Ich!

[Alshain]

Well about 5 days after owning the 3 golden swords, the male managed to get a case of ich. Luckily he seems to be pulling through it. I wanted to let you guys know that Wardley Essentials Ick Away (pick it up at the local Wal-Mart) seems to e a pretty good medication. I treated the tank once last friday, and again today. I'll do it again thursday followed by a 50% water change friday as the directions reccomend. The spots are disappearing slowly with only a few left on is tail fin.

I think my success was the fact that I caught it early. It started with a few spots on his tail fin when I noticed it and after treatment it sort of went through a "has to get worse before it gets better" phase. It eventually broke out all over his dorsal fin and on his body before it started to back off. The two females have yet to contract it.

 

[DepotFish]

You might want to continue treatment of the tank longer than it says. What they do is drop off of the fish and reproduce on the bottom and then you get them again when they hatch. You want to make sure you get them all.

 

[Alshain]

You might want to continue treatment of the tank longer than it says. What they do is drop off of the fish and reproduce on the bottom and then you get them again when they hatch. You want to make sure you get them all.

Yeah I had actually considered that myself. The bottle reccomends 1 treatment for all the stuff it cures and 3 treatments for Ich specifically. It says not to go more than 3 treatments per week due to stress on the gils (ie once every 3 days). But next week I could keep going for another one or two treatments to make sure its gone.

Oh and I also raised the temperature to around 80 deg F

 

[Menagerie]

Oh and I also raised the temperature to around 80 deg F

This only speeds up the reproductive cycle of the ich organism. If you want heat to play a factor in the recovery of this tank, it must be raised to 86 degrees. There is a great article on ich and the many ways to combat it in the articles section.

 

[Alshain]

Oh and I also raised the temperature to around 80 deg F

This only speeds up the reproductive cycle of the ich organism. If you want heat to play a factor in the recovery of this tank, it must be raised to 86 degrees. There is a great article on ich and the many ways to combat it in the articles section.

Ok, but how hot can I get my tank before I endanger my fish?

 

[rich311k]

You want to go over 86F. Your fish will be fine unless you have any goldfish. Lower the water level or add an airstone the warmer water does not hold as much O2.

 

[Alshain]

No goldfish, only 3 swords (its a new tank).

 

[Menagerie]

The swords will be fine. I highly recommend this article: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32 Next time you may decide to treat without meds.