Ich Outbreak

[5lider]

hey guys i seen last night that my tetras and a few other fish but not all have ich esp the neons, i bought some waterlife protozin today and treated it also turned off the co2, is there anything else i can do or is it just a wating game now?

 

[BigN_187]

hey guys i seen last night that my tetras and a few other fish but not all have ich esp the neons, i bought some waterlife protozin today and treated it also turned off the co2, is there anything else i can do or is it just a wating game now?

Honestly, I highly discourage the use of any medications like that. It's a pain to successfully kill the parasites that way, it will stain (almost) any plastic in your tank, and you have to do water changes about every day.
What species do you have in your tank? Are they all tropical? I so, I recommend just bumping the temperature up to around 85-86F. At that temperature, it is impossible for ich to survive, but your fish will be able to tolerate it just fine. I even raised the temperature in my tank up to 90F once, on accident, and the fish were fine.
However, if you have any goldfish or any moderate-temperature fish like that, you'll want to move them to a separate tank while you do this, because they will die very fast in higher temps like that.
The ich should be gone in just a couple of days. The reproductive cycle of the parasite can take anywhere from 24-48 hours to complete, so I'd leave the temp up for maybe 3 days just for good measure. DO NOT think the disease is cured just because the cysts (white spots) are no longer present on fish. There are several other stages in their life cycle that occur after they drop off the fish. Continue treatment protocols for at least an additional day after ALL white cysts have fallen off of fish.
That should take care of it
Oh, and is it until the treatment clears out of the water before you turn the heat up.
You also may want to use oxygen diffusion while treating, just to make sure your fish are healthy (the warmer the water, the less dissolved oxygen is present)

 

[5lider]

hi mate thanks for your reply

in the tank there all tropical neons,corys,betta,flying fox,mollys,platys at the moment ive raised the tank to 30c as to help with the process so should that be ok? i have read not to do water changes while using the med as the tapesafe or dechlorinator could kill the med or stop it from working correctly is that true?

 

[Tuxyu3]

Although it is true that a high temperature kills of ich (most of the time) i would absolutely recommend ich medication (personally i use Interpet) if you feel you want to as it is less stressful than bumping up temps to ridiculous levels (although it is of course useful to higher it a bit to decrease the life span of the parasite) as even some tropicals such as danio's and some killifish/barbs prefer cooler temperatures.

EDIT: Also beware of changing the temperature too quickly as it can shock fish, especially sensitive.

 

[5lider]

Although it is true that a high temperature kills of ich (most of the time) i would absolutely recommend ich medication (personally i use Interpet) if you feel you want to as it is less stressful than bumping up temps to ridiculous levels (although it is of course useful to higher it a bit to decrease the life span of the parasite) as even some tropicals such as danio's and some killifish/barbs prefer cooler temperatures.

EDIT: Also beware of changing the temperature too quickly as it can shock fish, especially sensitive.

hi yes i went for the waterlife version today and added it in once i got home did you do any water changes or did u wait till the ich have gone

 

[Tuxyu3]

I have been lucky most of the time, i usually catch it early before it progresses so i just wait it out until it goes, usually a week or so. If it takes longer i would do a water change on the day you need to re-dose for it and wait a couple of hours after you finish before putting the medication in.

 

[5lider]

I have been lucky most of the time, i usually catch it early before it progresses so i just wait it out until it goes, usually a week or so. If it takes longer i would do a water change on the day you need to re-dose for it and wait a couple of hours after you finish before putting the medication in.

ok thanks