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View Full Version : Indiana Ick And The Quest For The Holy Cure


BagelDog
09-09-2009, 1:24 AM
That title may be the stupidest thing I have ever written.

Moving on...
I am dealing with the most frustrating bout of Ick ever, and it's not even the Ick's fault!

So I see one white spot on one fish and think it's no problem. I've treated Ick before, right? Wrong.

I first slowly raised the water temp to 82 and did a good 33% water change. I had run out of meds containing Malachite Green so I went to Petco, the only place open on Sunday, to grab some more. They have some new stuff on the shelf which I decide to buy because they must've been out of the Malachite Green variety. I get home and give it a whirl.

The next couple days I did water changes and added more Ick medication during my lunch break but am gone nights. The night I got home it was about 55-60 in my house. As a result, my tank temp had crashed the last two nights because my girlfriend left every window in the house open. I'm guessing the tank dropped to about 74-76 for two nights.

So now the Ick is back and with a vengance. I continued to treat using Kordon's Ick Attack diligently but the results were crap. The ick persisted. The Ick Attack worked about as well as Children's Tylenol does for a migraine.

I go to plan B and use my last dose of Malachite Green medication and run to Petco, it's Sunday again, for some more to finish up the treatment. That is when they decided to inform me that they will no longer be carrying real Ick medication. Instead I buy the only thing available, a new product called Lifeguard.

I panic and run to Wal-Mart to see if the have anything with MG in it. I purchased Wardley's Ick Away that contained "the real stuff".

When I got home I was faced with a decision: Wardley's or Lifeguard? I chose Wardley's because it was a type of med I had used successfully before.

And now one day later...
I think I have lost one german ram with another one knocking on heavens door.

Ugh, I've never lost a fish to Ick before. I smell defeat.

In summation, what would you do at this stage of the game? The Ick seems to be retreating with the addition of MG.

I know there may be no right choice but maybe somebody else has been in my situation. Exactly my situation. Only people's names have been changed to preserve their identity... and I'm the Mayor of something cool. Yeah...
The Zigman
09-09-2009, 1:44 AM
get the temp back up to 83-85 ish..

Add salt..

I THINK its 3 tea spoons (1 tbl spoon) per 10 gal...

I havent had to treat ick since I was a kid.. I am sure others will clarify.

You dont really need to use any OTC Ick meds...
BagelDog
09-09-2009, 1:56 AM
Huh... Salt. Are we talking table salt or aquarium salt from, let's say, Petco? I would really like someone to confirm this before I go ahead with it.

Nothing personal Zigman. I've never seen anything you've written be anything but accurate. But this is my fish we're talking about! :)

In reality, the Ick is my own doing. I broke my own rule and didn't quarantine three new clown loaches I purchased. None of them showed any signs of Ick when they were introduced into the tank.
Rbishop
09-09-2009, 4:42 AM
I would do several large water changes to rid that tank of all those meds.

Raise temp to 84-86 F and using regular table salt at 2 teaspoons per gallon, well dissolved, add it slowly over several hours and maintain that for a full week after all visible signs of ich are gone.
jpappy789
09-09-2009, 7:47 AM
Huh... Salt. Are we talking table salt or aquarium salt from, let's say, Petco? I would really like someone to confirm this before I go ahead with it.

Nothing personal Zigman. I've never seen anything you've written be anything but accurate. But this is my fish we're talking about! :)

In reality, the Ick is my own doing. I broke my own rule and didn't quarantine three new clown loaches I purchased. None of them showed any signs of Ick when they were introduced into the tank.
In reality, AQ salt is table salt (NaCl) w/o the anti-caking ingredients. Either one would work, so might as go with the cheaper option...table salt.
kyryah
09-09-2009, 7:52 AM
Personally, I have never had QuIck Cure fail me. It is a combo of malachite green and formalin, and has always cleared ich for me in 4 days or less. If you can find it, I would go for it. If not, do the raised temp/salt route. And yes, table salt is fine. I personally buy pickling/canning salt as I can get 4lbs for $1.53, and it is pure salt with no additives. "Aquarium salt" is a way to trick you into spending ten times the amount for the same dang thing, nothing more.

Kristina
Sammysaddiction
09-09-2009, 8:25 AM
Im in the same boat as you. I've been fighting it for 3 weeks now. I used a whole bottle of quick cure and nothing happened! If anything it got worse. Most of my fish seem to be free of ich but my loaches still have it. I'm now using Jungle Ick rid and salt. That seems to be killing some of it. Good luck!
Sploke
09-09-2009, 8:31 AM
I've successfully treated ich several times with the heat and salt method - its cheap and safe and effective.
BagelDog
09-09-2009, 8:45 AM
Wow... I had no idea that there were so many supporters of this method. So be it.

Water changes, raised temp and salt it is.

Are there any types of fish you wouldn't treat with the salt cure?
Sploke
09-09-2009, 9:08 AM
That's the reason I like it so much - I've treated catfish, loaches, plecos, tanks with snails and shrimp and plants, with no ill effects.
huffmagx
09-09-2009, 9:50 AM
I thought salt and snails were a real no! no!
montanafish gal
09-09-2009, 10:10 AM
I personally thought your title was kinda cute and funny.... but maybe it's just a "fellow montanan" thing! Good luck clearing your ich (ick - which one is it???? I'm gonna start a thread debating this!) I hope your fishes are all ok!
kyryah
09-09-2009, 10:53 AM
I thought salt and snails were a real no! no!

Depends on the snail. If they are brigs, I would not risk it. But I have MTS, ramshorns, pond snails and mini viv snails all in a BW tank with a specific gravity of 1.005-1.008. Nerites would also do just fine.

Kristina
BagelDog
09-09-2009, 11:30 AM
Last question, how much salt per gallon of water?

I have two posts telling me two very different things.
kyryah
09-09-2009, 11:33 AM
I use three teaspoons per gallon. On day one I dissolve one teaspoon in tank water and then add it slowly over the course of the day. On day two, repeat, and on day three, repeat so that you reach a total of three tsp per gallon. When you do a water change, make sure that you add the correct amount of salt to the new water. The salt will remain until you do more water changes as it does not evaporate.

Kristina
BagelDog
09-09-2009, 11:41 AM
I have a 29 gallon tank.
So at that rate I would have added the appropriate amount of salt in 87 days.
Do I have this right?
kyryah
09-09-2009, 11:43 AM
No, lol. Day one - 29 teaspoons. Day two - 29 teaspoons. Day three - 29 teaspoons. You then have a total of three teaspoons per gallon. It is one teaspoon per gallon a day, not one teaspoon total a day.

Kristina
BagelDog
09-09-2009, 12:00 PM
That sounds much better!
Who am I to say what is right or wrong though, I've never treated with salt before.
jpappy789
09-09-2009, 1:37 PM
Probably the only major downside to the treatment is that apparently there are some salt-resistant strains out there. I'm not sure how often those pop up though. It seems 9 times out of 10 the salt+heat method works.
Star_Rider
09-09-2009, 2:02 PM
I have a 29 gallon tank.
So at that rate I would have added the appropriate amount of salt in 87 days.
Do I have this right?
:hitting::laugh::rofl::y220e:

that response is priceless