Overnight Ich

[Skry]

When I got up this morning my Black Molly was showing symptoms of Ich, with a decent amount of coverage on his body (3-6%).  I immediately moved him to quarantine and ordered some Ich Treatment which will get here tomorrow (RidIch).
 
None of the other fish in the community tank are showing any sign or symptoms of Ich, but I am worried for the tank.  During my research earlier I read that increasing the temperature slowly to 87 deg. F would kill the mobile form of the Ich organism.  Most of the fish in the tank have a recommended cap of around 82-83 deg. F.  With my Platy listed at 77 deg.
 
I have superb aeration of the tank, but am unaware of which biological processes are most sensitive to overheating.  The research I did said you needed to maintain the temperature for around two weeks from the last visible sign of Ich.  I am loath to put any chemical treatment in the main tank if it can be avoided, as I have some young RCSs in a hanging breeder, and the two baby Rainbowfish down in the planted sump.
 
Are temperatures in that range primarily dangerous due to lack of O2, or are there other dangers?  I assume long-term duration high temps would stress the fish, but is two weeks ok?
 
Full species list includes:
Neon Tetra
Peppered Cory
Julii Cory
Dwarf Gourami
Betta Splen. Female
Platy
Oto
?Rainbowfish? (likely dwarf neon)
RCS (in side-hanging breeder)
 
I greatly appreciate any and all advise.
~Skry
 

 

[RyanTheFishGuy64]

I wouldn't recommend overheating the fish, that wouldnt solve things what so ever. I personally would apply the treatment daily along with 50% water changes every other day. Hope this helps!  

 

[CSnyder00]

I raised mine from 74-76 degrees up to about 80 degrees. The high temperature doesn't actually kill ich, it speeds up their life cycle. They cannot be killed while they are in the fish, but when they mature and drop out of the fish, the treatment kills the drop out (aka eggs/larve). The whole life cycle only lasts about a week. So you raise the water temperature slightly to speed up the life cycle and then treat for two weeks. This ensures all of the ich parasites have a chance to go through the life cycle.
 
Also remember to remove any carbon filters during treatment.

 

[Skry]

I had read about the life cycle increase, and thank you for the reminder about the carbon filters.  Some of the posts I'm reading do indicate that the organism cannot survive temperature exceeding 86 degrees.
 
http/www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php
 
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
 
As of this morning there is still no sign of Ich in the main tank.  And from what I've read Heat Treatment seems like the least disruptive preventative measure I can take to destroy the parasite.
 
Has anyone found any research to the contrary, or had a bad experience with this course of action?
 
My current plan is to increase the temperature in the main tank by about 3 degrees per day, putting it at 86.5~87 by Monday, and maintaining that for 6 days (approximately two "sped up" life-cycles)  Then reduce the temperature by 2 degrees per day back down to around 78.
 
The Molly will get full treatment in the quarantine tank.