Ick treatment not working...

[abovethestorm]

ok I need some advice.

I am on day 13 of salt treatment for ick. I did 2 teaspoons per gallon. My tank stays at 84 without the heater so I went with that. I did one waterchange gravel vac during this time and replaced the salt for the water I took out. It seems as though the ick is still there.

My question is.. should I buy a heater, crank it up and try salt and heat for another two weeks or should I just go with ick meds? I have a common pleco in the tank so if I go with meds I need some recomendations for what would be safe for my pleco. At this point I figure I need to get my wallet out anyway so which way should I go? I just want my babies safe and healthy.

[mel_20_20]

Don't worry.... just keep going. I wouldn't buy Ich meds, just continue with the salt.
It is true that it will go a little faster if you crank it up to 86 or 87, but you can still successfully treat this at the temp your tank is. That is, if it is steady.

If you have swings I would go ahead and get a heater to keep it at a constant 84 or even better at 86 or 87.

Keep your parameters good. Don't ignore ammonia or nitrites at all, or nitrates either for that matter as long as they are in the 20ppm range. A bit more won't hurt but you really need to keep the parameters pristine to help them go through this.

It took three weeks at 87 degrees with 2 tbs per gallon on my tank to get rid of Ich.
Hang in there. Your Plecs will be OK with this as long as you keep the parameters perfect.

[abovethestorm]

Ok I am going to go for a heater and try that out just to be sure. My tank does seem to stay at around 84 but you never know it might jump around a bit. I need a heater before fall hits anyway. :)

[mel_20_20]

Good going... keep us posted.:)

[SubRosa]

There are strains of ich which are highly resistant to salt treatment. Most strains of ich will succumd at about .3% concentration, but there are strains which require double that level.

[Star_Rider]

:iagree:

I ran into that resistant strain a year or two back.

I found I had to go with Ich Guard from Jungle at half dose for tetras.

[Madding]

I use RidIch+ because it is safe for scaleless fish and I'm primarily a loach keeper (I still use lower doses than recommended.)

When I don't want to use medication at all, I simply crank the heat up to around 90. My fish can tolerate it without taking any casualties the the ich and it usually goes away within a week or two. The higher you can go, the better.

[abovethestorm]

Ok update. I AM NOW TICKED OFF! Not only do they still have ick but they look like zombies. They are still eating well and behaving vibrantly but look like sad little children with white chicken pox. They scared my houseguest the other day. I've ordered the heaters two 300w heaters. They are on the way and should be here by this weekend. 4 watts per gallon along with a digital thermometer so I can keep the temp steady. I have never heated a tank this large so I hope thats enough. I am giving the salt another try with some steady heat. If this doesnt work I am going with chemicals.

[abovethestorm]

Oh and btw its in two tanks now too. I had to separate one of my Oscars from this tank because he suddenly chose to be a horses butt to everyone else in the tank. So I placed him in a 55g bare bottom by himself which I had a heater large enough for. So I set that up and I am doing the salt and heat with him. So far so good, so I am hopeful. Don't worry though the 55 isn't Big Daddys permanent home. I am getting him his own tank at least a 75 after the ick is gone!

[sushiray]

I tried salt + Rid Ich + higher temps (86-87) on my discus tank - they "disappeared" in 5days with 5more days of treatment.

But I made the mistake of moving a Koi from the discus to my angel tank & then 2 angels picked up slight case of Ich. I used same treatment but temp only from 78 to 82. again they "disappeared".

I think they never go away but lay dormant waiting for it's ripen moment to pounce again.

good luck!

[Star_Rider]

ich does not go dormant. it is a parasite and needs a host to survive.
it can appear to have gone away tho and reside in areas on the fish where they are not easily visible(gills etc). they can remain in a low infection level until an opportunity arises that they can take advantage of.
another theory is the fish become more resistant to the ich and ich is not capable of heavy infestation.
the normal life cycle the ich (salt) should drop off.. the visible ich is not at a very treatable stage..

[rokertje]

ok im a complete fool when it comes to fish tanks my gf is a more experienced user though and we have a case of ich it showed really bad on 1 of the black molly's and it was swimming upside down so i removed it from the tank i have a 33 gallon tank not overstocked and i hear raising the temperature to 86 and adding 2 teaspoons of salt should do the trick my question is how fast should i raise the temperature?
and can i expect problems with my fish by raising the temperature and adding salt?
2 black mollys a clown plec a Opaline gurami a small angel fish and 6 rasbora are in the tank

[Reframer]

Swimming upside down is usually a sign of swim bladder problems,not ich. But if you see the white spots, then by all means treat the whole tank with salt and heat. You have to predisolve the salt in a cup of water first and then add it over 2 days. The temp can be raised to the desired range over 2 days. About 1 tsp of salt per gallon should be good for most, if not then you can add more as needed. I'm not sure off hand if the rasbora can go to 86 but get it up to at least 82 and they should be ok with that.