Why Me??? I did things right!!

[hpiguy]

This is an article that many cite as a good source when treating ich with heat and salt.

Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

 

[tgodwin90]

You should be fine. If you want you can add some metronidazole to speed up the process, its relatively non-toxic as long as there is no plecos, snails or any other scaleless species. You can usually find it in any any local fish store. Good luck.

 

[vaquero]

at 86 so it stays there to treat Ich unless I have been given bad advice please let me know

 

[tgodwin90]

85, 86... doesnt matter. Just don't go any warmer.

 

[vaquero]

Okay and I found this article to be most informative

Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

 

[Jesselav1233]

It took me way longer then 5 days to cure the ich on my fish I still say keep it there a week after you see the last sign of ich on your fish disappear

 

[tgodwin90]

It all depends what stage your fish are in. Given more than one fish is sick its been awhile. Its never taken me more than 5 days but I usually medicate them at first sign of it and put them in a ten gallon. Definitely won't hurt the fish to keep them longer. Yeah, definitely plenty of info on ich out there.

 

[vaquero]

So the albinos are ok when it comes to ich, they have mouth rot they are going back to LFS tonight. It won't go to other fish it is something that is indicative of Tiger barbs

 

[ejaramillo01]

I would recommend you to add an air stone to the tank (maybe you already have one there) to increase the oxygen in the water...
Higher temperatures means less oxygen available in the water column for the fish.

Good luck

 

[LyndaB]

5 days.

I respectfully disagree. The temp should be maintained for at least a week after you've seen the last spot on the fish and then reduced slowly. Dropping temp 5 days in won't really have served a purpose, in my opinion.

 

[tgodwin90]

I respectfully disagree. The temp should be maintained for at least a week after you've seen the last spot on the fish and then reduced slowly. Dropping temp 5 days in won't really have served a purpose, in my opinion.

''Quickly it attaches to a substrate and encysts, as the reproducing stage. This life-stage doesn't eat. Its metabolic clock is now ticking; it is spending its stored energy to divide and divide again within the short-lived cyst. The tomont's time-span remains temperature-dependent: at common aquarium temperatures it's a matter of hours to days. (In a chilly koi pond in early spring, the cyst may persist longer.) Ultimately hundreds of mobile tomites burst from the cyst, even as many as 2000. They quick sprout cilia and start actively swimming about in search of a host. The fully developed "swarmers" are now called theronts (Greek ther- denotes a critter).''

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist.
If you catch it in its free floating stage its extremely quick. I just cured a whole 75 gallon with malachite green and formalin- just about three days.

 

[vaquero]

Can ich symptoms (white spots) disappear in two days of heat & salt treatments??? I swear my one Bala had them as of yesterday and now today they are gone. Temp has been at 86 degrees (for two days) and this morning it was 84 but that's because I turned the heater down a bit before bed last night. I don't know how hot it will get so I turned it down so I didn't wake up to cooked fish. I did get rid of the two Albino tigers that had mouth rot, but NONE of the other fish show signs of ICH anymore. I only noticed spots two days ago on one bala shark. And I did notice the bottom of the tail fin looks like it was nipped off, possibly from the albino's aggressive ways. I am stumped on this one! Any ideas here would help out my already wigged out brain.

 

[hpiguy]

This is an article that many cite as a good source when treating ich with heat and salt.

Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

Okay and I found this article to be most informative

Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

Yup........

 

[hpiguy]

Can ich symptoms (white spots) disappear in two days of heat & salt treatments??? I swear my one Bala had them as of yesterday and now today they are gone. Temp has been at 86 degrees (for two days) and this morning it was 84 but that's because I turned the heater down a bit before bed last night. I don't know how hot it will get so I turned it down so I didn't wake up to cooked fish. I did get rid of the two Albino tigers that had mouth rot, but NONE of the other fish show signs of ICH anymore. I only noticed spots two days ago on one bala shark. And I did notice the bottom of the tail fin looks like it was nipped off, possibly from the albino's aggressive ways. I am stumped on this one! Any ideas here would help out my already wigged out brain.

They can lose the white spots pretty quick, and some will retain them for a long time, even with heat.

Don't think it's passed and stop heating the tank or drop the heat right away. It will come right back.

You said it was stabilized at 86 for two days, then you dropped the heat? Don't keep doing that. If the heater stabilized at 86 for two days, then it's not going to all of a sudden jump for no reason.

 

[hpiguy]

''Quickly it attaches to a substrate and encysts, as the reproducing stage. This life-stage doesn't eat. Its metabolic clock is now ticking; it is spending its stored energy to divide and divide again within the short-lived cyst. The tomont's time-span remains temperature-dependent: at common aquarium temperatures it's a matter of hours to days. (In a chilly koi pond in early spring, the cyst may persist longer.) Ultimately hundreds of mobile tomites burst from the cyst, even as many as 2000. They quick sprout cilia and start actively swimming about in search of a host. The fully developed "swarmers" are now called theronts (Greek ther- denotes a critter).''

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist.
If you catch it in its free floating stage its extremely quick. I just cured a whole 75 gallon with malachite green and formalin- just about three days.

You keep referencing times based on you using medication. That isn't what the person you replied to is talking about. That's probably why they are saying to heat for longer than five days.

This thread is referencing the heat and salt method, which is a longer process, but also is usually totally safe for most types of fish and all inverts in the tank.

Five days using heat and salt method can work, but it's recommended by most to keep the tank hot for at least ten days to ensure a total kill.

 

[hpiguy]

So the albinos are ok when it comes to ich, they have mouth rot they are going back to LFS tonight. It won't go to other fish it is something that is indicative of Tiger barbs

Please tell the LFS that you are also giving them fish back that have been in a tank you are treating for ich. They will want to know that.

 

[tgodwin90]

You keep referencing times based on you using medication. That isn't what the person you replied to is talking about. That's probably why they are saying to heat for longer than five days.

This thread is referencing the heat and salt method, which is a longer process, but also is usually totally safe for most types of fish and all inverts in the tank.

Five days using heat and salt method can work, but it's recommended by most to keep the tank hot for at least ten days to ensure a total kill.

I totally agree with your statements. My first reply was saying that heat and salt is fine but if you wanted to do it quicker meds are the way to go. Then I went on about the actual cycle of ich so the person would understand exactly what theyre dealing with and that hopefully next time he can catch it before it progresses.

And no salt and heat alone won't be that quick. Its probably a good idea for you to utilize a quarantine tank for any newly purchased fish. Monitor them for a few days. Anyways, this disease happens to a lot of aquarists... its not that you did anything wrong.

 

[vaquero]

Okay so I will keep the temp at 86 for the next ten days and monitor the fish closely. I did get rid of all of the albino tiger barbs from my tank. one) they were too aggressive and two) I Don't want fish that are susceptible to mouth rot.

 

[Jesselav1233]

I wouldn't be surprised if it takes longer then ten days even sometimes

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

It took me 16 days total.
6 until the spots were gone and additional 10 days just to be on the safe side and my temp at 85-86.
It took longer, but I didn't lose any fish.
I was petrified to use meds and everyone here guided me along for the heat/salt method.
Good luck!!!