Qu(ich) Question??

[Shierkahn]

Out of all that I've read, I have one question. Does the temp have to be 84-86 deg. in order for the salt treatment to work? My tank is 80-82deg. The cysts have fallen off the fish. Can I add the salt and it still kill the ich??I so, should I so the treatment for a longer period of time?? Well, that's more than one question but, I couldn't help it. Thanks all.

[amosf]

The idea of the temp increase is to speed the lifecycle up. Treatment should still work over a longer period at lower temps. Haven't really tried it here as the only ich we've had here tends to be in the summer and the tank temp is high even without a heater... I've been thinking of maybe rigging up a peltzer device to cool the tanks a little, esp when they start climbing over 30C (86) on a hot day... It's also one of the reasons I have a drip trickle system to get water back in the tank as it allows a bit more evapoation. Tank loses a lot of water in the heat, but keeps it a couple of degrees cooler.

[russjet]

i think the general consensus is to continue to treat the tank for about a week to ten days after last visible signs of ich to be sure it is totally eradicated

even at slightly lower temp than 86 that should be ok

if not someone else jump in and correct me if it needs to be longer that ten days

the reasoning for this is that at any given stage all three parts of the life cycle may be present . so to catch all parasites that may have just landed on the fish or be in gravel or free floating extra time may be required

this may seem like a long time but ich can and does kill so it pays to kill it outright rather than stopping treatment too early and getting a reinfection.

HTH

[RTR]

Something around and above the mid-80sF by itself interferes with the life cycle of the Ich parasite. At that temperature and above, heat alone may be effective against the parasite. But, big but, Ich prefers the gills above the external surface of the fish (better blood supply and oxygenation), and can directly interfere with the fish's breathing. Warmer water hold less O2 disolved also. Those two things together can spell serious trouble for the fish involved. It does no good to kill the parasites if you suffocate the fish at the same time. So I use heat (at least 80F, higher if the tank situation in terms of bioload will allow it) and salt. For me, that is the most conservative solution.

[Shierkahn]

Thanks, you guys answered my questions. I've had ich before and used nox-ich. Even at the half dose it burned the skin of my large pleco so I didn't want to use it this time because I have a small pleco in this tank. So, I'm gonna go ahead and start the salt treatment today. Once again, thanks for the help.

[ecvjohn]

I am new to this so I can only offer you my recent expierience.

I treated ich at 82 degrees, only because my heater only got the tank that warm. I may have done this wrong but I dissolved the equivilant of 1 tsp per gallon in tank water and dumped it in the tank, I added 1 tsp each morning and night and did a 40-50% water change every other day, adding more salt with each water change. The spots were gone in 7-10 days and I treated for another week or so after that. I have 3 survivors that are doing well today and have seen no further signs of ich.

Good luck and be patient.