treating ICK with salt

[gabbyguppy]

I have just noticed that my favorite Platy has 2 little spots of ick on her tail.

I usually keep a small amount of salt in my tank, about a tablespoon per ten gallons. I have a 30 gallon tank.

I plan to raise the temp to 80 and try treating with salt. How much salt should I add? I've read anywhere from 1 tablespoon per gallon to 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons.

How often should I treat the tank when using salt?

Also, I have a clown pleco in the tank and 5 Rasboras. Will increasing the salt hurt them?

Karen

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Your pleco will not like the salt much. You can increase your concentration to 1tbsp/5gal without too much problem. Also you can put your temp up to 84 as well. One thing to note though, is that you should drop an airstone in there at this point. Both salt and high temps will lower the oxygen concentration in your water. As for frequency, you only add salt during water changes and you only add back enough to replace what you removed. If you have a concentration of 1tbsp/5gal and you remove 5gal then you would put back 1tbsp during your water change.

[Tooch]

Your pleco will not like the salt much. You can increase your concentration to 1tbsp/5gal without too much problem. Also you can put your temp up to 84 as well. One thing to note though, is that you should drop an airstone in there at this point. Both salt and high temps will lower the oxygen concentration in your water. As for frequency, you only add salt during water changes and you only add back enough to replace what you removed. If you have a concentration of 1tbsp/5gal and you remove 5gal then you would put back 1tbsp during your water change.


This sounds spot on to me. Just keep an eye on your pleco. When your ready to lower your concentration, while doing your water changes, you can simply do a 50% water change, and not add any salt. This will put you back to your 1tbs/10gal, which is actually where I keep my tank as well.

[gabbyguppy]

Your pleco will not like the salt much. You can increase your concentration to 1tbsp/5gal without too much problem. Also you can put your temp up to 84 as well. One thing to note though, is that you should drop an airstone in there at this point. Both salt and high temps will lower the oxygen concentration in your water. As for frequency, you only add salt during water changes and you only add back enough to replace what you removed. If you have a concentration of 1tbsp/5gal and you remove 5gal then you would put back 1tbsp during your water change.

Thanks!

One more question......should I do daily water changes when treating for ick?
Or do I just stick to my weekly water changes?

Karen

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

You can stick to your weekly routine, no need for daily.

[gabbyguppy]

You can stick to your weekly routine, no need for daily.

You've been a big help! My little Platy thanks you!

Attaching a pic of her that I took yesterday......note, not a spot anywhere.

It popped out in a matter of hours.

P.S. I do have a large bubbler in the tank.

Karen

[Tooch]

Also, be sure to treat for the ich for at least a week after you've seen the last sign of it, to avoid a reoccurance

[gabbyguppy]

Also, be sure to treat for the ich for at least a week after you've seen the last sign of it, to avoid a reoccurance

So, in other words....since I am just using salt and higher temps, I should make sure I keep a higher salt concentration and elevated temp for at least a week after the last ick drops?

Then I can do a water change which will dilute the salt.

Karen

[Tooch]

Right. the stuff you see on the fish is just like ich "eggs". At that point, they aren't really dangerous. It's when the eggs fall off and hatch in the water that there's problems. Even just a little bit of ich remaining in the tank can multiply in no time, so you want to treat for about a week after to ensure all the ich you can't see is dead.

Ich is almost always in the water from what I hear, but can only hurt the fish if they get stressed and their slime coat is weakened.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Exactly. Ich is not treatable in the cyst form, which is what you see on the fish. When the Ich drops off the fish it goes through a free swimming stage. This is when the salt works to kill it off. The third stage of development is a cocoon stage which is in the substrate, that also goes through a free swimming stage to get to the fish. The continuation of treatment for a week is to ensure that all the parasites, both the ones on the fish and the new ones in the substrate and on decor, are eliminated.