Treatment of Freshwater and Saltwater External Parasites
The following procedure is applicable when treating the diseased fishes in their original aquarium or pond:
(a) Remove any invertebrates you wish to save.
(b) Remove carbon and clean outside filter. Replace with clean mechanical filter media, such as Kordon's Bio·Mech®, and return to use without the carbon.
(c) Perform a partial water change of at least 25%. Repeat water changes before each re-treatment with Rid·Ich+.
(d) Calculate the actual volume of water to be treated, taking into consideration the displacement of water by gravel, rock, and ornaments. (To calculate the aquarium's capacity measure its length, height and width in inches, multiply these dimensions together and divide the result by 232. Your answer will be the amount of water in gallons.)
(e) Add 1 teaspoon of Rid·Ich+ per 10 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 15 ppm of formalin and 0.05 ppm of malachite green.
(f) Treatments may be repeated as often as every 6 hours (depending upon the severity of the particular disease and the tolerance of the diseased fishes). Treatment should be repeated no less than every 24 hours (see step c) and continued for at least 3 days beyond the disappearance of all sign of disease. Typical treatments of freshwater ich will be six to seven days long (meaning six to seven partial water changes followed by re-dosing of Rid·Ich+). The actual time necessary will depend upon the particular disease, the degree to which the fish are affected, and how early the disease is detected and appropriate treatment started. Note: Failure to properly diagnose a given disease and failure to start appropriate treatment early enough will often result in the death of some or all of the diseased fishes.
(g) After treatment, make a 40% water change. Add Kordon's NovAqua® and AmQuel® before replacing water in the tank.
Some situations may warrant the transfer of the affected fishes to a separate quarantine tank. If you elect to follow this procedure, the original aquarium or pond should remain devoid of any fishes for a period of not less than 4 days to insure that any remaining parasites have expired. Carefully inspect the fishes prior to returning them to the original aquarium or pond to insure that all signs of the infestation are gone.
