Question - The Disease ICH!!! ARGH!!!

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adehaan86
 
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:38 am

Question - The Disease ICH!!! ARGH!!!

by adehaan86

Alright here's the story my brother has a 46 gallon bowfront tank with a buch of tropical fish, unsure of what and the numbers.

He bought fish about a week ago, and now 3 days ago noticed he got ICH and starting treating it with a additive to the water. He followed directions and used the whole bottle.

The ICH on the fish got better but fish are still dieing and you can still see the ich.

My question is what's the best why to get rid of this disease?
Continue water changes? more or less?
try a different brand of ICH remover(lol)?
and suggestions for a noob at ICH would be great!!!!


CatherineG
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:11 pm

by CatherineG

Well with mine my guppies get ich if they get stressed or something just isnt right with the tankk the medicine I use say to add 1 drop per gallon for 3 days then do like a 20-30% water change if he has a filter with carbon in it or like the cartridge has it in it he needs to take that out for the 3 days or however long the bottle says I use Quick Cure and it works great good luck!


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

The best time to kill ick is when they are free floating, not while on the fish. Your friend probably mistook the absence of the ick on the fish as it being gone. A very common mistake. When they fall off the fish they are in a cyst state, and will float in the water looking for another host fish. It is at this time they can be killed.

This is stuff I have read, I have only had one outbreak so not an expert on it.

*Remove any carbon from the filter, it will suck the meds out of the water.

*Turn up the heat so that it is about 80 degrees. This will speed up the whole process.

*You can add some aquarium salt to help the fish resist the ick.

*Add the meds. Keep up with the meds even after you no longer see the spores on the fish. Usually about 5-7 days. Use the dosage on the bottle.

*After all this, do a large water change. They say not to do a water change while in this process. After the cycle of meds, do about a 50% change and add the carbon back to get rid of all the medicine left in the tank.

Here's an article to help understand ick:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php


zambize
 
Posts: 401
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm

by zambize

Dizz's suggestions are good, but be aware that they are generalizations. Some fish and other aquatic beings can't tolerate temps up to 80 degrees or aquarium salt and not knowing what fish are in your friends tank you should be cautious with these suggestions. Also, with many tropical fish, you must go even higher than 80 degrees, even up to 82-84 is necessary to be therapeutic. Around 80 degrees is the standard temp in my tanks. But you must be certain everything in the tank can handle it, including any plants.

The best med I have found so far is called "Clout". It is very strong and you shouldn't touch it with your hands. And I agree with dizz about most people mistaking the apparent "absence" of visible ich as the complete absence of the parasite. You must continue medicating after visible signs are gone. Ich can be one tenacious parasite. Read the article dizz gave you.

Z


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Hey Z, do you know how African Dwarf Frogs would handle the ick treatment if I ever need to do it? Now that you mentioned that I remember that snails and shrimp can't handle the salt and sometimes the meds. So wondering for future reference how the frogs would?


adehaan86
 
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:38 am

by adehaan86

thank you BOTH, great help. I hope we can get rid of this. About 5 fish have been lost due to this so far!!


zambize
 
Posts: 401
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm

by zambize

I've medicated for Ich several times with African Dwarf Frogs present without any ill side-effects. It's best if you can isolate the affected fish in a quarantine tank, but if you can't, the frogs should be ok.

Z

Question - The Disease ICH!!! ARGH!!!

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