Fish With Ich

[codeajohnson]

Hello Everyone,

I went up north deerhunting this past weekend and when I came home I noticed that my Rams have developed Ich. They are relatively new to the tank and when I went up north my automatic timer didn't work like it was supposed to so the fish were in the dark the entire weekend. Anyways, I was wondering what the best method to treat Ich was? It's a 55 gallon tank, the temp is at 80, and the inhabitants are

-6 khuli loaches
-15 neons
-4 German Blue Rams
-2 Keyholes

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[minxfishy]

Get some ich meds, protozin, interpet something similar, all LFS sell ich treatments, then raise the temp to 80 and increase aeration into the tank as the meds and higher temp will lower oxygen levels, either via airstone or preferably get the filter outlet raised to create more movement.

Once you have finished the course of meds, do a water change, run some carbon and then I would do another dose (whatever the dose is for the particular brand you get), to ensure it is totally gone.

I doubt the lights being off would have caused the Ich, the fish wouldnt be bothered about no lighting, you say you havent had them long, how long? Also rams are very sensitive fish, what are you water stats as anything other than 0 for ammonia or nitrIte will effect very quickly.

 

[rallyingmick]

Hello Everyone,

I went up north deerhunting this past weekend and when I came home I noticed that my Rams have developed Ich. They are relatively new to the tank and when I went up north my automatic timer didn't work like it was supposed to so the fish were in the dark the entire weekend. Anyways, I was wondering what the best method to treat Ich was? It's a 55 gallon tank, the temp is at 80, and the inhabitants are

-6 khuli loaches
-15 neons
-4 German Blue Rams
-2 Keyholes

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Luckily ich is an easy disease to treat, providing its caught early. The ich pararite has 3 stages, and for u to see spots appear after just a weekend would suggest that ur new fish allready had the disease. To treat buy urself anti white spot treatment. (from any fish shop) follow the guidelines for dosing. Also turn ur heater up to say 28 as this will bring out the parasite to its free swimming stage. Alro remove any carbon from ur filter. I have had ich a couple of times and have alwaxs won. Good luck


beat me to it

 

[codeajohnson]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I have read that ich treatment effects loaches; is this true for khulis? And should I do it at full dose or half? Thanks again in advance!

 

[andywg]

Skeptical Aquarist ich page - the best ich reference on the web

 

[codeajohnson]

Thanks for the post Andywg. So, any suggestions so whether i should try the salt bath with the temp up to 86 degrees or whether I should medicate; based on the fish I have in the tank? Thanks again for all who have helped!

 

[RushingChamp28]

Thanks for the post Andywg. So, any suggestions so whether i should try the salt bath with the temp up to 86 degrees or whether I should medicate; based on the fish I have in the tank? Thanks again for all who have helped!

The loaches are more sensitive to the ich meds, but perhaps try a half dose of the medicine. In general I have found that half doses will avoid harming the loaches while still eliminate the ich from the tank. Just make sure you follow the proper steps when treating w/ half the meds to make sure it is at its maximum effectiveness. When doing this the 25-30% water change is more important to reduce the initial ick in the tank that is being treated. Remember to remove carbon as this will counteract the meds in the tank, and IF you raise tank temp make sure to increase aeration as well, warmer water and water with meds can create an environment with far less dissolved oxygen for your fish.

ALSO note that most meds are highly toxic to inverts, so make sure to keep them clear of a tank being treated. You dont have any listed, but just making sure...

 

[Syphoniera]

andywg - just wanted to say an extra-big thanks from the peanut section for posting the Skeptical Aquarist article.
I think this has just solved a long-running mystery of exactly what the enormous white spots were on various fish I - and some equally 'at sea' others - had purchased over the past year.
It didn't look quite like ich, being much too big and rather lumpy-looking, covering a surprisingly large area on the caudal fin of one of a group of newly bought Harlequins (none of this evident in the sales tanks, if obvious once the fish were viewed in their bags at home) and a couple of bettas (obvious on these) which arrived not only with this but with blackened fins.
And since now the enormous white spots have been (most probably) identified as a related ciliate, I actually feel more hopeful of accurately IDing and finding in time a reliable cure for that horrible, resistant fin blackening which eats fins on bettas, if not on the other fish I've bought with this condition from the same store.
I'll do a thread on this in the hope of catching the attention of others suffering from this.
Thanks again - you've just helped a lot more people than you probably realized.

(Edit - cut a chunk from the post without realizing I'd also obliterated all reference to the person and subject involved...)

 

[codeajohnson]

Thanks for the help. I bought some Ich Attack, hopefully it will work! Thanks again everyone!