Killing ich...?

[Vegan Peaches]

Also posted this in Beginner Forum, but no one responded

A worker at PetCo told me Ich can be killed if you bring your water temp. above 84 degrees F.... can anyone confirm this? I have a 150 watt heater, and a 10 gallon tank so I can accomplish this easily but my fish have only ever lived in 75ish degrees so it might stress them out. The fish that had the ich was seperated and died yesterday, and I've been treating the water with malachite green in an aqueous solution, but I want to take all the precautions I can to get rid of this nasty fish killing disease. There's also a possibility that one of my fish had velvet, because it had a filmy silky looking mass all over it just before it died, and I'm not sure at all how to treat that. So any info or insight would be helpful.

Thanks much ^^

 

[David]

Raising the temp does not kill the ick, it simply speeds up icks life cycle. You see, the white spots you see on your fish's skin are the ichs reproductive cycle. Eventually the cyst, or white spot bursts, and the ick enters it's free-swimming stage. It then swims around looking for another fish to infest. This is the only time it is vulnerable, and that's when you must strike with the meds. The ich needs to find a new fish host within 24 hours or it will die. Raising the temp without using meds isn't accomplishing anything, in fact you are helping the ich take over faster, as the increased temperature helps the cysts burst faster. Many people are falsely led into believeing that raising temp kills the ich, because they see the white spots disappear but are unaware that the ich is now swimming around. Then teh spots crop up again a day later and they wonder why.

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Alright, well none of the fish have the spots now, so if i continue adding the meds the ich wont get to the other fish, or is it probably too late for them too?

 

[David]

If you see no spots the ich is free-swimming. Keep adding meds for several days until you are sure it is gone.

 

[astroboy]

Raising the temp does speed up the life cycle, but i'm pretty sure that after a certain temp it kills them. Add salt as well. I'd advise against meds because IME they are harder on the fish and screw with you water. Salt and temp are much simpler as well.

 

[JacopoFishy]

mmmmyup, David's absolutely correct, dude knows his stuff. B)

When I had ICH recently I only raised the temperature a few degrees and treated it with parasite clear tank buddies from jungle. Stuff really did the trick, I did three treatments, three days apart, and added aquarium salt accordingly. make sure you take your carbon out when adding the meds.

and.....a 150 watt heater in a 10 gallon? I thought it was 50 watts per 10 gallons, or is the guy at my LFS insane?

 

[David]

mmmmyup, David's absolutely correct, dude knows his stuff. B)

When I had ICH recently I only raised the temperature a few degrees and treated it with parasite clear tank buddies from jungle. Stuff really did the trick, I did three treatments, three days apart, and added aquarium salt accordingly. make sure you take your carbon out when adding the meds.

and.....a 150 watt heater in a 10 gallon? I thought it was 50 watts per 10 gallons, or is the guy at my LFS insane?

Yeah I have a 25 watt for my 5 gallon, so I'm guessing 50 watts for a 10 gallon is about right. 150 is overkill, dude. You're gonna smoke those fish if you don't watch out. And yes it is true that higher temperatures can kill the ich but that can also stress out the fish if you go too high. And some fish, like loaches, can't tolerate salt.

 

[willywonka099]

If you raies the temp. with no meds thn you are making a breeding ground for the ich to multiply ..... the reason some meds say turn the temp. up is b/c the ich must come off the fish to reproduce (into the medicated water )

 

[cation]

Raising the temp does speed up the life cycle, but i'm pretty sure that after a certain temp it kills them.

A high enough temp will kill anything. However, your fish will die long before the ich from the temperature increase, so it's really irrelevent in this discussion.

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Alright, then, I'll leave my fish alone. All I have now are a few swordtails, all the fish in my sig have died weeks ago, except the black molly who passed yesterday :'( I don't have any loaches so I'm guessing adding salt would be better then dumping meds in the water?

And, just because you asked, 50 watts/10 gallons is right, but I don't plan on having this tiny 10 gallon aquarium for long. I am waiting for a 60 gallon to go on ebay within range of chicago, and I will use my 150 watt heater in combo with an old 100 and i'll be almost right, maybe a little cooler than it should be. With enough light, It'll be fine.

I just want to get the ich out of this tank first, though, because this tank is already cycled and I want to add everything in this tank to the bigger tank so I don't have to start the process over again.

 

[David]

I'd say salt would be your best bet at this point. Less expensive, and quite effective. As well it could benefit your livebearers who like a little salt in their water.

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Alright. Will Sea Salt work? I have a large aqueous sea salt mixture that I use to clean my piercings and It's a very low molar solution, so it's not that strong, it's just sea salt in distilled water... or is the sea salt at LFS's "special" ?

I don't mind putting a few bucks into sea salt from a pet store if it will benefit my fish, but I also don't want to spend money I don't have to.

 

[astroboy]

And some fish, like loaches, can't tolerate salt.

Actually, contrary to what many think loaches, catfish and scaleless fish CAN tolerate salt. They should not be kept in salt water indefinitely, but short term exposure to treat illness such as ick will not harm them.

A high enough temp will kill anything. However, your fish will die long before the ich from the temperature increase, so it's really irrelevent in this discussion.

If you raies the temp. with no meds thn you are making a breeding ground for the ich to multiply ..... the reason some meds say turn the temp. up is b/c the ich must come off the fish to reproduce (into the medicated water )

True a high enough temp will kill anything, but, during the free swimming stage, the ick will not be able to stand a temp of 86 and the salt combined. The temp alone should be enough to kill it, the salt is an added precaution (necessary IMO).
What you want to be aware of when raising the temp is the decrease in O2 in the water. That is just added stress on the fish. Increased surface agitation will help alittle.

Alright. Will Sea Salt work? I have a large aqueous sea salt mixture that I use to clean my piercings and It's a very low molar solution, so it's not that strong, it's just sea salt in distilled water... or is the sea salt at LFS's "special" ?

Just go to any grocery store and buy regular table salt (sodium chloride). Don't waste your money buying the LFS stuff.

Regarding the salt, get it in ASAP. Aim for between 1-3 teaspoons per gallon (although the actual requirement to kill ick is around 1 teaspoon). Then keep treating 1 week after the last signs of ick. You can do 2 weeks but thats overkill.

The pros of salt are it doesn't stay in your tank. Regular water changes over time will remove all the salt. Copper based meds on the other hand will coat everything in you tank. You can't get rid of that.

 

[David]

I really wouldn't use table salt... it may hurt your fish. If you really care about them then get regular aquarium salt to be on the safe side.

 

[astroboy]

salt additives: the warnings against use of table salt because it contains iodine, anti-caking ingredients, etc. are bunk. Table salt is safe for aquarium use.

Its a myth that you have to use "aquarium salt"