What kills ICH??

Temps will kill it. Not having a host will kill it. Salt will kill it. Granted, the temps high enough to kill it will also kill the fish. So...

The important thing is that ich does NOT occur in all tanks. Ich can be introduced into a tank, and due to it's life cycle, be there for months without being noticed because it is only visible to us a) at a specific stage in it's life and b) when fish infestations are very heavy. Most of the time, the parasite attaches to the gills, where it's hidden. That's how it gets imported--people can't see the parasites, and don't quarantine. So, one cyst on a gill comes in. At this point, it's well protected from most medications, since that cyst protects it. It drops off, hangs out in the substrate, then hatches into the free swimming stage. While in the substrate, it's safe from everything but manual removal. Once it hatches, it's susceptible to salt or other medications. It's looking for a host--and by 'it', I mean hundreds of them. In the wild, the parasite probably won't find a host. In our tanks, they will. They target the gills of the fish, burrow in, and start eating. Now, the immune system of the fish attacks it, and if it were just ONE parasite, would probably be ok. The fish would be irritated for a while, but survive. In tanks, each fish is likely going to pick up more than one--lots and lots. Some fish have thicker slime coats, so are resistant to the ich, but even they can be overwhelmed. So now, the fish protects the parasite from most medications--internal meds from treated food will help, but most additions to the water won't. The parasite noms along, before encysting into the familiar white crystal on the surface of the fish.

This whole process can take 30 days at cooler temps. The parasite can't control how fast it develops, that's based on the temp. So, raising the temp forces it to go faster, meaning it gets to a treatable stage faster. Temps higher than 86 *may* kill it, but not always, but it will shorten the life cycle to 2 weeks. Temps higher than 86 aren't really safe for most fish. Salt does 2 things: fish will produce a thicker slime coat, making it harder for the parasite to reinfect; salinity kills the free swimming stage. That's why it's important to treat past the last visible spot.

I just saw a weird diamond shaped white mark on the tail of one of my cardinals. I was shocked, thinking it was ich, and there have been no additions since April or May. I was starting to wonder if it was a case of the "all tanks have ich" view getting some anecdotal traction with me. Looking more closely at it, 4 scales are missing. I'm starting to wonder if the angel is starting to get nibbly on the smaller fish.

Good stuff! I've treated ich once and there's no sign of of it 3 years later.


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tanker said:

I was just thinking and wondering. I have read enough about ICH, but I still do not know how it can get into an aquarium if there has been no additions of either plants or animals. Then on the cure--- I know raising the temp to 86+ and adding salt "cures" ICH (I know and have used it), but is it the salt or the temp.

Can ICH be killed with just using one, but not the other?? The internet is very inconclusive.

Click to expand...

To answer whether it can be killed with one but not the other, yes. I used only salt without raising the temperature to cure Ich in my large tank. It was also kind of an emergency since my clown loaches got it and they're extremely susceptible to it as well as likely to give in to it and die. It took longer than a week but it all disappeared. One of my Australian Rainbows got it too but the loaches were covered after coming in from the pet shop. It was a pain but I'm glad I brought those loaches home from that big-chain horrible shop which the LFS refers to as "Deadsmart" because when I went the next day, the tanks were horrible looking and the employee said their entire system shut down overnight so they might have died if I didn't get them. So Ich seemed like a good trade off!

Important thing about raising temps, also should probably increase aeration as well. The last thing you need is a sick fish being O2 deprived.

I've really only recently heard about the high heat method and 86-88F is what I see recommended. But not all fish tolerate those temps. Like OG said salt+ heat speeds up the life cycle to kill the free swimming stage. Some fish don't do salt well but then there are those who have done it with those fish and they were just fine. I've never used any meds though, I think some might contain copper which is no good for inverts.

Just make sure whatever method you choose is least stressful on your tank inhabitants. You will have to treat the whole tank.

If you use just salt, keep in mind that you MUST maintain the salinity for a minimum of 2 weeks past the last visible symptom....and I'd prefer 4 weeks to be on the safe side. If you start dropping the salinity immediately, you might not kill every parasite.

This is just one more reason why quarantine is critical. Being able to treat effectively just the fish that are sick, without worrying about your main bacterial colony, plants, or inverts is critical.