ich & getting new fish

[andreahp]

I recently lost 2 fish that had ich - white cloud and a platy (which had it first). One of my black skirt tetras also had it but the white spots are gone - I first noticed the ich this past Friday. I now have 6 neon tetras, 2 zebra danios, 1 white cloud, 3 black skirts & 2 spotted corys in a 46 gal tank. I would eventually like to get some more danios but wonder how long I should wait before I get them as well as whether I should medicate the whole tank first. Is there a way to know whether there is still ich in the tank? My water parameters are ok and my remaining fish are fine.

 

[Tropical boy]

Raise the temperature to about 29 degrees ( no more than 1 degree per hour) and leave this for a week to observe the tank. At this temperature ich cannot survive. As you say you can't see any signs of ich now and there is nothing in a weeks time I'd say you were safe. Don't put to many fish in at once though, the cause of ich is usually due to fish being stressed. Last thing, if the temp increase works try to avoid the chemicals, they can save live however I only use them at a last resort as most are not that nice for the fish, plants and crustaceans. Good luck and hope it all clears up

 

[dkpate]

86*F.
TB is right, the ich is still there. If one had it, the whole tank will likely get it, and it's best to treat the whole tank. Ich comes in on a host fish, and the other fish are more suseptible to it if they are stressed (weakened immune system). It might be present in their gills too, where you can't see it.
If you want to use a med, you can try Ick-Attack, it is all natural and won't mess with your good bacteria. It is safe for ALL fish, reptiles and inverts.

 

[tyspot1000]

+1 to both

Ich's lifespan is 2 weeks, If you have not signs of any fish having ich, by 2 weeks you will be able to add 1-3 more at a time.

 

[McLumpy]

I'm battling an Ich outbreak right now. Only a few of my fish show signs, (white spots, flashing, etc.), but I don't take any chances and treat the whole tank for at least 2 weeks. I have had 2 outbreaks before and have used, (and I'm currently using), Ich Attack. It works really well, but you could always use different remedies, such as salt.

As long as you remove carbon from your media filter, increase the temp gradually like others have suggested, (I have mine to 86 degrees), and keep devoted to treating the water for a couple of weeks, any little Ich critters hanging around will die. It's definitely better to be safe than sorry.

As far as adding more fish, I would suggest waiting at least a week or 2 after your last treatment of Ich medication. Just to be on the safe side. I had planned on getting 2 more Clown Loaches this week, but thanks to my Ich issue, I have no choice but to wait. It sucks, but what can ya do?

Sorry to hear about your 2 fishies btw.

 

[andreahp]

Ok - I haven't seen anymore signs of ich since Sunday (meaning no more fish are showing signs of it). I am not going to medicate my tank right now unless another fish develops spots and I dont' want to increase the temp of my tank because I have 2 danios in there and the guy at the LFS said they really shouldn't be in water over 80F and I shouldn't use meds unless absolutely necessary. So, do I count 2 weeks from when my last fish had spots?

 

[mudraker]

What did you actually do to treat the outbreak?

 

[dkpate]

+1 Mudraker. Ich does not go away on it's own, it could be in the gills of the fish where you can't see it.

 

[andreahp]

So, the only way to make sure I get rid of it is to increase the temp of my tank (which I don't want to do because I have danios) & add salt (even though I have corys) or medicate the whole tank? So even if I wait 2 more weeks and don't see any spots on my current fish it's not safe to add new fish?

 

[mudraker]

Yes, those are your options.

The ich parasite will not go away without one or all three. BTW, salt is less harmful to the corys than ich. It can live in fish gills for many, many weeks without seeing the spots on the scales, just like DK said.

It cannot be cured with clean water alone and does not go away just because you cannot see white spots.

 

[andreahp]

So, the best thing to do is use the Ich Attack I got yesterday? Again, I'm afraid to raise the water temp because of the danios. If I medicate the whole tank, for how long do I use it?

 

[dkpate]

If you use meds, you don't have to raise the temp. Use it for the amount of time it says on the bottle.