Featheryfish
New Member
Hey y'all.
I'm looking at my fish log here, and in the morning on August 12th my sailfin molly was flashing and I found 2 small spots of ich on his fins. I knew he and the other rescue fish had had ich and been haphazardly treated with a random ich medication a month or two before I got them, so I've been examining them up close every day in case it decided to make a comeback, usually with my phone flashlight or a bendy table lamp if they're willing.
I cranked up the heat to 86-88 degrees (a couple degrees at a time of course) right away and everyone responded well to that. It made them very hungry but nothing else unusual. I lowered my water level a couple extra inches so the HOB would be extra splashy for oxygenation. After a couple days of the heat and water changes, a few more spots of ich emerged, a couple on the tetras but most on the molly's fins. They quickly fell off.
After I felt they'd adjusted to the heat I tried dosing them with some Ich-X (I calculated the gallons in the my tank minus the lower water line, the sand, the driftwood, etc. so I didn't overdose them - I also used the unusual Hikari water conditioner that is supposed to go with it) and they didn't respond as gracefully. The molly and tetras were okay but the catfish seemed vaguely disgruntled. I kept an eye on them and after the second dose they seemed very stressed and lost some of their body clarity so I've water changed most of the medicine out. That seems to have to perked them back up a bit.
I doubt the glass catfish would like salt either - what little there is to read about them suggests they don't tolerate salt any better than they do medication, or perhaps even worse. I'd be really hesitant to expose them to a second novel substance so soon, anyway. I read that tetras and salt are an iffy combination, too.
At this moment there is no visible ich and no one is flashing or exhibiting other symptoms. Can I beat ich with high heat and water changes alone, considering it's mild and I caught it early? Has anyone actually beat it with ONLY consistent high heat (above 85 degrees)? I've heard some people say the heat "only speeds it up" but that does not seem to be consistent with information I've read about ich's inability to reproduce, divide, and infect fish at that temperature.
I've been doing my water changes with ~90 degree water to make sure it doesn't dip. In between uses I've been taking my buckets, tools and python cleaner outside on the patio to dry in the 110 degree sun for a few hours, is that and a good double rinsing with hot tap water enough to keep things sterile? Last thing I want to do is put the ich back in.
I'm working on setting up a second tank just for the glass catfish but that won't be ready for about a month, so whatever I do has to work for all the fish. If anyone thinks it's a good idea (I have no idea whether it's a good idea or not) I could theoretically give a salt bath to just the molly, since he was the only one that ever had multiple spots and is probably patient zero. And, you know, he's a molly, so I imagine salt is unlikely to kill him.
They seemed to be doing such a good job fighting it off themselves with only heat and clean water but I'm afraid of doing something foolish and winding up with a tank full of ich because I didn't medicate when I had the chance. On the other hand, I don't want dead catfish. I suppose it's possible their stress discoloration was a delayed reaction to the heat, but I'm 90% sure the medication was the problem since we were doing so well before that. Hopefully I'm not cooking them.
Anyway, I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has used or tried to use high heat to treat ich. Oh, and if anyone is shopping for an affordable heater that doesn't suck or fall apart immediately, I'm really impressed with this Fluval M and would recommend it. It's hot stuff. Looks like they are still being made in Italy.
I'm looking at my fish log here, and in the morning on August 12th my sailfin molly was flashing and I found 2 small spots of ich on his fins. I knew he and the other rescue fish had had ich and been haphazardly treated with a random ich medication a month or two before I got them, so I've been examining them up close every day in case it decided to make a comeback, usually with my phone flashlight or a bendy table lamp if they're willing.
I cranked up the heat to 86-88 degrees (a couple degrees at a time of course) right away and everyone responded well to that. It made them very hungry but nothing else unusual. I lowered my water level a couple extra inches so the HOB would be extra splashy for oxygenation. After a couple days of the heat and water changes, a few more spots of ich emerged, a couple on the tetras but most on the molly's fins. They quickly fell off.
After I felt they'd adjusted to the heat I tried dosing them with some Ich-X (I calculated the gallons in the my tank minus the lower water line, the sand, the driftwood, etc. so I didn't overdose them - I also used the unusual Hikari water conditioner that is supposed to go with it) and they didn't respond as gracefully. The molly and tetras were okay but the catfish seemed vaguely disgruntled. I kept an eye on them and after the second dose they seemed very stressed and lost some of their body clarity so I've water changed most of the medicine out. That seems to have to perked them back up a bit.
I doubt the glass catfish would like salt either - what little there is to read about them suggests they don't tolerate salt any better than they do medication, or perhaps even worse. I'd be really hesitant to expose them to a second novel substance so soon, anyway. I read that tetras and salt are an iffy combination, too.
At this moment there is no visible ich and no one is flashing or exhibiting other symptoms. Can I beat ich with high heat and water changes alone, considering it's mild and I caught it early? Has anyone actually beat it with ONLY consistent high heat (above 85 degrees)? I've heard some people say the heat "only speeds it up" but that does not seem to be consistent with information I've read about ich's inability to reproduce, divide, and infect fish at that temperature.
I've been doing my water changes with ~90 degree water to make sure it doesn't dip. In between uses I've been taking my buckets, tools and python cleaner outside on the patio to dry in the 110 degree sun for a few hours, is that and a good double rinsing with hot tap water enough to keep things sterile? Last thing I want to do is put the ich back in.
I'm working on setting up a second tank just for the glass catfish but that won't be ready for about a month, so whatever I do has to work for all the fish. If anyone thinks it's a good idea (I have no idea whether it's a good idea or not) I could theoretically give a salt bath to just the molly, since he was the only one that ever had multiple spots and is probably patient zero. And, you know, he's a molly, so I imagine salt is unlikely to kill him.
They seemed to be doing such a good job fighting it off themselves with only heat and clean water but I'm afraid of doing something foolish and winding up with a tank full of ich because I didn't medicate when I had the chance. On the other hand, I don't want dead catfish. I suppose it's possible their stress discoloration was a delayed reaction to the heat, but I'm 90% sure the medication was the problem since we were doing so well before that. Hopefully I'm not cooking them.
Anyway, I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has used or tried to use high heat to treat ich. Oh, and if anyone is shopping for an affordable heater that doesn't suck or fall apart immediately, I'm really impressed with this Fluval M and would recommend it. It's hot stuff. Looks like they are still being made in Italy.
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