Ick Treatment - using ONLY salt - can it work by itself?

[Bubble_B0y]

there are many ick treatments available including salt, raising temp etc...

I was wondering, are these ick treatments supposed to be used in combination with each other (i.e. you must use salt AND raising the temp)

or can you just use salt alone to cure ick??

 

[Devilishturtles]

You can just use salt, and it's the way to go if you are treating goldfish. Using both is sort of like giving the parasite a double dose of kill.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

thank-you!

 

[hc8719]

yes heat and salt are to be used together, also some people are keeping infested aquarium darken as well...

most goldfish although coldwater, will tolerate heated waters durring an infestation

 

[IceH2O]

The salt is usually the deadly blow, as it kills the ich in the swimming stage.

Heat is primarily used to speed up the cycle of the ich, though I have heard that at temps near 90 it kills them or makes them infertile.

I'm not sure I'd trust raising my temp that high and depending on the tank size you may have cooler spots the ich could reproduce in. But thats where the salt comes in.

I usually raise the temp to 85 and use 2 tsps salt per gallon.

 

[Zagz]

I have used the heat only method with great success. When you have sensitive fish or inverts salt is not practical in the treatment as the salt harms them more. My heat method is 87F for 2 weeks after the last ich spot has gone and increased aeration. The fish were fine after the treatment.

Salt and heat is a great combination for FW tropical tanks with no sensitive fish or inverts.

Salt only is what I've used on my goldfish tank.