I have two clown loaches that developed white spots all over their body. Other fish (tetras and corys) seems to be fine so far. I went and bought quick cure, is it safe to put quick cure in a planted tank? or should I quarantine all the fish in a separate tank and treat them. I never had to deal with ich before, any advise from you all greatly appreciated.
Anil.
Treatment for Ich
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theglobetrotter
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2009 12:10 pm
A non chemical way to treat ich is to jack up the temperature as high as you can and add about 1 or 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon. Freshwater ich is intolerent of both salt and heat, but much more intolerant of heat. Since clown loaches are tropical fish, you could probably go as high as 90 degrees F, but in order for the heat to effectively treat the ich, it must be at least 86-87.
Water changes are also a must. I've heard of cases where water changes alone cured the ich.
Water changes are also a must. I've heard of cases where water changes alone cured the ich.
I have also cured ick by giving the fish a salt bath. You can google to look up for the right salt to water ratio. It is nice because you can just treat the fish that appear to have the problem, and if the fish looks stressed you can "save" it right away and put it back in the tank.
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
You may want to be careful with scaleless fish (like loaches) and elevated salt, they tend to act like they are being burned by it.
The safest/quickest way I've found to cure loaches from Ich is to get them in a quarentine tank, raise the temp, add only 0.5 - 1 tsp salt/gallon, and add a submersible U/V sterilizer.
I've tried every medication out there with poor results since they don't work fast enough. Since loaches lack scales they are quikly overburdened by the parasite.
Good luck! Although a common infection I still find it very challenging to cure. Guess I should stick to people.
The safest/quickest way I've found to cure loaches from Ich is to get them in a quarentine tank, raise the temp, add only 0.5 - 1 tsp salt/gallon, and add a submersible U/V sterilizer.
I've tried every medication out there with poor results since they don't work fast enough. Since loaches lack scales they are quikly overburdened by the parasite.
Good luck! Although a common infection I still find it very challenging to cure. Guess I should stick to people.
If one fish in the tank has it, doesn't it basically mean all the fish have it to some degree? I don't have a lot of experience with Ich (thankfully) so I'm not sure if it's one of those "fine if in the tank since it only pops up with fish are weak/water is crappy" or if it's a "OMG IT'S THE PLAGUE EVERYTHING MUST BE CLEAN!". I always had the "treat the whole tank" mentality and if just raising the tank temps a bit would work... if treating with heat, how long would it take to kill it, or would you have to do it multiple times? They seem to have the multi-stage development that makes it hard to kill all of it at one go 
Water changes alone curing Ich make me wonder if it's a water quality issue, and the fish most susceptible to Ich (such as the loach compared to tetras) is just the one that shows it first when the Ich booms in response to the water. It sounds very similar to the fungal issues I'll get with my tadpoles sometimes - complicated fungal treatments are as likely to kill the tad as the fungus, but changing the water conditions (temp, lighting, water changes) will solve it faster, for cheaper, and with more success!
(Edit) Figures - after I ask the question I find this: "Ich appears not to be able to survive temperatures above 86F. By raising temps to above 86F one can kill all the parasites; generally, 4-5 days after the temps have been raised above 86F you will see a reduction in white spots on your fish. It is best to continue temps above 86F for at least 2 weeks to ensure all the parasites have been killed. Do not raise temperatures too quickly. 1 to 1 ½ degrees F every 12 hours is best, although if you keep your temps very low you may need to shorten that to 1 degree F every 6 hours. Raising temps too quickly can stress fish. Keep in mind, Ich multiplies more quickly at higher temps below 86F; it is necessary to find a balance between raising temps slowly enough not to stress the fish and quickly enough to keep the fish from becoming too infested with the parasite. Also, be sure all the fish/invertebrates in the tank can handle temps that high; if you’re not sure, do some research and ask.
**High temps reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. Increasing surface agitation, either by lowering water levels if one has a hang on back filters so the water falls further, or adding addition aeration is recommended. " (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/ ... Page1.html)
Meds seem to kill all our lovely shrimps and wreck the tank in general, so I can see why pulling the fish would be good... but then Ich would still be in the system and there is no guarantee that those meds even work on that lifestage! Ugh!
Water changes alone curing Ich make me wonder if it's a water quality issue, and the fish most susceptible to Ich (such as the loach compared to tetras) is just the one that shows it first when the Ich booms in response to the water. It sounds very similar to the fungal issues I'll get with my tadpoles sometimes - complicated fungal treatments are as likely to kill the tad as the fungus, but changing the water conditions (temp, lighting, water changes) will solve it faster, for cheaper, and with more success!
(Edit) Figures - after I ask the question I find this: "Ich appears not to be able to survive temperatures above 86F. By raising temps to above 86F one can kill all the parasites; generally, 4-5 days after the temps have been raised above 86F you will see a reduction in white spots on your fish. It is best to continue temps above 86F for at least 2 weeks to ensure all the parasites have been killed. Do not raise temperatures too quickly. 1 to 1 ½ degrees F every 12 hours is best, although if you keep your temps very low you may need to shorten that to 1 degree F every 6 hours. Raising temps too quickly can stress fish. Keep in mind, Ich multiplies more quickly at higher temps below 86F; it is necessary to find a balance between raising temps slowly enough not to stress the fish and quickly enough to keep the fish from becoming too infested with the parasite. Also, be sure all the fish/invertebrates in the tank can handle temps that high; if you’re not sure, do some research and ask.
**High temps reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. Increasing surface agitation, either by lowering water levels if one has a hang on back filters so the water falls further, or adding addition aeration is recommended. " (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/ ... Page1.html)
Meds seem to kill all our lovely shrimps and wreck the tank in general, so I can see why pulling the fish would be good... but then Ich would still be in the system and there is no guarantee that those meds even work on that lifestage! Ugh!
Best, Corey
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DonkeyFish
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Thanks Corey! x2 here, and what chris said about being cautious because they are loaches. Also, note to everyone...when adding salt make sure to dissolve it first in a separate container instead of adding the salt straight to the tank. ESPECIALLY if you have bottom dwellers. What happens is the salt gets very concentrated where it sits as it is dissolving and can burn the gills of innocent critters like cories and such who are curious or otherwise swim by. Yeah, I found out the hard way. 
On treatments... I found a Kordon product called Rid-Ich (or something similar, can't look at the moment) that is organic and safe for shrimp. For me it has worked really well even on sensitive fish and you can even up the dose after a few days if it isn't working yet. Granted, you're still fighting an uphill battle, but at least this way the less sick critters don't have to suffer by default. Right?
No matter what... good luck!!!
On treatments... I found a Kordon product called Rid-Ich (or something similar, can't look at the moment) that is organic and safe for shrimp. For me it has worked really well even on sensitive fish and you can even up the dose after a few days if it isn't working yet. Granted, you're still fighting an uphill battle, but at least this way the less sick critters don't have to suffer by default. Right?
No matter what... good luck!!!
It is not murder if you're killing snails.
Does it discuss which life stages it kills? I was wondering that with the heat/salt treatments... they may kill more stages than the common medication, but do they get them all, or is there a schedule (like parasitic worms) where you have to treat them again after they would have hatched from the cysts?
Best, Corey
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theglobetrotter
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2009 12:10 pm
Thanks everyone for sharing your wisdom and experiences, i have isolated the loches and treated them with quick cure as well as raised the temp. I have not treated the big tank as i haven't seen other fish with ich symptoms, but I did raise the temp in the big tank just in case. So far the loaches seem to be okay and the white spots have been subsiding. I will leave them in the sick tank for couple of more weeks and see.
