jldurfe
Aquarium Advice Regular
I have a Molly that has ick. He's currently in quarantine. What is the best and fastest way to cure him? I don't see spots on anyone else. How soon would they show on other fish?
ick help please
- Thread starter jldurfe
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Mitch_Wilson
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Ich is a parasite, if it is showing on one of the fish there is a good chance that its already in the tank if not already in the fish.
There are a few methods of taking care of ich, you can add a small amount of salt to the tank (google or someone else might know the amount, im not sure i believe it was 1 tsp per 5 gallons but please look it up im nowhere near 100% on that)
another is slowly increasing the temperature to above 86 F this and the salt method can be used together however i would recommend looking to make sure that that temperature is not to far out of what your fish can live in as i personally lost quite a few tetras by increasing the temperature
Alternatively you can use medications that you can buy from the store however do not increase the temperature and use medication as each treatment reduces the avaliable oxygen in the water and together you may suffocate your fish
I wish you the best of luck
There are a few methods of taking care of ich, you can add a small amount of salt to the tank (google or someone else might know the amount, im not sure i believe it was 1 tsp per 5 gallons but please look it up im nowhere near 100% on that)
another is slowly increasing the temperature to above 86 F this and the salt method can be used together however i would recommend looking to make sure that that temperature is not to far out of what your fish can live in as i personally lost quite a few tetras by increasing the temperature
Alternatively you can use medications that you can buy from the store however do not increase the temperature and use medication as each treatment reduces the avaliable oxygen in the water and together you may suffocate your fish
I wish you the best of luck
I agree with Mitch, the entire tank is affected. The treatment is raising the temperature to 87 degrees for two weeks. Salt at 1 tbs./5 gallons only if you fish are salt tolerant. Since the temps are higher, the water needs more O2 so an airstone is recommended. Change water frequently and vacuum substrate to pick up any tomites that have fallen off your fish. I would put the sick fish back into tank to treat all the fish.
Sorry about the Ich =( I'm seeing the tail end of an Ich outbreak. I moved 5 fish OUT of the main tank where new fish brought Ich so I could use meds in the main tank. The sick fish were only in there for half a day when I noticed a few spots on each. Thankfully none of the fish I moved got it.(which makes me wish i had moved more) I slowly raised the temp in my main tank to 88 and its been there over a week. I've been treating with Quick Cure at 3/4 dose. It didn't seem to be that quick but the spots are finally gone two weeks later. The most spots any fish had was about 10. I have GBR, guppies and pristella tetras in the tank. No one seemed to notice the high temp. All are doing great. I didn't try salt because i was afraid of how it would affect my plants...
As far as less oxygen in the water my filter creates a decent amount of surface current and I have a bubbler going. No fish have been going to the top for air.
Everyone's experience with Ich is different so hope you find a solution that works for you and your tank. Good luck!
(It was about two days later when I saw spots on another fish. About two days after that they showed up on most of the tetras. The guppies and 1 tetra never got it.)
As far as less oxygen in the water my filter creates a decent amount of surface current and I have a bubbler going. No fish have been going to the top for air.
Everyone's experience with Ich is different so hope you find a solution that works for you and your tank. Good luck!
(It was about two days later when I saw spots on another fish. About two days after that they showed up on most of the tetras. The guppies and 1 tetra never got it.)
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jldurfe
Aquarium Advice Regular
Ok, thanks for all the great advice! How often do i add the aquarium salt? Or do i just do it once? Does it matter that i use salt when i add or do water changes?
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jldurfe
Aquarium Advice Regular
I don't have any live plants because I have snails. Also no corys but was thinking about getting one before my ick outbreak. The spots are almost gone on my Molly and I still don't see any on my other fish. I just found some "lifeguard" tablets that I could use. It says it will clear ick and other diseases/parasites on the box. Seems like raising the temperature alone helped quite a bit. What causes ick?
Here is a wiki on ick:
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please don't medicate. It's not necessary in this case. Keep the heat up for 2 weeks, up your frequency of water changes and vacuum the substrate well. If you use any medication in your tank, you should remove all snails since many can't tolerate it.
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please don't medicate. It's not necessary in this case. Keep the heat up for 2 weeks, up your frequency of water changes and vacuum the substrate well. If you use any medication in your tank, you should remove all snails since many can't tolerate it.
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jldurfe
Aquarium Advice Regular
Ick is cleared. I still have another week with the temp up
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jldurfe
Aquarium Advice Regular
Thank you for all of your help! You have saved my fishies!!
