't be seen. Best to treat anyway. Heat and salt are pretty benign treatments and if some fin rot is going on it might help that too. If nothing improves in a week then it might be something else.

 

[Marinemammalover]

How much salt should I add? I know I have to dissolve it first but how much? I have a twenty gallon aquarium. I have been doing the heat treatment for couple of days and it's currently at 85 degrees F.

 

[Marinemammalover]

Any suggestions sorry but I want to add the salt tonight.....

 

[librarygirl]

It should say on the carton. I think it's one tablespoon per 5 gals but double-check as I'm going from memory.