# Treating for ick



## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

ok so my pictus catfish has come down with what i belive to be the early stages of ick. he has little pimple type spots all over his body and isnt swimming around like usuall but he is still eating. i assure you he was not like this this morning when i fed them. 

ok so my question is im going to treat the entire tank for ick just to make sure i get it all killed and i know about removing the carbon and such. but i know some fish have to be carefull with when you treat them. does a pictus catfish or common pleco or any african cichlids fall into this catagory?

Thanks,
Mitch


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## Fishin Pole (Feb 17, 2009)

with the pictus and the common pleco, i would only use the ick meds at half dose...........The catfish is gonna be supersensitive to the meds...........Did you try raising the tank temp slowly?........Pictus dont like a High Ph water, anything above 7.5 could be causing him stress, along with the fact he should have a couple more of his kind to swim with........i have read accounts were these fish are super active and territorial aggressive if kept as a solo species in a tank, to the point of stressing other fish........


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

but do you think i need to treat the entire tank or just him? nobody else is showing sighns of ick or the starts of it.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

you could trat te entire tank with heat and no meds that way you wont have to worrie about stressing them out... check out this thread http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/member-submitted-articles/ich-treatment-west-texas-style-6594/ this is great and i have used it with great resaults


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## Fishin Pole (Feb 17, 2009)

Yeah, if he is the only one showing signs, you could pull him and put him a hospital tank and treat him seperately.......The West texas salt thing has been used by alot of people, but i disagree with raising the temp all the way up to 85F.........I personally dont take my tanks past 82F.........The use of salt for treating Ich can be controversial.............i have and have not used it with varied results, havent had an Ich problem in a few years.....It gets to a point when your treating a fish, that you decide, if you have to go to a full med regime or try to cure it other ways........i think sometimes, segration in a small tank, with ALOT of water changes can cure alot of diseases and paraistes, and fungal issues, better than meds........


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Just my personal experience with Ich and pictus: I had an ich outbreak and began treating my tank West Texas Style. After nearly two weeks I was still seeing ich spots and my pictus started displaying "shortened and curled" barbels, not to mention that my plants were taking it in the shorts due to the hi temp and salt. I broke down and treated w/ meds (HALF STRENGTH) and then all became well. I used Kordon's Rid-Ich. Good luck with whatever method you decided upon!


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

looks like im going to be moving him to a hospital tank tonight, i have a powerhead with a sponge that is mature biologically and a spare heater. ill throw him in the bare bones tank and treat it, thanks for the help everyone ill keep you all posted.

Mitch


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Apologies for hijacking your threat Mitch, but seems pointless to open a 2nd one for the same issue :-(

So I seen white spotted Cardinals when I got home, immediately dialed up Temp and did a good size w/c. Dialed up Temp some more after dinner and went to town to get the ONLY product I found called 'QuIck Cure" does acc to the package (well actually a little less rather then killing my Cardinals) and in the AM I will dial up heat more.
Anyone any suggestions what else I can do to safe the 4 left (1 passed away over dinner from the 5)???
What are chances with ick really, I mean will they just all die on me now (sorry but I'm totally NEW to having sick fish at home, never had this problem before)?


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Make sure you add an airstone to aerate the water. The higher heat coupled with the Quick Cure tends to deplete the oxygen content in the water.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Air stone is good idea . Don't believe he is using product Quick Cure. Chose to use product Nox Ich which is salt and malachite green. Salt in the product may have had negative effect on pictus catfish and led to death of already stresssed fish. Always wise to research ingredients of meds before using. Also why quarantine tank is a must for new fish unless you don't mind spending money on treating sick fish on regular basis with no gaurantee of how fish will react to medications.
We have all been guilty of not quarantining new fish and many of us,,have suffered the repercussions of doing so.
In the last ten years,,The money I have spent on medications would not buy a happy meal, but it was a lesson well learned.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Never had issues using table salt with any kind of fish in my experience so far including loaches and plecos. A 0.1% solution which is equivalent to a teaspoon per gallon will be fine. If your catfishes tolerate it a bit, you may add another 0.1% solution after 12 hours. I dissolve salt thoroughly first before adding. Most catfishes can tolerate only to as much as 0.2% though.


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Hey Mitch, how are all your fish doing now a few days later?


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

ended up losing the catfish, he actually died while i was watching them..... anyways the acei is doing fine and is ich free atleast on the surface gunna wait about a month before she gets reintroduced though, im still dosing the hospital tank though and no sighns of it in the large tank. everyone quit flashing and is perfectly fine and eating.


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Dang man! I was hoping at least one of us had good luck! I blamed myself for it not knowing nothing about sickness and using med's the first time; but you are more experienced and I was REALLY hoping for the best...

I have my 55g empty now that all are passed too, running carbon, large w/c the whole deal and I'm honestly scared to put new fish in any time I'm worried the bacteria will still live somewhere somehow and attach new fish :-(


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