Dealing with ich on a swordtail

[Vorpal]

Hi everyone,

I have a female swordtail who was a bit stressed in our community tank (we have two male swordtails and one female), so I moved her so a small planted tank on her own. She immediately seemed happier there, but came down with a case of ich, though there were only a few spots. I'm not sure if it came with the plants (new a couple of days before she moved in), or if it's been around and the stress made her susceptible. None of the fish in the community tank seem to have it.

The parasites dropped off today, so I was going to use JBL Punktol. It seems to be the remedy available here (Norway). It contains malachite green oxalate and methylthionium chloride. I've read that it's a good idea to turn the heat up in the tank to 30 C (86 F), but I've read eslewhere that swordtails don't tolerate higher temperatures so well, and it's best to keep them under 28 C (82 F)

I usually keep our fish tanks at 26 - 27 C (78 - 80 F).

I was otherwise planning to follow the directions on the box. I was mainly looking for advice about the temperature.

I had a look around on the forum, but if the answer is here, it isn't obvious.

TIA

 

[Byron]

A temporary rise in temperature such as for treatment of ich is different than a continual temperature. I don't know what other fish you have, but a continual temp of 26-27C (78-80F) is a tad high for swordtails; they will be better with temperatures in the low to mid 70'sF (23-24 C), subject to whatever other fish might require.

Ich is believed to be present in most aquaria, and severe stress to fish will cause an outbreak. Healthy fish that are not under stress will generally fight it off. Ich first attacks the gills where we don't see it, so an occasional flash might indicate ich, though it could also be any of several other things. Having separated the swordtail, if it calms down it may shake this off without treatment. If you see several spots, now, I would consider treatment; otherwise, wait a bit and see if the fish recovers on its own, which is always better.

I've no idea what JBL Punktol is, meaning how effective, how dangerous, etc. Malachite green is something not to use with delicate fish like characins. My preferred ich treatment is increased temperature and aquarium salt. Most aquarium fish can handle this for a week or sometimes two. Swordtails and livebearers in general are OK with this treatment. You seem to have the female swordtail separated, so I assume no other fish are involved.

I would raise the tank temp to 30C/86F for at least one week, and add aquarium salt. Two weeks is sometimes advisable; I tend to decide based upon the behaviour of the fish. If the fish are appearing to have some issues with the temperature and/or salt, one full week is all I would do; but otherwise, a second week is a safeguard. Ich can be very stubborn, and the fish are more susceptible during the treatment, so two weeks can be more effective if the fish are tolerating it.

The salt level I use was recommended to me by Neale Monks. For each liter of water, add 2 grams of aquarium salt (sea salt with no additives can be used, but do not use marine or rift lake salts, or table salt). One level teaspoon of salt is equal to 6 grams, sufficient for 3 liters. Allow for any substrate and decor when calculating the aquarium water volume. Fully dissolve the salt in water and pour that into the aquarium. Never add salt crystals not dissolved. Increase the salt slowly, over several hours. Same with the temperature increase.

At the end of the treatment period, lower the heater back to normal and let the water cool naturally. The salt will be removed with the normal water changes. Do a major water change prior to starting treatment, and another after the first week; add new salt for the replacement water volume only if treatment is continued past the first week. If there are signs of serious stress (rapid or difficult respiration, remaining at the surface, gulping air) during the treatment period, do an immediate partial water change and lower the temperature. This should not be an issue with livebearers, more of a concern with some soft water fish.

Livebearers should always be kept in a ratio of more females to males when both are present; 2 female per male is advisable. Or just keep males if there is insufficient tank space for this many females.

Byron.

 

[DrRob]

An agreement, and a tweak, to Byron's suggestion. If you can keep the airflow over the water surface good, ideally with turbulence, then that can also help during the heat treatment, as warmer water holds less oxygen and you can occasionally run into problems in a well stocked tank, especially with the larger occupants.

If you can treat the worst affected fish in a quarantine/hospital tank then that may help the weaker individual, but white spot is a tank problem once it's started, so the main tank is at risk and will probably end up needed to be sorted anyway. Plenty of nice clean water with good sized water changes does wonders to restore things though.

 

[Vorpal]

Ich is believed to be present in most aquaria, and severe stress to fish will cause an outbreak. Healthy fish that are not under stress will generally fight it off. Ich first attacks the gills where we don't see it, so an occasional flash might indicate ich, though it could also be any of several other things. Having separated the swordtail, if it calms down it may shake this off without treatment. If you see several spots, now, I would consider treatment; otherwise, wait a bit and see if the fish recovers on its own, which is always better.

The spots went away yesterday, I believe due to the parasite dropping off to reproduce. I was planning on treating, but based on this advice I will wait, and see how gets on. I was worried that if it came back it would be worse because there will be more? When I've had fish tanks in the past, I always treated ich with additives. I have to admit, I didn't know that ich was always present. I thought that the additives killed it. Though, I have to admit that I did sometimes struggle with the resulting cycle of ecological problems, and more than once, I lost fish to something else, a month or two after an ich outbreak.

Livebearers should always be kept in a ratio of more females to males when both are present; 2 female per male is advisable. Or just keep males if there is insufficient tank space for this many females.

Yes, that was our intention. We brought home what I thought (and the person in local shop thought) were two females and one male. One of the females subsequently grew a swordtail, prompting me to post this http://www.fishforums.net/threads/swordtail-sex-easy-right.444797/

They seemed to get on okay, so I left them together, but after Florence the Fish (my son named her ) gave birth the last time, the males started harrassing her, so I took her out last weekend.

 

[Byron]

Before I start, I agree with Dr Rob's "tweaks."

If there are no spots, or at most one or maybe two, I tend not to start treatment. Ich is caused by stress, period. The parasite may be present, but healthy fish that are not under stress can fight it off. Some authors talk of an "immunity," which is a good way to think of it, whatever "immunity" may actually mean. But most fish I bring home from a store do flash a few times, which is most likely ich, but nothing ever develops because they are put in an established planted quarantine tank so they settle down and settle in very fast. It is when stress is continued, or increased, that they weaken. Stress weakens the immune system, and 95% of all fish disease is directly caused by stress, in the presence of the pathogen or whatever obviously. But the stress is the issue.

Gender "change" in swordtails is documented, it is not really a reversal or change, but more of a late development.

 

[Vorpal]

Just back to update quickly.... Florence the fish is fine. I turned the heat up in the tank, and added some salt, though I didn't get to the recommended concentration of salt before I had to empty and clean the tank for another reason. I forgot to put salt back in, but by then it had been a week since the last signs of ich, so I just left it be and gradually reduced the temperature again. She seems to be happy & healthy.