Water Change With Ich Treatment?

[codeajohnson]

Hey Everyone,

I am treating my tank for Ich right now and it has now been one week of treatment so far. The fish are still showing signs of Ich and I was wondering if it is ok to do a water change while treating? I know that some medications say not to, but I think that is during the course of one treatment. I am using Ich Attack if that helps at all. Thanks in advance

 

[Colin_T]

yes it's fine as long as you do the water and then re-treat the tank. Basically if you are due to add more medication today, then do a water change and gravel clean first, then treat the tank.

Make sure you have removed any carbon from the filter as it will absorb the medication and prevent it from working.

Make sure you are adding the correct amount of medication.
To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove them before measuring the height.

 

[mikev]

Ich Attack is an unusual medication --- it is basically a herbal mix, with quinine as the main ingredient, and at low dose. Quinine, incidentally, is an interesting alternative treatment for ich, if used in proper doses.

I would not use Ich Attack as the primary medication, there is no certainty it can exterminate the parasite, and there are good chances that the parasite will come back and no longer respond to this drug at all (this is what happened to my friend). That you see signs after one week is no surprise.

Notice that it is marketed as a disease inhibitor, this is a fair definition.

However, it is a valuable drug to be used as a supplement to a standard Ich treatment, and I had a case where Ich Attack proved essential in dealing with a strain that tolerated conventional drugs.

hth.

 

[codeajohnson]

Thanks for the replies. Think I'll do a water change and see if I can find a different medication to use. The reason I went with the Ich Attack was because I was worried about the medication hurting my khuli loaches. Looking at going with Wardley's as my new approach. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance

 

[mikev]

Thanks for the replies. Think I'll do a water change and see if I can find a different medication to use. The reason I went with the Ich Attack was because I was worried about the medication hurting my khuli loaches. Looking at going with Wardley's as my new approach. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance

If I may suggest, the next time you have a problem, mention the type of fish you have.

With loaches, it is safer to use a Malachite Green/Salt mix than the more common Malachite Green/Formalin.

Specifically, consider using Ich Guard or Nox.
I prefer Ich Guard myself. There are unfortunately different formulations under this name, you want the crystal form (not liquid), and make sure it is Ich Guard, not (much weaker) Ich Guard II.

Alternatives (MG/Formalin): RidIch+, Quick Cure

Dosing: 1/2 of the recommendation to keep it safe for the loaches.

Increase the aeration in the aquarium. A good way of doing it is to lower the water level if you have an HOB filter.

Good luck.

 

[codeajohnson]

Thanks for the replies. Think I'll do a water change and see if I can find a different medication to use. The reason I went with the Ich Attack was because I was worried about the medication hurting my khuli loaches. Looking at going with Wardley's as my new approach. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance

If I may suggest, the next time you have a problem, mention the type of fish you have.

With loaches, it is safer to use a Malachite Green/Salt mix than the more common Malachite Green/Formalin.

Specifically, consider using Ich Guard or Nox.
I prefer Ich Guard myself. There are unfortunately different formulations under this name, you want the crystal form (not liquid), and make sure it is Ich Guard, not (much weaker) Ich Guard II.

Alternatives (MG/Formalin): RidIch+, Quick Cure

Dosing: 1/2 of the recommendation to keep it safe for the loaches.

Increase the aeration in the aquarium. A good way of doing it is to lower the water level if you have an HOB filter.

Good luck.

Thanks for the help. Yeah, that's my fault for not listing the fish that were in the tank. I started a topic before hand to get some advice, and listed the fish in that one. I was more or less just seeing if I could do a water change while treating. Thanks again for your help!

 

[mikev]

Follow the label (except for the decreased dosage).