Best treatment for Ick and bloated stomach?

[fxbillie]

Hi, I am a newbie to this forum and this is my 1st post after the introduction. I have a problem with fish sick with ick. I am currently using Ick Guard but after 3 days, the white spots are still there with many fish and still spreading. I basically follow the instructions (like 25 % water change before adding new treatment and raising temperature to 80-84F). If the ick does not disappear in 2 more days, I will have to find some other products which work. Do you have success with Ick Guard (from Jungle), or have any recommendations for other products which are safe for fish and plants? I have a 55 gallon community tank with 25% water change weekly. Can't explain where the Ick comes from. Also some female guppies die out of bloated abdomens. Any help for that? I have no hospital tank set up yet. Please help.
Thanks.
Bill

 

[dkpate]

Temp should be 86* if you are using the heat method.
What kind of fish do you have?
I have used QuICK Cure with luck. But without plants, and it will stain your stuff.
Is your tank cycled?

 

[fxbillie]

I have the tank for 3 months and I move the gravel from an older tank to this new one plus 70% of its water. I am not sure if it is cycled yet. But my plants are doing well. How do you tell if it is cycled?

I have mostly tetras, sword tails, neons and danios plus guppies. I think I will switch product. The Ick Guard & Ick Guard II are just a waste of time and money so far. I can see more ick problem to new fish even after I start the treatment and this is the 3rd treatment in 3 days. The bottle label says good for 400 gallons (5 ml for 10 gallon), and repeat treatment every 24 hours if the ick persists. So for my 55 gallon tank, 3rd treatment means 165 gallons and the bottle runs out . So frustrating to see fish with body full of ick. If the products don't work, they should not label it as 'quick elimination of ick'. Excuse my rant to see my little fish suffer. Is there any product which will fix ick without hurting plants as I have quite a bit of them to pull out if I use Quick Cure. Thanks anyway.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

If you moved the gravel then as long as it stayed wet that should've brought in a lot of good bacteria. Did you use the filter media too? If you did then you shouldn't have any issues with cycling. I would absolutely recommend stopping medical treatment. Raise your tank temp to 86 ensure you have enough air bubble going and leave it alone for about 10 days. You can do water changes and gravel vac's as well. I did this on more than a few occassions and everything cleared right up.

 

[dkpate]

+1. And remember, ich will usually get worse before it gets better.

 

[fxbillie]

no medicine as a treatment?

If you moved the gravel then as long as it stayed wet that should've brought in a lot of good bacteria. Did you use the filter media too? If you did then you shouldn't have any issues with cycling. I would absolutely recommend stopping medical treatment. Raise your tank temp to 86 ensure you have enough air bubble going and leave it alone for about 10 days. You can do water changes and gravel vac's as well. I did this on more than a few occassions and everything cleared right up.

Thanks for the advice. But are you suggesting to use no medicine at all and the ick problem will just go away if I maintain 86F for a few days? That would be heavenly and save $$$, LOL. I just want to make sure that this is what you mean. For I just add a treatment of Ick Clear. Kind of losing faith in Ick Guard. Yes I use the old filter which was for my 30 gallon tank, and I add on another filter for 55 gallon tank. So both filters are working, and yes I have an air tube with millions of bubbles per day, LOL. Just wish it works so I will save $$$ in the future. Thanks.

 

[dkpate]

Yes, the ich cannot reproduce in that temp, as well as that temp speeding up their life cycle. You need to keep the temp up for about 10 days though, not just while you see the ich.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

+1 like dk says. It saves money and stress. Trust me it works.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

86-87 degrees ftw.

Plus a teaspoon or so of salt per gallon...

This worked for me, they cleared up (puffers) in 10 days, but I kept the temp at 86-87 for a full 16 just to be sure....

Follow these instructions and learn the biology.

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/hospital/fwich/

 

[dkpate]

You don't really HAVE to use salt. I personally wouldn't use it if I had any scaleless fish in there.

 

[thincat]

dkpate, may i ask as to why 10 days?

 

[dkpate]

I have always read and heard 10 days, to make sure they're all dead (the ich).

 

[thincat]

So that's ten days at 86 degree for freshwater ich.. Is that correct?

 

[fxbillie]

Thanks for the temperature advice. I think now after treatement, some smaller fish like neon tetras are showing sign of fungal infection. That is why the package of the ick medicines all say you may need fungal treatment afterwards to prevent secondary infection.

If my tank fish survive this ordeal, next time I will not use medicine but just to raise the temperature. One question though, do small fish like neon tetras and guppies have problem with this high temperature of 86F for this long time? I have never done this, and the thermometers always mark 82F as the top of the green zone. So I guess it means stress after 82F? Sorry I am a relative newbie and have no clue what higher temperature will do to fish.

 

[fxbillie]

why is my thread under 'site poll'? LOL.

 

[dkpate]

So that's ten days at 86 degree for freshwater ich.. Is that correct?

Right.

Billie~ As long as the fish don't start acting stressed, they will be fine. Make sure you put an airstone in there too, because the higher heat means less oxygen.

 

[fxbillie]

Great news. The icks are all gone. Thanks for the great adivce.

 

[dkpate]

Awesome! Good job.

 

[VonUberReefer]

Heat method ftw!

 

[thincat]

Heat method ftw!

Remember, the heat method only works for freshwater ich! Not saltwater ich...