# Ick Contagious??



## InfoJunkie (Feb 9, 2013)

HELP!! I noticed this morning my goldfish has white spots on it's fins and isn't very active. I have 4 African Dwarf Frogs in there with it. Is the Ick contagious??? I'm really new to housing fish and I don't know why it got sick or what steps I take to treating! (besides the Ick meds) What do I do next?


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## encountr (Jan 21, 2013)

Raised temps and aquarium salt should do it BUT be sure your frog and fish can handle the temps as not all will go through it.
Also, salt can be bad for some fish (frog too i guess)

Read your fish and frog profile and take according mesures.

If temp and salt is not a solution, then med is the way to go.

Ick or ich is not a disease in any way so it is not contagious by mean..
Its a little creature that live on your fish or in them and feed on them.
They will multiply and then, other fish might or might not get it....
Treatment should lastfor at least 10days depending on temp so you can get rid of it when it is vulnerable.... 
It is relatively easy to get rid of.

Read on it in the disease forum...

Good luck.


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## InfoJunkie (Feb 9, 2013)

I have the water temp at 75 degrees, I don't have aquarium salt. :/ Thank you for the info!


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## Chard56 (Jan 22, 2011)

Ich is highly contagious. The white spots on the fish are the cysts that hold the eggs. Raising the temperature to 84 degrees makes the cysts open and the larvae then infest the gravel or tank bottom and reinfest the host fish continuing their life cycle. The medication can only kill the larvae after they hatch and fall off the fish. Treating the water without raising the temperature or raising the temperature without treating the water will have no affect.


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## InfoJunkie (Feb 9, 2013)

How does Ick infest a tank? Is it something that just develops? Or did i introduce it? I put a pleco in there the other day and that little guy died 24 hours after I bought it, I brought it back to petsmart and had them test my water. ( all levels normal) Now my goldfish has Ick. 

And i'm still not sure if my ADF have it/ or can get it. Is it too late to separate the goldfish?


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## Chard56 (Jan 22, 2011)

Ich is caused by introducing new fish that have it or by not acclimating them to different temperature waters. A sudden cold spell can bring the temperature down in your tank overnight or a cold draft on the aquarium can make the fish ill and bring down their immune systems leaving them suseptible to diseases. Separating the goldfish and treating it separately will save the other fish from having to go through the treatment but not if it's already in the gravel. Ich is a parasite not a bacteria, fungus or viral infection. It can be cured by raising the temp and addind aquarium salt but not all fish can tolerate the salt. I use an ich cure at half strength and put 8 pennies per gallon. Pennies dated before 1983 are best used as any penny minted after that date is mainly zinc. That's my method and what works best for me. There are many articles on the subject but the main thing is raising the temperature and treating for ten days.


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## InfoJunkie (Feb 9, 2013)

Thanks! I'm going to treat the whole tank, just to be safe. I have a heater in the tank and it turns on if the water temp goes below 75 degrees. I had researched what it is but you gave me the most helpful insight. I just wanted to know how I could prevent it from happening again... I think it was the Pleco from the other day. I didn't know it died until i got home from work around 8pm the next day and my husband said it was "like that" for a while. One more question... will the pennies have more bacteria and cause more harm than good? I know you said it worked for you but would you have gotten the same results with just the meds and raising the temp?


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## Chard56 (Jan 22, 2011)

InfoJunkie said:


> Thanks! I'm going to treat the whole tank, just to be safe. I have a heater in the tank and it turns on if the water temp goes below 75 degrees. I had researched what it is but you gave me the most helpful insight. I just wanted to know how I could prevent it from happening again... I think it was the Pleco from the other day. I didn't know it died until i got home from work around 8pm the next day and my husband said it was "like that" for a while. One more question... will the pennies have more bacteria and cause more harm than good? I know you said it worked for you but would you have gotten the same results with just the meds and raising the temp?


 Yes, but in the past I was treating velvet disease in my Betta fry tanks and didn't want to use the medication full strength. Even with the adult fish I use half strength and add the pennies.You may want to find out about the other inhabitants in your tank. Some medications state in the directions to use at half strength for scaless fish. I don't know what effect it would have on the frogs.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

pretty sure ive read somewhere that scaless fish and plants can be harmed by meds (ick meds ) make sure to read the bottle carefully


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