...Ick/Ich

[Danh_vu]

I see signs of ich in my tank.
Its not alot, but its noticable, about a speck on a couple fish.
Wierd thing is the gouramis have it but the african knifefish don't.
Any ideas?

[Shotgun]

My guess would be its really early on, so I would isolated into a quarantine tank ASAP. Since it is so early, assuming it is ich, I bet you don't lose one fish. However, treat both the sick-bay tank and the main one.

[Danh_vu]

damn... just checked again, all fish have it.
Not just 1 speck, now about three...

Its too late now, about 11 pm.

Any ideas?
Increase temp? Add meds? Salt?

I have machalite green, but the last time I used it, it stained the silicone...
Will it come off? Will it kill the knifes?

:help:

[Danh_vu]

decided to treat with heat

I heard that 88 degrees Farenheit will kill them in 24 hours.
Will buy some heaters.

Would still like suggestions though.

[Little Embers]

I have machalite green, but the last time I used it, it stained the silicone...
Will it come off? It usually stains it permanently :scry: it may fade a little! Will it kill the knifes?
Have you added new fish lately? Ich is usually brought on by stress and new fish may often develop Ich. I would also suggest checking your water parameters, as something may be off that has stressed them, also fluctuating temperature and such.

I would try raising the temp. first very gradually (86* should be fine) before trying meds. because of your knife fish and I would be wary of using salt as well. Heat doesn't kill the tomites (or whatever they are called at that stage) that have already burrowed into the fish and formed cysts though, no medication kills them either, you have to wait until they fall off the fish, which is when they start to reproduce & the high temps. speed up the lifecycle and they are unable to reproduce at that temperature. It is still best to keep the temp. high for a couple of wks, just to make sure all the parasites are gone.

If you have to resort to meds. I would make sure it stipulates that it is safe for loaches, it should be safe for knifefish as well but I am not 100% sure. "Rid Ich" is supposed to be safe for loaches, but again I am not certain on that. I would advise using the meds. at half the dosage at any rate...just to be sure.

[robflanker]

I dont think heat alone rids ich, IIRC

You'll need something to kill it off like salt (depends on your fish tho, dont do this before checking with us) or rid-ich (which I used).

When I had ich, I used rid-ich for 2 weeks, raised the temp to 84.

[Danh_vu]

Really? At around 86 degrees, they stop reproducing. So when they detach they shouldn't be a problem right? And when it is 88-89 degrees, they downright just die?

It has been found that Ich does not infect new fish at 29.4°C/85°F (Johnson, 1976), stops reproducing at 30°C/86°F (Dr. Nick St. Erne, DVM, pers. comm.), and dies at 32°C/89.5°F (Meyer, 1984),

I found that at [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I'm confused...

[Danh_vu]

I have ich away made by Wardley.
Is this okay? How much to put in?
I am quite hesitant because I heard MG kills beneficial bacteria...

or

Should I just raise temp for 10 days at least.
88 degrees for 2 days, and 86 degrees for 8 days?:help:

[robflanker]

89 degrees you'll start cooking your fish lol

what is MG

why couldnt you just lower the temp and treat with meds? there is an ich treatment guide written by ILMGB on here which is very useful

[Little Embers]

what is MG

why couldnt you just lower the temp and treat with meds? there is an ich treatment guide written by ILMGB on here which is very useful

MG = Malachite Green...would be my guess.

I think he is worried about using meds. because of the knife fish, and how sensitive to meds. they can be....also to salt.

[robflanker]

ah - but surely knifefish also dont like 89 degree water

[Red]

knifefish can't take salt, so using a ich med is your best choice.. and rid-ich doesn't stain the silicone.

[Danh_vu]

rid ich then...
hmm...

They all don't show signs of being in stress.
All parameters are okay. Ammonia and nitrites 0 ppm.
Nitrates are 0 too... don't know why... perhaps the plants.

Can 86 degrees be tolerated? At 86, ich can't reproduce. So when the parasite detaches itself and can't reproduce... that SHOULD be the end of it.

Rid ich can be found at Petsmart right? My lfs prices are a rip off. I think they sold neon tetras for 8-9 dollars each last time I checked. Whats in rid ich?

Can ich away work made by wardley. It has MG but if I half the dosage, will it stain?

[robflanker]

no-one has ever heard of it staining

[DollyVarden]

You only need to raise the temp no higher then 84 for two weeks or more and perform daily partial water changes and gravel vacs every few days to pickup spores. Higher temps mean less oxygen....so make sure you have an airstone.

[Danh_vu]

i went out and bought ick attack made by Kordan.
how much to put in?

Any experience with it?

[robflanker]

Ive never used it but it will say on the bottle