# what do i do in an ich outbreak?



## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

*itching and scratching help*

my blood parrot sometimes scratches himself on the gravel.

he is the only one doing this as far as im aware of. sometimes he gets these spasms. he starts to zig zag in place and then sometimes darts around the tank even when there is no chlorine present. my other fish doesn't get spasms. what should i do?


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

i have 4 SMALL tiger barbs, 1 turquoise severum, 1 blood parrot and one small pleco. what do i do if an ich outbreak occcurs. i also have a heater from, but it is auto set to 78 degrees. do i need to get another heater to raise the temp.? i have aquarium salt from API. do i give the same dosage to all my fish? do i also give the same dosage of the medication to all my fish?


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## dallops_of_polyps (Feb 19, 2008)

probably just has some parsite or microscopic thing on him.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

will it go away?


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

The temperature increase hastens the life cycle of the ich. Basically it makes them go though the cycles of their life faster in warmer temps. This allows the salt to kill the more vulnerable stages of ich and then it does off because it can no longer reach adult and attack your fish. If you want to do both then you will need to get another heater to increase the temperature to 84-86F.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

do i need to use medication? if so will i use the same dosage for all my fish? will i need to use the same dosage for salt too?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Most meds dose per gallon or gallons (ex: 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons or something like that) as it's kind of impossible to just treat one fish in your tank, thus the reason why most people keep a small 10 gallon QT or hospital tank running since it's easier to treat just the sick fish and you use less of your meds. Obviously if pretty much all your fish have it it's just better to treat the whole tank.


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

Ick is nasty stuff and not only does it attach to the fish but it can be free swimming for a short period of time, like a day. I would treat the whole tank if 2 out of 5 have noticeable signs. I've seen Ick get out of hand and it's not fun or pretty. I'm sure others will tell you to only treat the sick fish but I've tried that before and it never seems to work. Good luck


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

I take back my other comment about treating the tank. Definatly use the heat/salt method first. Bring the tank up to about 82


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Flashing, when a fish rubs himself on the gravel, decorations or plants, is normal. Many scientists and master fishkeepers cannot answer the question as to why fish display this behavior.

Ich is a parasite. Part of its life cycle is to attach itself to a fish. I do believe that it is always present in a tank. It does have very specific needs. Temperature is one. By maintaining your tank at the upper temperature levels required by your fish, you prevent the ich from having the needed element to hatch and attach to your fish. I have found this to be very effective.Keeping your fish healthy is also key.

Do not use your medication arbitrarily. Some fish cannot tolerate the medication full strength(example would be some tetras). Some tankmates must be removed when dosing(some inverts). Plants may also suffer when using the medicine. Most importantly, follow the directions precisely.

The bald spot on your severum sounds like missing scales. This could be from attacks by the blood parrot, a very aggessive fish. BP's are not a great community fish.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

my severum has bald AND white spots on its fin and body that look like ich


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

I said in another post today, I think it was one of yours?, to try aquarium salt and raise the temp first before using meds. This normally works.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

only one of my fish,my severum, has the white ich spots. unfortunately, i don't haave a quarintine tank.  i do have have a tink half gallon tank much im guessing that won't be much help.

that is why i asked you guys if i can use salt for fish who don't need it


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

kevinoh33 said:


> that is why i asked you guys if i can use salt for fish who don't need it


All your fish will be fine with salt. Do treatment for two weeks.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

can i use teh salt treatment without raising the temp.? my heater is just pre set to 78 degrees.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

kevinoh33 said:


> can i use teh salt treatment without raising the temp.? my heater is just pre set to 78 degrees.


Yes, you can.


> unfortunately, i don't haave a quarintine tank.


As for this, you do not need a quarantine tank when treating ich. The main tank itself must be treated. Moving a fish is rather pointless unless this is a heavily planted tank which you may or may not be willing to sacrifice for the sake of eradicating the ich.


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

The heat is what speeds up the life span of ick. The salt will sooth the fish and also help thier immune systems but the heat will be required to kill the free swimming ick. I'm sure Lupin can give you a better explination but getting the temp up in the tank would be my first step.


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## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

what if my fish are scaless like knife fishes?


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

I;ve used salt in my tanks with plecos and cories and been ok. They don't like it long term but for 2 weeks you should be ok. Even when I didn't know any better, I had a tank of livebearers who like salt but a pleco in there also, so I used salt all the time. The pleco never had any problems...he might not have been happy with me but that pleco lived through some of the most horrible beginner mistakes you can imagine. I miss my Plucky!!!


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