Hi everyone. I have been dealing with problems in my tank since I lost my cycle due to a power outage.I tried to keep ammonia and nitrites low for my fish, but still lost one after the process of cycling. The 55 gallon tank has been cycled again for nearly a month.Ammonia has been at 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates around 10 ppm. I bought a new fish that of course looked healthy...that now has a few white spots on its tail. I have never dealt with ich. I have of course read about it. What is the best ich medication? Is it difficult to get rid of? Thanks in advance for your help.
Fantails with ich...help?
- Thread starter Robin_42
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jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
The best treatment for goldfish with ich is to slowly raise the salinity to .3% (or 11.4grams of salt per gallon). If you have already added meds, do not mix them with salt (or heat). Fancies are not tolerant of the heat method for treating ich and can have odd reactions to common ich meds. Please ask if you more information or need specific instructions! 
Thanks, I have raised the temp in my tank to 81 degrees. They seem to be doing good with that so far. I added extra aerators and reduced the water level to create more oxygen. I am trying to add the salt at a slow pace and see how they handle it. So far so good. Yesterday over the course of the day I added 24 teaspoons of salt. Today I have added 12 teaspoons .. with the aim being roughly 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Is this the right amount? I am going by several things I found online that people say they had success with. Any information you have would be appreciated. The small calico fantail I bought had 3-4 spots on its tail and one side fin. Today, I don't see anything. They are still eating and being pretty active with the treatment so far. How long do you recommend this treatment, after visible signs of ich are gone? I have not used any other medication. I was afraid to, after I seen so many people say it interfered with their cycle. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, 1tsp/g is on the low side. A .3% salinity/11.4g per gallons works out approximately to 'about' 2.5tsps per gallon. Your fine to start at a bit above .1% (1tsp/g) and we can work from there if necessary.
Once all of the 36tsps of salt have been gradually added, wcs are fairly straight forward. Change 50% at a time along with a good gravel vac to remove cysts. Prior to the wc, dissolve half of the original dose of salt (or 18tsps) into a container of conditioned water. Add the salt solution back along with the new water. Thats about it! You just want to make sure you are maintaining the same level of salt so if you remove 50% of it, add 50% back. Try do to do the wcs every other day to daily to help remove free ich.
You will need to maintain the salinity for a minimum of one full week after all spots are gone then just do not add back salt with future wcs and the salinity will gradually return to normal. Just keep an eye on your parameters during treatment as your good bacteria do not appreciate the salt and you may see some spikes in toxins. If this happens, just do your wcs as needed to keep levels in check. They recover fairly quickly once the salinity levels are reduced. Hope this helps!
Once all of the 36tsps of salt have been gradually added, wcs are fairly straight forward. Change 50% at a time along with a good gravel vac to remove cysts. Prior to the wc, dissolve half of the original dose of salt (or 18tsps) into a container of conditioned water. Add the salt solution back along with the new water. Thats about it! You just want to make sure you are maintaining the same level of salt so if you remove 50% of it, add 50% back. Try do to do the wcs every other day to daily to help remove free ich.
You will need to maintain the salinity for a minimum of one full week after all spots are gone then just do not add back salt with future wcs and the salinity will gradually return to normal. Just keep an eye on your parameters during treatment as your good bacteria do not appreciate the salt and you may see some spikes in toxins. If this happens, just do your wcs as needed to keep levels in check. They recover fairly quickly once the salinity levels are reduced. Hope this helps!
So, I am using too little salt? Will the amount I am using kill it in it's cycles? I have gradually increased the water temp to 83-84. Is that warm enough. I see no signs of ich today. I only spotted 4 or 5 spots on the new fantail I bought and I see none of them today. Have you successfully used this method before yourself? How long should I continue the higher temps? A week or longer? Thanks for your advice.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
I honestly never use heat with my fancies for addressing any type of disease issue. 80f is the maximum on temp I would consider safe for them when used in a treatment situation such as ich. Salt used at right dosage is more than sufficient to treat ich in almost all cases in goldfish without the addition of heat.
If your fish seem to be tolerating the heat ok (no signs of stress), do not raise it any further. I would actually drop it down to @82f. The higher temps combined with the salt should be sufficient to fully treat the ich but I would keep a close watch on everyone for further signs of the parasite. Maintain the same conditions for a full week once it appears to be completely gone. Keep us posted on their condition and do not hesitate to ask questions!
Ok .. after seeing no ich for a couple of days it is back with a vengeance. My large fish's tail is now covered in white spots. What am I doing wrong? The temp is at 82 and I have added 80 teaspoons of salt of three days. Everything looked fine until this morning. I appreciate any advice. It seems I have done all this for nothing. Now, I don't know what to do.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, do not panic! This is a 55g, right? For some reason, I thought it was 36g but I think I confused this with another thread.
Ok, time to increase the salinity level. Once again, these measures are approximate as weight (rather than spoons) is much more accurate. I want you to increase the total amount of salt in the tank over the next 24hrs to 140teaspoons (this includes the 80 you have already added). Make sure you dissolve the salt into solution and gradually add the solution. Lets see how everyone is doing over the next 48hrs. If there is not marked improvement, we can work on increasing it a bit further. The 140tsp should bring you around a .3% salinity but it depends on the type of salt (especially large grain such as API). Please ask questions!
I am using Mortons canning and pickling salt. We have one pet store and they have been closed for days (family issue). Wow, that is a lot of salt! Will this level of salt be toxic for my fish and will it destroy the cycle? Was I using too little salt in the beginning or what? I am panicking, my fish is going to to top for air and I have added extra aeration and lowered the water level
How many teaspoons per gallon does this average out to be, so I will know what to add back when I do water changes?After the salt is added, when do I do a water change? How much and how often? Does it matter that I have some decorations in there or should I take them out? Oh my I am so confused right now.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
How many teaspoons per gallon does this average out to be, so I will know what to add back when I do water changes?After the salt is added, when do I do a water change? How much and how often? Does it matter that I have some decorations in there or should I take them out? Oh my I am so confused right now.
It's actually not a lot of salt in comparison to the salinity of ocean water, so do not worry!
The total teaspoons added will be 140. This includes the 80 you have added. Based on 55g, this averages out to 2.5tsp/g. I would start wcs the day after all the salt has been added and do them every other day along with a decent gravel vac. Keep a daily watch on your parameters.
I mentioned earlier that your good bacteria may not be happy about the salt and you may see spikes in toxins. Your nitrite eating bacteria are the most profoundly affected by the salt and nitrite spikes are a possibility. On the positive side, the salt will actually protect your fish from any ill affects from nitrite so don't panic if you start to see nitrite spike some. Once treatment is over and salt levels return to normal (from wcs), your bacteria will bounce back fairly quickly. I would stick to 50% wcs (if possible).
How is everyone doing tonight?
They are still eating (of course) and seem to be doing fair.. the larger fantail has had some blood streaking in his tail, but he was doing that before the ich showed up. He would have a few streaks and it would clear up and then do it again. No tearing or rotting or anything. I am not sure if it was stress from having to stabilize the tank after the power outage. Is it normal for the ich to rebound that way? The tiny fish that I bought only had like 4 spots that I could see and now my larger fantail's tail is covered
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Some veining in a light colored tail is not unusual but more obvious 'streaks' can indicate other issues. Something to keep an eye on if it continues to be a recurrent issue.
I would not say the ich is rebounding but an infected fish was introduced and now the symptoms are becoming more obvious across the board. The higher heat speeds the life cycle and it's common to see things appear significantly worse before they start to improve. Just keep an eye on everyone for any other odd symptoms and keep us posted!!
I would not say the ich is rebounding but an infected fish was introduced and now the symptoms are becoming more obvious across the board. The higher heat speeds the life cycle and it's common to see things appear significantly worse before they start to improve. Just keep an eye on everyone for any other odd symptoms and keep us posted!!
SandyCheeks
Aquarium Advice Freak
Good luck, hope the little guys get better soon.
Just curious - is Mortons canning and pickling salt free of iodine? I have never used it so just wondering. Is it less expensive than aquarium salt?
I didn't get the full amount of salt in until Saturday morning. By Sunday it looked like the ich was gone again from his fins and tail. It is hard to see on his body where he is white and red. Today I noticed a few spots on his pelvic fins. I am not sure I understand the life cycle of ich. Is this normal to still be seeing it? Today I have also noticed at times he seems to be clamping his fins and rubbing the bottom of the tank. Advice on what to do next or if I should be doing anything different??
abbyn
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- May 7, 2014
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I use lifeguard. I've never had to use it for ich but it has worked for everything I've used it to treat
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