Ich and heat

[FishEnthusiast]

Hi,

My rummynose tetra's and glolite tetras all have ich. I tried treating with Maracide, which usually works for me, but for some reason this time it didn't. Then I tried Super Ich Plus. That didn't work either. So now I want to try heat and/or salt. I have 2 angels and one dwarf gourami in the tank as well. They have a touch of the ich, so I am going to treat the entire tank. Right now I have the lights off and the temp is at 86. The fish are not showing any signs of stress from the added heat. I want to increase the temp to 90. Can I do this, and if so, how long do I have to maintain this high temperature before they all die. Can I add salt to the tank to help it along? I have heard that salt and heat are not a good combination. Is this true? Thanks for your help

 

[Angry_Platy]

First of all, heat will not kill the ich parasites. All it does is speed up the life cycle so that more parasites can be killed more quickly in the free swimming stage (which is when they infect the fish). Turning up the temp to 90F (32degC for me) seems a bit high. I would go no higher than 86 (what you have it at now) and I would also keep using the Maracide. What does it contain? I found in the past when my fish had ich that the treatments containing a combination of malachite green and formaldehyde worked the best. You are also going to have to keep treating after the spots have disappeared, the bottle should tell you for how long.

You could use a temperature of 86F, an ich medication (perhaps something besides maracide as it hasn't worked) and salt together. At 86F, salt will not have any adverse effects on the fish.

Good luck and keep us updated

 

[Kiarra]

Heat will not kill the ich! It merely speeds up the lifecycle so that they fall off sooner and can be killed. Ich is impervious to medicine while it is still attached to the fish. It is only when a mature ich parasite releases from the host and goes off to reproduce that it can be killed. Do not raise the temperature any higher. In fact, I'd lower it at least one degree and leave it there for the course of treatment. Just keep up with your medicine for the full course of treatment, and don't stop the medication just because there are no more white spots on the fish...because, again, they can't die until they're separated from the fish. Just keep the temp around 84-85 and do a full course of treatment.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I have researched ich in the past, and I have read on numerous sites that heat will kill ich if it is high enough. I did a quick google and these are two of the sites I found. I am going to try the heat and salt method to avoid adding any more chemicals to my water.
http/www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/d...hwater/ich.html

http/www.fish-disease.net/articles/understanding_ich.php

Both of these sites say 85 degrees, however I remember reading somewhere, maybe another forum, that 90 is better, because some ich is heat resistant.

One of these sites says at 85 degrees the ich can not reproduce. I am going to add salt tonight and siphon off some water to add aeration. I don't want to use any more chemicals, the Maracide didn't even make a dent. This surprised me as it has worked so good for me in the past.

I fear I also have internal bacteria or parasites in one of my angels too, I saw some white stringy poo today. If they make it through the ich, I will quarantine the angel and treat the internal bacteria with some tetracycline.

 

[Blue Lobster]

Heat will not kill the ich! It merely speeds up the lifecycle so that they fall off sooner and can be killed. Ich is impervious to medicine while it is still attached to the fish. It is only when a mature ich parasite releases from the host and goes off to reproduce that it can be killed. Do not raise the temperature any higher. In fact, I'd lower it at least one degree and leave it there for the course of treatment. Just keep up with your medicine for the full course of treatment, and don't stop the medication just because there are no more white spots on the fish...because, again, they can't die until they're separated from the fish. Just keep the temp around 84-85 and do a full course of treatment.

I respectfully disagree. I have successfully cured ich with some salt, some water changes and 88 degrees for 2 weeks. No reacurrance, no problems, no deaths.

Chemicals are not always the answer, although Coppersafe does kill ich too.

Read

http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/manage...Ranson_Ich.html

http/www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion...aq=2&fldAuto=32

After the ich is cured, use some Melafix and stresscoat for fin and scale regrowth.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I have added some dissolved salt, about 1tbs per 5 gallons. I added a bubble wall and lowered the water 1". I am still slowly raising the temp, I am going to stop at 88. I am going to do water changes daily, replacing the salt I take out. I will start water changes the day after tomorrow because I still need to add more salt and get them acclimated to the higher level before I take any water out. There are some fish that are pretty badly infested. The others only have a few spots each. I may lose the badly infested ones, but I think this might work to prevent the others from getting worse.

I will keep my fingers crossed, and my python handy in case I need to do an emergency water change.

 

[Kiarra]

I agree with the salt, definitely. I use salt as a preventative, and it works pretty well. But taking the temperature up that high...it just cannot be good for some species of fish. I baked a Betta with a malfunctioning heater at just over 90 degrees. And that's why I say that.

By all means use the salt, but be careful with your heat. It is so easy to overheat the fish and lose them.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I seem to have heaters that like to stay at a certain temperature. I am still hovering at 86. I am going to add more salt today, but again I have to watch very carefully, because I have angels in there and I don't want them to stress out too much. I read in the past that angels don't like salt. I have been adding salt in 2 tablespoon increments. I have 4 tablespoons in there now, about 18G of water and I plan on adding another 2 tablespoons. I will probably do this throughout the day. None of the fish are showing any signs of stress yet, aside from the ich, which I take as a good sign.

If anyone else has successfully used this method, please let me know your story. Reading a few articles is never as good as hearing it from the horses' mouth(or in this case the fishes mouth)

Have a great day everyone

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Just a quick update.

The spots are falling off YAY! I finally got my temp up to 88 and there is a total of 6 tablespoons of salt in the tank. I did lose 2 rummynose tetras, but they were really bad off even before I started this treatment, so I expected it. The other fish are still active and swimming around. The rummynose are the worst affected.

I have been monitoring for stress or oxygen deprevation and as yet I have seen none. I do turn on the bubble wall for about an hour every 4 or 5 hours to add extra aeration. I think that if I have to deal with ich on a large scale like this again I am going to use this method. I am very pleased that they are getting better.

 

[Blue Lobster]

Just a quick update.

The spots are falling off YAY! I finally got my temp up to 88 and there is a total of 6 tablespoons of salt in the tank. I did lose 2 rummynose tetras, but they were really bad off even before I started this treatment, so I expected it. The other fish are still active and swimming around. The rummynose are the worst affected.

I have been monitoring for stress or oxygen deprevation and as yet I have seen none. I do turn on the bubble wall for about an hour every 4 or 5 hours to add extra aeration. I think that if I have to deal with ich on a large scale like this again I am going to use this method. I am very pleased that they are getting better.

Keep the temp up for 2 weeks and SLOWLY drop it, fish seem to react worse to temp drops than increases.

Good luck.