Questions about Ich

[Betta17]

My sister really liked a female betta fish so I allowed her to get it and we put it in my ten gallon with 4 zebra danios but then we realized she had ich about 2 days later so we removed her and my zebra danios and put them in separate containers. My zebra danios seem totally fine so far but the betta seems to be not doing to good we think she may of had it when we got her but didn't notice till later and the stress of being with the danios may have made it stronger. I am mainly wondering how long before my 10 gallon is rid of ich I cleaned it out fully and am just letting it sit with no fish. I just don't want to put fish in and have them be infected with ich too. Also should I be careful with using my net and siphon with other fish I own could there be ich on those as well. Also is it a good idea to buy treatment for her or to just return her because we have only had her for a few days it's just my sister likes her so much and I wouldn't want the pet store to kill her if she is returned. I am just very confused because I have been researching and there are so many views about ich and I wanted help focused on my issue I have. Also I am not to happy with ich being in my 10 gallon since I have never had to deal with ich before

 

[Cecibella123]

Since your tank is empty of fish at the moment anyway, you could raise the temp to about 90 F for a few days, which should kill off any ich remaining in the tank. As for your net and siphon, rinse them thoroughly with hot water and they should be fine. IMO, return the betta, or exchange her for another. Otherwise, you can get several ich meds, any of which should be able to take care of her ich, provided it hasn't progressed too far.

 

[Betta17]

We have decided to return her because she didn't seem to be doing good. I would do the heat treatment but my heater is preset at 80 degrees so I can't change that. So do you know how long it would take to kill it at that temperature instead? Also thanks for the help

 

[lksdrinker]

Without a host the ich should die off on its own. I believe I've read the standard lifecycle if ich is about 7 days at 76-78 degrees. That should increase if the temp is higher and decrease if lower. I believe the lifecycle can take 2 months or more at something like 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Betta17]

So if I leave my tank for a week at 80 degrees with no fish the ick should die and it should be safe to put the fish back in