# how to treat ich



## aklick (Aug 26, 2012)

I think a couple of my fish have ich. I have about 5 black skirt tetras (2 have a severe case that popped up all of a sudden (literally with in the past day) and I have 6 neon tetras. I also have 3 baby longfin bristlenose plecos. 

I have a planted tank so I'd prefer to do some sort of treatment that would not be detrimental to my plants.


it was suggested that I turn up the heat to 86 and use salt (unsure as to what kind) but since I have live plants that I should move my fish to a sick tank and turn up the heat and add salt. (and still turn up the heat in my 55 gallon). I was advised to keep the fish in the sick tank for at least 3 weeks. 

If I do set up a sick tank I'm not sure what size it should be. Also I assume I use at least 50% of my current tank water (as to not stress the fish).


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## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

aklick said:


> I think a couple of my fish have ich. I have about 5 black skirt tetras (2 have a severe case that popped up all of a sudden (literally with in the past day) and I have 6 neon tetras. I also have 3 baby longfin bristlenose plecos.
> 
> I have a planted tank so I'd prefer to do some sort of treatment that would not be detrimental to my plants.
> 
> ...


ive been treating ich in a planted tank with heat and salt. aquarium salt and i dont add alot 2 table spoons for 15 gallons. it is working great. ive seen a little dying off of my dwar water lettuce but i dont mind i have another tank over flowing with it. my jungle val and crypts are fine. dont use ich gaurd it killed all my tetras. i also heard that kordons ich attack works great havent tried it


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## aklick (Aug 26, 2012)

rexpepper651 said:


> ive been treating ich in a planted tank with heat and salt. aquarium salt and i dont add alot 2 table spoons for 15 gallons. it is working great. ive seen a little dying off of my dwar water lettuce but i dont mind i have another tank over flowing with it. my jungle val and crypts are fine. dont use ich gaurd it killed all my tetras. i also heard that kordons ich attack works great havent tried it




Thanks! I got Ich attack last night and upped the temp in the tank to 86. I wonder if I could add aquarium salt too just to be safe? I read online Ich attack works great but not if the ich is as advances as mine appears to be. 

i'd prefer to avoid anything with copper but I'll resort to it if I have to.


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## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

Daily water changes too of about 15-25% keep up treatment for one week after signs of ich are gone.


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## candymancan (Aug 16, 2013)

Temps and get some API general Cure.. That stuff is really good for all kinds of parasites


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## aklick (Aug 26, 2012)

Well I lost 4 fish so far. 2 of which were my L144's. I'm beyond frustrated. I was just recovering from an algae bloom that took out all my plants. Luckily my plants are doing great but I'd much rather my plants die then my fish. Especially my L144's. 

I am getting a 20G and setting it up as a spare so that is where all new fish will go for a month before they get transferred to my main tank (same with any new plants) thus avoiding this from ever happening again (hopefully)

so the high temp and ick attack is clearly not working. My fish are getting worse. My local petco doesn't have many options at all. I could order this off amazon and have it delivered by tomorrow but who knows how many fish I'll lose with in the next 24-48 hours.

I could also have some API General cure sent to me by Amazon by tomorrow too.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Sorry to hear  

You need to step up your aeration in the tank while you have the heat up that high. Did you add an airstone? If not, I would suggest that.

I've only had an ich outbreak twice in 8 years and Kordon's Rid Ich was what worked for me the first time. The second time I only used the heat method with the airstone and that worked well too. But I didn't have a case as severe as yours is.

And yes, there's a lot to be said about quarantine tanks. I learned my lesson right out of the gate. Good luck and hope you are able to save the rest of your fish.


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## aklick (Aug 26, 2012)

I have a sponge filter but that's it. The heat is only turned up to 81. I didn't feel comfortable turning it up to 86. I only did that for 24 hours. I have at least 3 fish that seem to be fighting it off really well. Unfortunately the smaller neon tetras have not done so well. I will definitely be setting up a QT tank and I'll be waiting a few months before I add any new fish to think tank (to ensure the ich is gone). 

I've had tanks for 15 years but mostly I had an Oscar. Other then that fancy guppies but I rarely ever added new fish because they just kept having babies. (that was a planted tank too) That tank took little to no effort. Strange how easy that tank was to take care of. 



Romad said:


> Sorry to hear
> 
> You need to step up your aeration in the tank while you have the heat up that high. Did you add an airstone? If not, I would suggest that.
> 
> ...


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

The key with the heat is to raise it slowly and add the airstone. Water holds less O2 at higher temperatures so you need to provide really good surface agitation. 

You can use heat and salt together but I would caution against heat and meds. together. I'm glad to hear that a few of your fish seem to be a bit better.


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## aklick (Aug 26, 2012)

Romad said:


> The key with the heat is to raise it slowly and add the airstone. Water holds less O2 at higher temperatures so you need to provide really good surface agitation.
> 
> You can use heat and salt together but I would caution against heat and meds. together. I'm glad to hear that a few of your fish seem to be a bit better.



Do you think 80 degrees is to high when using meds? I should have moved them over to a QT tank right away but I have to go out and buy one and get it set up. Luckily my air pump has a spot for two tubes so i can use my sponge filter and add an air stone. I assume any ole air stone will do? I'm sure I have one laying around here some where from fish tanks in the past.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Not sure about 80 :dunno: but I probably wouldn't use them at the recommended temperature for ich (around 85f or above). As for moving them over to a QT tank, you want to treat the whole tank that they're in.

Here's a great article on understanding and treating ich that was shared with me when I first joined the forum many moons ago.

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist


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## angelcraze (Aug 31, 2013)

Do you have a tank to set up quickly and add all your remaining fish? If so, keeping the main planted tank fish-free for a month (some say 2 weeks is good) will ensure that it is safe. You could treat the fish with salt and heat in the newly set up tank. You would have to take water and filter materials from the main tank. Heat up to 85F, increase aeration by disrupting the water surface by filter output, or add an airstone. The first option is actually best.

*Instructions for using salt treatment:*
Salt. Sodium Chloride. Add salt slowly, over several days. 1 teaspoon (5 ml) per 10 gallons is a moderate dose, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) per 5 gallons is a stronger dose. Add the day's worth of salt to a cup of tank water and pour it into the tank slowly, over several hours. Next day, do the same. 3rd day, the same. At this point you will have 1 tablespoon (15ml) per 5 gallons (strong dose) or 1 tablespoon (15ml) per 10 gallons (milder dose) in the tank. Whenever you do water changes add the proper dose of salt to the new water so the level stays the same for the full course of treatment. 
Salt can be the iodide- and anti-caking-free forms such as Kosher, pickling, water softener, or aquarium salt if you have any worries about iodide or anti-caking ingredients (read the labels to be sure). I have used table salt (with anti-caking ingredients and iodide) for short term use with no problem. Do not use Epsom salt, or the salt and mineral blend that replicates ocean water. This level of salt is bad for plants. 

That is of course only if you have a spare tank without plants. A cycled sponge filter would be great with some hiding spots for the fish, but there is not time to season that sponge with enough beneficial bacteria.

Hope all goes well, sorry you lost some


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