Ick won't go away

[leafs]

I've been treating my 10 gal tank for ick. I've been medicating with Quick cure for about a week. All but one fish seem cured. The one that still has it (Blue Ram) seemed to improve, but now it seems to be coming back. I just did a water change. I"d hate to medicate the whole tank for the one fish. Should I keep medicating for a while longer and see if it gets better?

Thanks.

 

[BlueIce]

Did you bump the temp?

 

[leafs]

Did you bump the temp?

Yes, I also added salt.

 

[Angel Lady]

Try raising the temp. to 85 for a week or so.I know people will not agree with me on this but I have found this is the best way to rid your tank of ich and also without all that added medicine. Which is a lot less stressful on the fish too...

 

[lizard]

Ditto what Angel Lady said (although someone forgot to tell my ich and fish that this is supposed to make the ich go away...). Up the temp to at least eighty-five and keep it there for at least a few days after you don't see any more ich spots.

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[Angel Lady]

Now why are you saying that for I have used this method with very good luck to I might add... I dont like using medicines at all I think the good old fashon way of treating for ich is the best. It takes a week this way with daily water changes of 25 percent and adding a little salt.. The parasite cannot survive this high temp..

 

[leafs]

I would prefer to stop the medication. I think it's killing off some of my good bacteria. Is this possible? I think I will raise the temp and continue using salt. Is it possible that some fish can't be cured, or doe's it take a little longer for some to be cured? Will too many water changes cause more stress?

 

[Angel Lady]

I think some fish it takes longer to cure from ich than others. But I really do think it is best not to use the ich medicine if you can get out of it with the high temps. Some people use this method and others dont. It is really up to you.

 

[leafs]

I'll try the high temp first and see what happens. I would hate to stop the medication and have another outbreak. Thanks for everybodys help.

 

[lizard]

Now why are you saying that for I have used this method with very good luck to I might add... I dont like using medicines at all I think the good old fashon way of treating for ich is the best. It takes a week this way with daily water changes of 25 percent and adding a little salt.. The parasite cannot survive this high temp..

I have had the temperature in my tank up at 86* or so for just over two weeks. The temperature has been up as high as 88* at times. In the last couple days it has dropped below 86* some, but I have it back up at 86* now. It was at or over 86* for at least a week. I've also been doing water changes every few days.

I originally tried using CopperSafe for a month - that didn't work. Now I'm trying the high temperature and that's not working either. The only fish in the tank that have the ich are the Neons (also have loaches, Corys, a Guppy, and an Oto in there).

That being said, I would definately suggest trying to treat using the salt and the high temperature method. I hope you get better results than I did!

I would prefer to stop the medication. I think it's killing off some of my good bacteria. Is this possible? I think I will raise the temp and continue using salt. Is it possible that some fish can't be cured, or doe's it take a little longer for some to be cured? Will too many water changes cause more stress?

Yes, the ich medicine can affect your biological filter. I think doing more frequent than usual water changes than usual would be a good idea, especially if you think your biological filter is being affected. If you are upping your temperature, remember that the warmer water is, the less oxygen it can hold. Make sure you have some surface agitation to help get/keep enough oxygen in the water. I put an airstone in my tank when I upped the tank.

Good luck!

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[leafs]

Now why are you saying that for I have used this method with very good luck to I might add... I dont like using medicines at all I think the good old fashon way of treating for ich is the best. It takes a week this way with daily water changes of 25 percent and adding a little salt.. The parasite cannot survive this high temp..

I have had the temperature in my tank up at 86* or so for just over two weeks. The temperature has been up as high as 88* at times. In the last couple days it has dropped below 86* some, but I have it back up at 86* now. It was at or over 86* for at least a week. I've also been doing water changes every few days.

I originally tried using CopperSafe for a month - that didn't work. Now I'm trying the high temperature and that's not working either. The only fish in the tank that have the ich are the Neons (also have loaches, Corys, a Guppy, and an Oto in there).

That being said, I would definately suggest trying to treat using the salt and the high temperature method. I hope you get better results than I did!

I would prefer to stop the medication. I think it's killing off some of my good bacteria. Is this possible? I think I will raise the temp and continue using salt. Is it possible that some fish can't be cured, or doe's it take a little longer for some to be cured? Will too many water changes cause more stress?

Yes, the ich medicine can affect your biological filter. I think doing more frequent than usual water changes than usual would be a good idea, especially if you think your biological filter is being affected. If you are upping your temperature, remember that the warmer water is, the less oxygen it can hold. Make sure you have some surface agitation to help get/keep enough oxygen in the water. I put an airstone in my tank when I upped the tank.

Good luck!

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

Well my Ram looks even worse today. I've noticed his fins are clamped and he has ick all over. My other fish were picking on him, so I moved him to another tank. It will probably stress him a little more, but I think if I left him in with the others he wouldn't last. Hopefully he'll improve.

 

[Angel Lady]

I would watch about adding the salt if you have scaless fish the salt will burn them. If you havent had any luck with the high temps. Then I would suggest using Jungle fizz tablets for ich. This also works too. I just try to get out of using the medicine if at anyway possible. It causes a lot of stress on fish. Have you done a good gravel vac. This could help get rid of some of the free swimmers. With a lot of research on my behalf I have come to the conclusion that the parasite cannot survive in this high of temp. 85 degrees. I do not understand why you are having so much trouble getting rid of ich. Is it just on one fish???If so I would fix up a salt bath for the fish and try that. Plus do the gravel vac also and see if this helps. You might also want to add some stress coat to.

 

[k2snowboards88]

I'd just like to add that raising the temp to 84-85 worked for me too. It worked better than meds. I did add salt though, so they could still breath.

 

[leafs]

I would watch about adding the salt if you have scaless fish the salt will burn them. If you havent had any luck with the high temps. Then I would suggest using Jungle fizz tablets for ich. This also works too. I just try to get out of using the medicine if at anyway possible. It causes a lot of stress on fish. Have you done a good gravel vac. This could help get rid of some of the free swimmers. With a lot of research on my behalf I have come to the conclusion that the parasite cannot survive in this high of temp. 85 degrees. I do not understand why you are having so much trouble getting rid of ich. Is it just on one fish???If so I would fix up a salt bath for the fish and try that. Plus do the gravel vac also and see if this helps. You might also want to add some stress coat to.

I did a gravel clean yesterday. All my other fish seem fine. No spots on them. The Blue Ram has been picked on for a while now. I have a feeling that this has something to do with the ich. He must be stressed out. Do you do a salt bath in a seperate tank? I've been adding salt for a while already. I'm sure it's helped all the other fish, except the sick one.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Ich needs to be treated for at least 2 weeks when the tempature is raised and 3 if not. The parasite life cycle is 3 weeks but is speeded up by more heat. The medicine can only work when the spots have gone and the parasite is free swimming so that is the most important time to treat.

HTH