# ick?



## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

hello i have a small 5 gallon freshwater tank.In it i HAD one goldfish(had him from the start)one betta(had him from the start)and a snail.A week ago i won a goldfish ar the chatham fair(prolly a very cheep feederfish)and i introduced him into my peacefull tank.Thats when the fish masacare began!I observed dirt(the fish i won)for the first few days just to see if he was healthy and he looked great!He was smimming eating and looking healthy i properly aclamated him and i thought it was the begining of a great new life for dirt.But i woke up one day and feed them and at first i dident notice anything out of the ordenary except it looked like something took a chunk out of dirt!I figured it was just my betta being a jurk and i reely did not care so i took dirt out of the tank and that was the end of that.(so i thought)I considered the posobility of a peracite of some kind or a illness(ick)but i decided it happened to quickly .After dirt died i closely monitored my fish and they looked great.two days after tht i woke up one day only to find my betta riped to shreads!I found him floating upside down a chunk was missing from his head and all his fins were ripped off I started brainstorming what could have caused such a thing.My fillter?-no he couldent fitt in it and eaven if he could i prolly would have found him in there not the main tank.Kitty?Kitty has no front claws and the opening in the back of the tank is not big enuff for here to stick here head in+she would have eat the fish not just leave it in the tank.so what could have done it?Chunk(my goldfish)he is very fat maybe he got up for a midnight snack he has been acting weird sence dirt was introduced? Sneily?(my snail)he is a herbavore.So what did this to my fish?I know it is my fault i should have taken the necacary steps after dirt had died.(cleaning everything in the tank)My freind was there when it happened and he told his mom who once kept fish and she said it was ick. what do you guys think?


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## SimplySplendid (Aug 1, 2006)

Ick starts with tiny while bumps all over the fish's body, like this:








Did your betta have that? If not it might be fin/tail rot.
What are your water stats?


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

ok it was not ick and i do not have a test kit because my tank is so simple it does not even have heater.I will get my water parameters tested for free at petsmart.
It happened over night i dont think my water would have anything to do with it


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

i just checked chunk(the goldfish)and i did notice some very small white spots on his finns.If i did not check him up close i prolly would not have noticed the spots. does this sound like ick?


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

i noticed two days ago that my angel has a tiny white spot on her left fin (behind her gills) and my mother seemed to think it was ick...i was already dosing my tank with melafix since i found the spot and the lfs said that that would work...what do ya'll think?

bri


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Unfortunately, Melafix doesn't treat ich. It's just a tonic which treats only wounds and tattered fins so it's not effective against diseases especially finrot but can be combined with meds although meds in general shouldn't be mixed. Again, Melafix is just a tonic, not a med so it's safe to combine it with meds.

Ich can kill the fish if the fish is stressed as their immune system is weakened so it's best not to do anything that will stressed the fish.

What you should do is get a heater and adjust your tank temp to 30. This will speed up the lifecycle of ich. Ich is most vulnerable to meds when in free-swimming stage. Remove the carbon when doing the treatment.

Take note to ask advice on meds first as some meds can destroy your beneficial bacteria causing you to start over again.

When ich is detected in your main tank, treat the whole tank system. Quarantining an afflicted fish is useless now that the ich parasites have harbored in your tank already.


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

why does it say anti-bacterial on it then? it says it treats all bacteria stuff, including fin-rot, popeye, etc...?

i dont know what to buy...can you give me some suggestions?

what is 30 C translated to F? my tank temp is already 80-82 F...

i already have removed the carbon...and i was treating the whole tank anyways...

bri


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Melafix is generally weak against serious diseases hence the recommendation to combine it with meds to especially aid the meds in fighting diseases.
86 Farenheit=30 in Celsius
As ich cannot tolerate higher temps, 32 is often used for that but make sure your fish will tolerate that. Goldfish however may not tolerate it.

There's a list of medicines posted in this section.


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## SKAustin (Aug 1, 2006)

Ich, in some cases, especially when caught early, can be cured buy raising the tank temperature to 84F and dosing the tank with aquarium salts. There has been some arguement that this is a falsehood, however I have used this method without fail. Ultimately, the higher temperature speeds the cycle of the freefloating stages of the disease. The salt reduces the stress of the fishes making them less succeptable to the disease. As the spots release the free floating offspring, they die off. the freefloaters now have less time to find a host, and less suitable fish available to be hosed on. Chemical medications for treating ich should be avioded if possible and investigation into its impact on scaleless fish such as Clown Loaches is a must in the event a chemical must be used. Hope that helped.


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

how much salt per gallon?

bri


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## SimplySplendid (Aug 1, 2006)

girlofgod said:


> how much salt per gallon?


In general use, 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
As a treatment or remedy, raise the water temperature to about 80 degrees F (26 degrees C) and add the same amount of salt.


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

ive heard not to add salt except for emergencies or as treatment...so how much would i add for a treatment?

bri


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

girlofgod said:


> ive heard not to add salt except for emergencies or as treatment...so how much would i add for a treatment?
> 
> bri


Because of the myth of salt containing iodine which can kill the fish when in fact, it's not. Iodine prevents goiter which can kill a fish.
With 10 gallons, you're settled to 2 tablespoons. Salt can be removed from the tank by diluting it via water changes.
Salt is used to relieve the fish from nitrite poisoning and ich.


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

i was told never to use table salt...i bought un-iodized salt


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

ya i dont like salt i think theres no reason for that stuff. it allways caused me problems


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

(Message deleted by poster)


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

girlofgod said:


> i was told never to use table salt...i bought un-iodized salt


Basically any salt will do. Iodine will help prevent goiter.
As I said, don't believe in myths or hearsays.
I have tried using iodized salt before and none of the fish suffered any ill effects. That proves the myth is wrong. A lot of myths keep revolving around the hobby and I hate hearing that over and over again.

Joeshmoe, may I ask if you have used salt before? What problems did you encounter?

Again, don't knock it 'til you try it.


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

can snails get ick?


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

i used salt when my fish had fin rot but, when i did the next day my fish wite cristailish thin that stuck there to there body


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

(Message deleted by poster)


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

is it "ICK" or "ICH"? 

also...please refer to my new topic"not ick?.."...

thanks

bri


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

well girlofgod i belive crazy eddie just had a typo.It is ick and is pronounced ick


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

i've actually seen it referred to as "ICH" at about half the places on the internet...=P

bri


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Basically the same names.
White spot/ich/ick


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

(Message deleted by poster)


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