Ick on Corys

[Ozzie Boss]

Hello it has been a while since I had posted which is a good thing because most of my posts are about fish illness questions. Anyway I noticed that my corys have ick. They have salt like particles on their body but mostly their fins. These corys are in my main display which has plants and snails, so I don't want to use meds or salt. Can I use heat to battle this? As of right now the temp is around 83 degrees. Should I lower or increase this?

Water parameters:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm

Stocking (50 Gallon)
3 Angelfish
1 Honey Gourami
1 EB Acara
3 Emerald Corys
4 Salt and Pepper Corys
6 Otos
About 30 Nerite Snails
3 Rainbows

*Sorry about the lack of schools for the corys and rainbows lost most of them during quarantine. I plan to get more after this problem is addressed.*

 

[Byron]

Heat alone is often effective. Raise the water temperature to 86F and keep it there for two weeks. You could use salt here, I have in very stubborn cases, but I would try the heat first.

You say the temp is now 83F...is this because you raised it or is this the normal temp in the tank?

Ich is due to stress; without stress fish can fight it off, so reducing stress is key to preventing/dealing with ich.

 

[Colin_T]

I add salt to any tank containing new rainbowfish to help reduce injuries and unexpected deaths. I add 2-4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of water and keep it in there for 2 weeks. By then the rainbowfish would have settled down and you can dilute the salt out.

 

[Ozzie Boss]

You say the temp is now 83F...is this because you raised it or is this the normal temp in the tank?

I set the heater for the highest setting which is 88 degrees, but my thermometer reads 83 degrees. The heater shuts off at 83. The heater must be underpowered for the tank. Also one of my bigger corys looks like it has a bit of trouble balancing itself when it is resting on the sand. Nothing major from the looks of it, but I just wanted to mention that. Most of the ick is on the fins of the corys.

You could use salt here, I have in very stubborn cases, but I would try the heat first.

You mention I could use salt. Is there a effective dose that won't harm my plants as much but kill the ick? I am afraid that the heat at 83 won't solely solve this issue. I have bacopa, anubias, crypts, and vallisneria.

 

[Ozzie Boss]

I add salt to any tank containing new rainbowfish to help reduce injuries and unexpected deaths. I add 2-4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of water and keep it in there for 2 weeks. By then the rainbowfish would have settled down and you can dilute the salt out.

Yeah I wish I knew this when I bought them. After asking for your advice about the salt my rainbows stopped dying on me. I'll make that custom when I do get more.

 

[Byron]

I set the heater for the highest setting which is 88 degrees, but my thermometer reads 83 degrees. The heater shuts off at 83. The heater must be underpowered for the tank. Also one of my bigger corys looks like it has a bit of trouble balancing itself when it is resting on the sand. Nothing major from the looks of it, but I just wanted to mention that. Most of the ick is on the fins of the corys.

Heaters often work fine but the temperature may not be equal to the setting. Example, I have a Jager heater that keeps the tank at 24.5 C (75 F) if set for 21 C; when actually set on 24 it maintains a higher temp, around 79 or so. Many heaters are like this. However, at the same time, you do not want to be pushing a heater too hard to maintain higher temperatures because they are not designed for this and will more easily give out. Example, in winter I keep the fish room at 70F because the tank heaters maintaining 76F will work too hard if the room temperature is colder.

If you see the ich spots, I would use salt--more below.

You mention I could use salt. Is there a effective dose that won't harm my plants as much but kill the ick? I am afraid that the heat at 83 won't solely solve this issue. I have bacopa, anubias, crypts, and vallisneria.

Salt is safe for cories, loaches, characins and similar at a level of 2 g of aquarium salt per liter of tank water. One level teaspoon of dry salt is approximately 6 grams, so that will treat 3 liters of tank water. Use only aquarium salt (API makes one, there are undoubtedly others, just make sure it is "aquarium salt" not marine salt or rift lake salt) and completely mix the salt in a container of water and then pour the water into the aquarium. I find that a jar with a tight-fitting lid works, with hot tap water and say three teaspoons of salt, shaken until the salt is disolveed, then poured in. Do not ever add salt crystals to an aquarium; these can burn fish.

Do a good water change (60%) before adding the salt. Maintain the salt for two weeks. Water changes will slowly remove it after that. If you do a water change after the first week (you should normally) then add salt only for the replaced water volume to maintain the strength.

I got these instructions from Dr. Neale Monks and twice I did this and never had problems with my wild caught cories, loaches, and characins. Neale suspected the flashing could be a stubborn case of ich, and that seems to have been the case.

 

[Colin_T]

If you insulate the tank, the heater won't have to work as hard to raise the temperature. Use 1/2 - 1 inch thick polystyrene sheets and tape them to the outside of the tank. Insulate back and sides with foam and have coverglass on top.

The other option is to increase the room temperature and the heater won't work as hard. The final option is to get another heater (higher wattage) and either run 2 heaters in the tank or use a big one.