View Full Version : Advice on Prolonged Case of Ick?
I've got a 75 gallon tank with about 10 small (1.5-3.0") african cichlids. They started flashing (scrape against the gravel, rocks, etc.) about three weeks ago and I started treating about 15 days ago when I noticed one white spot on a copadichromis borleyi. The tank is filtered by a Emporer 400 that I took the carbon out of during treatment. I initially left the temperature around 78 deg. F for the first 10 days of treatment. None of the other cichlids ever got any other white spots, however about half of them still continue to flash .
I decided to raise the temperature about 5 days ago and added some acquarium salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons) after reading this may help speed up the treatment process. The current temp. is 82 deg. F. however I'm starting to wonder if I'm making a dent in the problem. I treat the tank each day per the directions (1 teaspoon per 10 gallons) and do about a 30-50% water change daily. I discontinued making up the salt in the changed water since I wasn't that convinced it was really helping.
I was wondering if there's something else I should try or whether I should try discontinuing treatment since I haven't seen any white spots in so long? Obviously somethings still bothering some of the fish that's causing them to flash but I'm wondering if its not the ick?
wetmanNY
03-20-2003, 12:53 PM
TBA, you forgot to say what your started to treat with fifteen days ago. Was it just salt?
You say you are treating the tank to a teaspoon per 10 gallons (net gallons, I hope) every day. Is that of salt or of a medication?
How many tablespoons per gallon do you figure you have in the tank by now? Your Malawi cichlids are quite salt tolerant... but I hope you've been keeping track.
You're quite right to figure the parasites aren't eliminated, since fish are showing that their gills still itch.
Kit Walker
03-21-2003, 4:01 AM
Are the fish flashing showing actual signs of whitespot? If not then it is likely that it is body and/or gill flukes. These require a different treatment (eg Sterazin) to the common white spot remedy.
beviking
03-21-2003, 9:09 AM
Hmm, depending on what you were treating with...um...
Most treatments specifically for ich should clear it up in 15 days at those temps if you were treating every day with water changes and removed carbon. If your fish are tolerant of salt, put it to 'em! Salt will kill ich if a high enough concentration is achieved, but most trop. fish won't tolerate it. Salt is still used for therapeutic reasons, it does aid in treatment even at lower concentrations. However, many meds contain salt. Very odd that you've been treating with "x" for 15 days (even at 78 degrees for the first 10 days) and they are still flashing.
I would suggest continue treatment at 82 degrees for 6 more days to see if that finishes it off. I would add salt to achieve 2-3 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water, that is for salt tolerant fish!
On a whim, I wonder if ich has allowed bacteria a site to invade, and in fact, if it is this that is causing the fish to still scratch? Opinions????
I'm using Rid Ick and following their instructions on the bottle. I had my first casualty yesterday, a juli. I'm not seeing any spots still and the only sign of anything wrong is one fish flashing and a covering or cloudy eye on a ps. zebra. I think today is day 16 of the ick treatment. I'm going to stop after today and see if any white spots develop. I'm also going to try another parasite treatment and see if that helps reduce any flashing. I'm not convinced this is ick anymore
Kit Walker
03-21-2003, 4:33 PM
It does sound very strage that you are experiencing problems on the 16th day of tretment. My friends and I always use Protozin and everything has always cleared by the 5th or 6th day. As suggested a salt dose may be therapeutic (and usually rids flukes if present). How are your water parameters? Flashing can be an indicator of high toxins and also of incorrect pH.
Tba I have never used Rid Ick but have used salt to get rid of the ich. A 0.3% salt solution (one tablespoon per gallon) is required to kill ich. Treatment should go as follows. Do a 30% water change, slowly raise the temperature to at least 80 degrees, then the aquarium salt should be added in three doses per 12 hours, add one teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon, wait 12 hours, do this 2 more time in 12 hour intervals and you will have 0.3% solution. Feed very lightly and do not do any water changes for 8-12 days. This will rid you of ich. Then go back to your normal feedings and water changes.
Tba if you are not sure what your fish have then I would invest in a microscope. I bought cheap plastic one at the local toy store for $8 five years ago and it is an invaluable instrument in diagnosis of diseases. Mine has three magnifications 100x, 450x and 750x. I think it is a must have just to take the guesswork out of diagnosis. Treatment of your fish is stressful enough but when you are guessing what they have then it is like playing russian roulette hoping to cure your ailing fish.
This site might be for koi and goldfish but it has great information on symptoms and hopefully it will help you http://www.koivet.com/symptoms.html
Good luck Avoxo
Originally posted by TBA
I'm using Rid Ick and following their instructions on the bottle. I had my first casualty yesterday, a juli. I'm not seeing any spots still and the only sign of anything wrong is one fish flashing and a covering or cloudy eye on a ps. zebra. I think today is day 16 of the ick treatment. I'm going to stop after today and see if any white spots develop. I'm also going to try another parasite treatment and see if that helps reduce any flashing. I'm not convinced this is ick anymore
Hi TBA may I ask what made you think it was ich to begin with? It sure doesn't sound like ich here but rather some kind of bacterial infection what with no white spots but with cloudy eyes. I don't think you need a parasite treatment I think you need an antibiotic. Though as far as ich and other parasites go I have always used Coppersafe, you don't even need to remove your carbon with it. The only problem is you can't use it if you have invertebrates in your tank (snails etc).