Do i really need salt?

[Mumma.of.two]

Stupid me bought some new fish and put them straight in my dt. One of my rainbows died today and as I was trying to locate the body i noticed small white spots on another fish. Now I'm finding small white spots on all my rainbows and guppies tails. So I'm guessing I've got ich I've already started to increase the temperature. I'm planning on 1*Celsius every 12 hours until the tank goes from 24-30*C (86F). My question is do I need to add salt or can I just keep the temp high for 2 weeks? Will this be enough to kill the ich?

 

[Polly91]

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago...increasing the temperature speeds up the lifecycle of the parasite so that it releases of the fish and the salt helps to kill it once it's off the fish.this is how I understand it...

 

[Reygan2]

I initially added a about 3 tbs of salt to my 29 gallon after spotting ich, but I never added any more. Just keep the heat to at least 86F and be sure to add an air stone or 2, and if you are using hob filters, lower the water level a little so they will splash to allow more oxygen exchange. I kept mine at 88 for about 12 days and and even though my ich was completely wiped out in the first few days, I still left the temp up to 88. I did 2 good pwc's and vacuuming during that time, but I never added anymore salt. Don't forget to VERY slowly lower you temp back to where you want it. I'm back to 78 now. I only lost one fish, one of the panda cory's that I believe infected my tank. It died just a few days after I bought it. The other one is doing well, as is the rest of my guys.
Good luck, this method worked beautifully for me.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Well I just lost a second fish! And another one showing signs of going the same way! My original fish all have spots but it's only the new ones dying. So I do need salt? What do I buy? I have marine salt but I understand I can't use it.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago...increasing the temperature speeds up the lifecycle of the parasite so that it releases of the fish and the salt helps to kill it once it's off the fish.this is how I understand it...

I read it speeds up the life cycle but once it reaches 86F it kills it. Is this wrong!?

 

[Polly91]

From what I understand the salt is what kills it.but u have to be carefull to not add to much salt at once to stress your fish
I used ordinary pure salt from the supermarket and it worked for me!

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I know in planted tanks you can't add salt or meds or it'll kill the plants. So the only way to treat it is with heat, that's what I got from reading a thread on here. I tried it and it worked.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

From what I understand the salt is what kills it.but u have to be carefull to not add to much salt at once to stress your fish
I used ordinary pure salt from the supermarket and it worked for me!

I've got some sea salt flakes for cooking. U think they will be ok? I'm freaking out. I don't like adding thing to my tanks.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I know in planted tanks you can't add salt or meds or it'll kill the plants. So the only way to treat it is with heat, that's what I got from reading a thread on here. I tried it and it worked.

I've got quite a few plants I'm worried about. So u used just heat and it worked. That's good new for me!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

So I'm thinking that once I get my tank up to 86 F I will give it a few days and see what happens. if there is no improvement I will put all the plants in a bucket for a couple of weeks (and hope they live) then treat the tank with salt. Sound ok?

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Remember the plants have ich too...

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Remember the plants have ich too...

But if they are no fish won't the ich die?

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Umm I'm not entirely sure, I would just raise the temp and keep the plants in.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Umm I'm not entirely sure, I would just raise the temp and keep the plants in.

Yep ok that's plan A. Plan B I will remove plants and treat tank. I'm almost 100% sure ich dies in a couple of days if it doesn't have a host.

 

[The_Desacrator]

I salt my tanks after every water change. I have only gotten 1 case of ich and it went away after like 2 days.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I salt my tanks after every water change. I have only gotten 1 case of ich and it went away after like 2 days.

Do you have plants? How to they cope with salt?

 

[The_Desacrator]

Yeah I have plants and most of them are doing good.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yeah I have plants and most of them are doing good.

Thanks. I don't want to obliterate my entire tank. Most of the fish are fairly new so it might sound mean but I'd rather loose a few new fish over the plants and older fish I've put so much effort into.

 

[jpchin]

Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

here's a good link for info on using heat to kill ich. hope it helps.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

here's a good link for info on using heat to kill ich. hope it helps.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!