Need some quick advice

[illuminum]

Rid-Ich + questions....

I am so bummed, out of no where my beautiful 30 gal tank has a sudden outbreak of ich. It's a planted tank and has three snails in it. Does anyone know if I have to remove my inverts or my plants before I treat for ich with ridich +?

From what I remember, you should remove any inverts fro the tank, but never knew anything about plants...

I'm slowly raising the temp of the tank to ~80-81º to naturally fight the ich and have done a 30% water change.

Can anyone gimme some help here?

 

[An t-iasg]

Have you seen the ich article on this site? It recommends raising the temperature slowly to 87 degrees, and leave it there for about 2 weeks after you see the last ich spot. I have read that some plecos and loaches do ok with salt, and some don't. The heat alone will be an effective cure for ich. Remember to raise the temp. slowly and watch for signs of stress. Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen, so lowering your water level just a bit so your filter return splashes the surface more than usual will help oxygenate the water. You should also do water changes every day to remove the ich parasite in the water -- as part of its life cycle, it is free-swimming in the water, but you won't actually see it. Water changes every day during treatment will remove the parasite in this free-swimming stage.

Here's the article: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

To answer your other question, I read my bottle of Rid Ich + and it said safe for tetras and loaches. It didn't say anything about inverts. I don't have inverts so I don't know. I do know that another common ich med has copper in it, and copper is definitely deadly to inverts. Rid Ich + does not contain copper. Meds like Rid Ich + can only kill the parasite when it's in that free-swimming stage; otherwise, the parasite is encased in a cyst that will keep the medicine from killing them. I would say that heat is the best way to go, while keeping an eye out for stress.

I have a few plants, but I've never treated for ich with them. I think they would do ok with the heat. They may not be happy for a little bit but they should recover. I don't know about plants and meds. You could try posting in the plant forum for that.

 

[jhunter]

Our 60 gallon had an ich outbreak this year. I was worried about our clown loaches so I did some research and came up with this plan. I used half the amount of rid ich as directed and slowly raised the temp up to about 85. I doubled the amount of oxygen in the tank and left it that way for two weeks. We didn't lose a single fish or plant. I'm not sure if we got lucky or not, but I'm afraid to use a lot of medicine with loaches and what not.

 

[Jchillin]

Speaking of ich...I've just recieved an outbreak. The advice I recieved was to raise temp to about 82 d and add some salt. I was given meds and was told that it could take a couple of days (also removing the charcoal from filter). Will removing the charcoal harm the tank?

 

[Menagerie]

Here's the article that talks about salt and heat:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

I have used this method with no problems. The tank temp was kept at 86F for 4 weeks to ensure that the fish were free from ich. One thing to keep in mind is the higher the water temp, the less dissolved oxygen. Either add an airstone, or drop the water level a bit to increase surface agitation.

Will removing the charcoal harm the tank?

No, you can run a tank without it.
BTW~
[center:5b6305651e] Welcome to AA, Jchillin [/center:5b6305651e]

 

[Jchillin]

Thanks for advice. I do have an undergravel airstone (guess my wife was right when she got it!)

 

[Jchillin]

...bad news...lost three cats and two mollies since last post. Trying to keep the faith...will keep updates.

 

[illuminum]

Well, I haven't lost any fish yet, THANK GOD. Some of my fish are covered in ich though . I'm still slowly raising the temp of my tank, lowered the water leverl to increase agitation, and added an air stone.

I WAS adding some rid-ich but the fish seemed to really stress out when I put it in. They were swimming with the flow of the return line as if they were in a panic. I stopped with that after two doses.

I'm worried to use salk b/c I have no experience in dosing salt, know the tolerance of all my livestock of salt, nor do I have anything to measure the salinity. I think I am confident I'll take care of this with water changes, aeration, and higher temps...

 

[i3k]

I used ridich+ before and it killed my blue cobalt crayfish after a few doses so becareful!!! I would raise the temp. up to 86 degrees slowly and add some salt to the tank. You can add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons and your fish should be fine. Salt will help reduce stress from higher temperatures in the tank and the ich it's self. It will also help disolve more oxygen in the tank.

 

[Menagerie]

Jchillin~what are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temp)?

 

[Jchillin]

I checked them all and they are fine (I can reduce a little more ammonia though). The temp is currently at 84d and I should hit 86 by tomorrow.

 

[Jchillin]

The elements were tested and are fine. The temp is currently at 82 and climbing
I do have one question...my tetras seem to be enjoying the ride! Especially the black ones (one of which is almost completely covered). We love him because he has the most pleasant personality (he seems to know when we are watching and when it's feeding time. What are the chances that the tetras will survive this?

 

[Menagerie]

I checked them all and they are fine (I can reduce a little more ammonia though).

In a cycled tank ammonia and nitrite should be undectable. You need to do a PWC to get the levels down. If the fish are already stressed by their environment, they will be prone to more diseases.

What are the chances that the tetras will survive this?

Get your water parameters in check and he should be fine.

 

[Jchillin]

Thanks menagerie...you've been a big help!

 

[Jchillin]

I've just thought of something. I began my treatment on Thursday (meds, temp upgrade, salt addition). If I do a pwc now, won't that do away with all that has been done already (lowered temps, reduced salt, etc)???? 8O

 

[Menagerie]

If I do a pwc now, won't that do away with all that has been done already (lowered temps, reduced salt, etc)????

Temp match the water that you are adding--you do have hot and cold water, right?
Add back the amount of salt that you took out. For instance, if you put in 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon (I forget the tank size) in a 10 gal tank, you do a 25% PWC, add back 2 1/2 TBLSP salt. I would stop using the meds--some fish cannot handle meds on top of everything else.

 

[Jchillin]

Great advice...i have a 30 gal extra tall and yes...it is 1 tbsp per gal.

 

[i3k]

Another thing to keep in mind when you do partial water changes...make sure you clean out that gravel real good get rid of all the waste and you will also clean out a lot of the ich.

 

[illuminum]

Hey, what salts should I be using to dose my tank?

 

[Jchillin]

Update on ich status - Day #5. I quarantined my black tetra on Sunday and the rest of the fish have totally cleared up. The tank is a lot clearer although I still see some parasites in their swimming stage inside tank (tank parameters: 86d, salt added and pwc...all elements normal). I stopped meds on Sunday also. I've seen where some continued this for several weeks. How long can my fish take this environment?