Ick

[karmabrooklyn]

hello! I recently upgraded my tank so I wanted to add some new fish. I bought some new fish , noticed one of them had ick two days later. I pulled all the new fish out. None of the other fish are showing signs. I bought marine land ick remedy and just did my first dose. Should I still treat my tank everyday even though I see no signs of ick?

 

[Byron]

Follow the directions on the product bottle. I have never used this myself. Are you treating the main tank, or just the new fish?

Ich is highly contagious, and if the new fish had it you can be certain it is now in the main tank. However, if you have separated the new fish, treat them in their tank and keep a close eye on the main tank. If the fish are not stressed, they may be able to shake this off.

Welcome to TFF.

Byron.

 

[karmabrooklyn]

Follow the directions on the product bottle. I have never used this myself. Are you treating the main tank, or just the new fish?

Ich is highly contagious, and if the new fish had it you can be certain it is now in the main tank. However, if you have separated the new fish, treat them in their tank and keep a close eye on the main tank. If the fish are not stressed, they may be able to shake this off.

Welcome to TFF.

Byron.

New fish are being treated else where. Bottle says To treat once day For 4-6 Days if white spots are still visable. There is no white spots at all. Can this harm my fish if I treat them and they are not sick?

 

[Byron]

New fish are being treated else where. Bottle says To treat once day For 4-6 Days if white spots are still visable. There is no white spots at all. Can this harm my fish if I treat them and they are not sick?

Ich goes through a life cycle of several days; visible spots are one phase. Treatment has to be maintained for at least a week, but again, follow the directions. Increasing thee water temperature a bit can help as it speeds up the life cycle of the parasite. There may be an article here about ich, I can't seem to locate it just now, maybe I'm mistaken.

To your last question, yes, treating fish does add stress, always, so we must be certain (as we can be) of the issue and then do the best and most effective but safest treatment. Unnecessary treatment using some medication or preparation without the disease being present is almost always dangerous. But this is not the same thing as not seeing the ich spots...as I said, ich goes through a cycle of several days and it can only be attacked during the free swimming stage which lasts 245 hours and occurs before we see any spots, so not seeing spots does not mean the parasite is not present.