87 Degrees Really OK for ich?

[dbase]

I got ich in the tank about 3 days ago and started with the heat treatment as most of the people on this forum suggest. After 3 days, I had lost 2 Tetras, and more were showing signs of infection, so I stopped by the LFS that I trust. The owner got me all freaked out that it would not be a good idea to keep my fish at that high a temp and it is much safer to medicate. So in a panic I lowered the temp to about 82 and added the half dose of malachite green/formalin and 1 Tbs Salt per 5 Gallons that he suggested.

I am having second thoughts now after doing some more research about my fish and meds.

Also, I have to leave town for about a week in 3 days and have to leave a roommate in charge of the fish. This definitely must be taken into account for which treatment I use. (Or is it a bad idea to switch again?) What would you guys do?

Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: <10
Every other day 10% PWC, API Tests, and Prime

Fish:
1 Black Ghost Knife SCALELESS (3 ick spots)
1 BN Pleco (No noticeable ick spots, but it would be tough to tell)
2 Angels (No spots)
4 Serpae Tetras (2 of 6 died, 2 more are almost covered in spots)

[missileman]

To each his own.
I find that most fish store people are set in there ways and any unconventional treatment is taboo.
I personally don't use heat for Ich. I use Ich-Attack which does not contain the harsh chemicals other treatments do, is easier on the fish, will not harm your bio-filter and most importantly works very well, or at least it has for me.Oh and it is safe for scaleless fish, watch out for your Pleco and Ghost Knife with that malachite green.
I assume you already did it but just in case, remove any carbon from your filter while treating with any meds.

[Fishyfanatic]

I am a fan of going natural and not using meds if at all possible. The salt may be an issue with the pleco. Be very careful and watch for signs of sickness.

[Jnam]

To put it in perspective your fish come from a topical environment where durring thier summer air temps reach well above 95 degrees and water temps can go about 85 degrees for days on end. All the heat treatment does is push the life cycle of ich at a faster pace. And then the heat it self kills the parasite durring it free swimming phase. If you notice the instructions on most ICH cures it suggest increasing the temp to speed up the treatment. I prefer all natural as well. But medication does warrant use at certain times. As missileman put it "To each his own". You will want to pick a treatment and stick to it. The medication route is fine as long as you trust your room mate not to overdose your fish. Heat is nice cause you set it and forget it... Make sure your temp change is no more the 2 degrees a day as that may stress your fish to the point of death

[dbase]

I think I'll run my plan by you guys and see what you think. Last night, the last tetra that had visible spots must have died and been eaten because he is definitely not in the tank anymore. None of the other fish seem to have any spots.

I am planning on adding the second day of the ick cure (malachite green/formalin) treatment to the tank tonight 24 hours after the first.

Then, tomorrow night, if all looks well, replace carbon filter; do a series, 10 or so, 10% water changes to remove majority of salt, while gradually upping the tank to 86-87 degrees.

This way, like you guys say, I can just set the temp and leave town without giving my roommate too much trouble - water changes, medicating, watching, etc.

Does this sound like a decent plan?

[Jnam]

adding the second dose probably isnt needed. Just do the PWCs as planned. Then let the tank get to temp My opinion at least. Salt is a highly debated topic. Either use it or dont. I dont use it because my tank is planted and my plants dont appreciate it. I hope you can whip this ICHs but. I will say since my last heat treatment 6 months ago. i havent had any breakouts of ich (knock on wood). And i even added walmart fish to the tank without a QT (terrible and reckless i know).

[kamo87]

Originally Posted by dbase

I got ich in the tank about 3 days ago and started with the heat treatment as most of the people on this forum suggest. After 3 days, I had lost 2 Tetras, and more were showing signs of infection, so I stopped by the LFS that I trust. The owner got me all freaked out that it would not be a good idea to keep my fish at that high a temp and it is much safer to medicate. So in a panic I lowered the temp to about 82 and added the half dose of malachite green/formalin and 1 Tbs Salt per 5 Gallons that he suggested.

I am having second thoughts now after doing some more research about my fish and meds.

Also, I have to leave town for about a week in 3 days and have to leave a roommate in charge of the fish. This definitely must be taken into account for which treatment I use. (Or is it a bad idea to switch again?) What would you guys do?

Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: <10
Every other day 10% PWC, API Tests, and Prime

Fish:
1 Black Ghost Knife SCALELESS (3 ick spots)
1 BN Pleco (No noticeable ick spots, but it would be tough to tell)
2 Angels (No spots)
4 Serpae Tetras (2 of 6 died, 2 more are almost covered in spots)

I do have the same problem as yours. My community tank got infected and eventually my 10 g goldfishtank without a reson. If you use meds or salt you're going to kill the black ghost. They are very sensitive so I suggest to keep the temp. to 85 for 10 days(it's working in my case) and the little freaks will die eventually.

[An t-iasg]

I would go back to the heat treatment. Medicines only kill the ich in the free-swimming stage. Heat kills at all stages - free-swimming, on the fish, and in the gravel. The heat has to be 87degrees or higher - at 85 or 86 degrees, you are speeding up the ich's lifecycle so you'll see a lot more spots in this temperature range. At 87 degrees, the ich, in all stages, dies off. Leave the temperature at 87 degrees for two weeks after you see the last spot on the fish. This ensures that the ich in the gravel are done reproducing, and any late-hatching ones are killed. If you get the temperature up before you leave, your roommate won't have to do anything with regard to the temperature.

[dbase]

Just got back into town, so I thought I would let you know what I did and what happened. First off, the 3rd tetra that I thought was gone turned up a while later during a feeding not looking very good at all. He must have been hiding from being bullied becuase he was all sorts of beat up and died a few minutes after he came out. By this time only the BGK and a couple of the other tetras had very mild visible spots; only a few on each of 'em but the tetras had lost lots of color.

I decided to do a third day of medication before I left, and have my roomate do one more after I was gone (on the 19th). I had him replace the carbon filter on the 20th and do 10% water changes daily until I got back to reduce the salt.

So I just got back today, the 25th, and none of the fish died, all spots are gone, and the 3 remaining tetras returned to their normal color. The water was left at 82 the whole time, so hopefully the ick life cycle went fast enough for the medication to get the last of them. I kind of feel like I got lucky this time, so I'll be keeping a close eye on the fish for the next few days.

[missileman]

Originally Posted by An t-iasg

I would go back to the heat treatment. Medicines only kill the ich in the free-swimming stage. Heat kills at all stages - free-swimming, on the fish, and in the gravel. The heat has to be 87degrees or higher - at 85 or 86 degrees, you are speeding up the ich's lifecycle so you'll see a lot more spots in this temperature range. At 87 degrees, the ich, in all stages, dies off. Leave the temperature at 87 degrees for two weeks after you see the last spot on the fish. This ensures that the ich in the gravel are done reproducing, and any late-hatching ones are killed. If you get the temperature up before you leave, your roommate won't have to do anything with regard to the temperature.

That is not the way I understand it.
Heat, above 86*, inhibits the Ich reproductive cycle essentially killing it off at that stage (cyst stage) But it is still good advice to leave the temp up for a couple of weeks to be certain. Or so I have been told.

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree with An t-iasg to get the heat u pto 87. Ich spreads faster in warmer waters and hits the die-off point at 87 degrees. Keep it at 87 for 2 weeks after the last spot is gone.