Heat only for ich

[jeninok]

Can anyone comment on success or failure with using heat alone to treat Ich?


I have a mild case of ich in my tank, It must have been dormant in one of their gills because no one new has been added for several weeks.

Since I have mostly tetras and some other sensitive fish such as otos, and a pearl gourami as well as tons of plants I have decided to try to treat with heat only.

Right now the temp is up to 30C and i pointed the powerhead up at the surface as well as lowering the water a little bit to increase splash.

Can anyone comment on success with using heat alone to treat Ich?

[jpappy789]

The heat alone doesn't kill the parasite, it only speeds up the life cycle therefore the time it takes for it to become free swimming and vulnerable again.

You should be fine adding salt.

[knight4th]

i agree, heat only speeds up the lifecylce, when ich is attached to the fish its in its tomite stage and cannot not be killed, it can only be treated when its in its trophont stage where it is floating in the water column, adding salt will help, you could do salt baths as well, or add an anti parasitic with the addition of heat

[jeninok]

So the studies showing that temps above 86 stop the ich from repoducing are incorrect?

I have salt that I can add, maybe at 2 tsp per 5 gallons to start?

[67chevelle]

Ich is very easy to treat with salt/heat,or meds. Your fish and plants will be fine with either. It would be best to treat it quickly and correctly. Heat alone won't work.

[Tom.E]

Some have had good results with heat only. The only question is if they got them all or were setting themselves up for later ICH outbreaks due to unnoticed subclinical infections.

I would use more salt than 1 tsp per 5 gal. Most plants and FW fish can handle more than that.

And regardless if you use salt or ICH medications, try to set the tank temperature to 85 F. ICH theronts are directly affected by heat. Their lifespans in the water column can range from days to hours depending on the water temperature. One report I read had theronts surviving only 10 hrs at 82 F (28 C) (Matthews). Even at 75 F survival rates dropped to 1% of the total excystment population after 20 hrs (Lom & Dykova). So warmer tank temperatures alone do influence the time of infectivity by theronts.


Tom

[jm1212]

Most people will use the heat/ salt method, but ich can be killed with heat alone. The reason that it isn't used much is because that the temps needed to kill the parasite with heat alone can be detrimental for the fish as well because thehighbtemperatures reduce dissolved oxygen in the water

[jeninok]

Well using heat and alt has worked wonderfully and I have seen no trace of spots since the third day with no loss of life, either plant or fish. I will never go back to using medicine to treat ich again.

I am keeping the temps raised and the salt levels up through friday to make sure the Ich is really gone this time, it must have been living in the gills of some of the fish and only popping up every so often.

That will make it almost 7 days since the last time I saw a spot on any fish, should I go even longer just to make sure since this has been an ongoing problem?

[Star_Rider]

It's generally recommended to leave the tank in treatment for 7-10 days after the white spots have gone.

this usually increases the chances of affecting the freeswimmer stage of ich (theronts)


see here :

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1657382&postcount=2

[Rbishop]

Heat will do it..but as jm noted, usually at a cost of life to the fish. IMO, folks who claim to have done it with heat alone are just driving it back to sub-levels that pop up later.

However, salt and heat are a proven combination. Shhot for 2 teaspoons per gallon....works like a champ.

[jpappy789]

Yes, I would bet heat will kill pretty much every living thing at some point...

[jeninok]

2 teaspoons per gallon is exactly what I did, along with keeping the temp right at 30c.

I did a large water change last night and went ahead and re-dosed the salt. I want to be absolutely sure that I get every last one of the nasty critters this time and since the fish and plants are doing just fine I figured it was no harm to go ahead and keep treating for another week or so.

[trigiver01]

I've had success with heat alone, but it does take 88+ to do it, and you have to watch the fish closely to make sure they're doing OK with it. Under 88 only speeds up the life cycle, killing your fish more quickly.

Heat + salt is certainly better. I try to get as close to 88 as possible with salt to nuke the ich into oblivion. :)