Treating Ich (Ick) And Test Strips

[Mayu]

ok, so I went away for two days just to relax and all schmek breaks loose in my tanks. First one of my mollies died in an unfortunate heater related accident...

now I just noticed a few of my fish have white ick spots. I've never had to treat ick. I just did a 25% water change a few days ago, do I do another one and add the appropriate amount of aquarium salt... or do I add the proper amount of aquarium salt... and then do water changes after I notice the spots disappearing?

also... I've heard a lot of negatives about test strips. Unfortunately the pet store near me (which is the only pet store near me) can't get testing kits in till mid next week, so the strips are all I have.

How in accurate are they? If say, the nitrates and nitrites are 0, the hardness is at 120 and the pH is at 7.2... would the levels actually be higher or lower? and off by how much generally?

 

[Mayu]

as an fyi, I read you shouldn't use aquarium salt and tropical fish like mollies, tetras and so on. but I read that salt and heat is the safest way to cure ick and that the meds would be harmful

 

[FWFishLover]

as an fyi, I read you shouldn't use aquarium salt and tropical fish like mollies, tetras and so on. but I read that salt and heat is the safest way to cure ick and that the meds would be harmful

First of all aquarium salt is GREAT to have in any FW tank and is essential for mollies.
second of all strips are highly inaccurate
Adding drops of malachite green is a great way to cure ick and so is chelated copper sulfate which can last you up to a month.
keeping ick treatment at all times (even if you dont have ick) is highly reccomended

 

[OldMan47]

Salt and heat has worked well for me. There is a very comprehensive article about what ich is and how to best treat it at another location. The link to that site, called Ich Info, is in my signature area and doesn't break our forum rules only because it is a single topic location, not a competing forum.

 

[Mayu]

Salt and heat has worked well for me. There is a very comprehensive article about what ich is and how to best treat it at another location. The link to that site, called Ich Info, is in my signature area and doesn't break our forum rules only because it is a single topic location, not a competing forum.

thanks. I can't believe the havoc a short vacation can do.

 

[Mayu]

ok I finished doing a water change, and when I was adding new water in, I cleaned the filter cartridge right down(Though I think I'll buy a new cartridge even though this one isn't even 2 weeks old), I added and mixed the salt to one of the gallons of water... (I did the recommended 1tbsp per 5 gallons)... I didn't turn the tank temp up right away, I'm only doing a few degrees at a time to reduce stress.

I'm going to do another water change tomorrow, then one every other day...

If this doesn't work after a few days, someone told me to do it again, a water change... add salt... but add a very, very low dose of ick medicine with it. I want to avoid that, cause I hear a lot of ick medicine is very bad for tanks... so keep your fingers crossed that this works.

have one question though.

when I do the other water changes... do I need to re-add extra salt for the salt that is removed with the change?

 

[Mayu]

just as an update...

I checked up on my fish this morning when I turned the tank light on, and the fish that had ick spots were spotless.

so I'm probably going to leave it in there for a few more days since no one seems stressed by the addition of the salt... before I do a water change again.

 

[Shelby]

as an fyi, I read you shouldn't use aquarium salt and tropical fish like mollies, tetras and so on. but I read that salt and heat is the safest way to cure ick and that the meds would be harmful

It is very harmful to tetras. Mine are dropping like flys and I couldn't figure out why. I think it was the Ich meds

 

[OldMan47]

The copper based ich medications are more dangerous to fish than elevated salts, but if you stick to the doses recommended they should be safe. The copper will wipe out invertebrates like shrimp or snails though.

 

[Mayu]

I did 1 tablespoon per every 5 gallons, and not only did the ick go away (knock on wood) but no one seems stressed... and water levels seem good still.

I have 6 x-ray bellies and 3 black neons... a few of whom had ick and not only are they doing good, but they're not spotted with ick anymore.

I used the coppersafe treatment when I started this tank. I had my three black neons, and a few other tetra fish as well as 2 balloon belly mollies... when my mollies and two of my three black neons got sick with ick I was told to use copper safe. I followed the directions given me by fish experts to the tee... (not over dosing, not under dosing)... and in the end, only my three black neons survived.

Thus far, knock on wood, all of my fish have survived the salt treatment.

 

[Mayu]

ok, now it's been a few days since I treated the ick when a slight raise in temp. and with salt and things still seem to be doing good.

should I do a water change? should I keep the salt therapy going by adding a little salt back to what I remove or should I start to ween the salt out? Should I put the carbon back in my filter? (I removed it as one of the websites recommended.)

 

[OldMan47]

If you have had the ich completely gone for several days, you can stop adding salt when you do your water changes. Each water change will reduce the salt content of your tank water. If you have any symptoms in any of your fish, a full treatment dose must be maintained a bit longer. You definitely want a few days of ich free conditions before you do anything to reduce the salt content of the water.