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Q

QCppg

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May 4, 2004
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Okay, the ich parasites have all dropped off of my fish so I removed them and placed them in a large tote filled with UNMEDICATED water. I then added a very large amount of salt to the tank (I'd say about a pound) and turned the heater all the way up. The temperature peaked at about 90 degrees, however I had to lower the temperature to 80 degrees because the heater was malfunctioning. I have no way of measuring the salinity (the only hydrometer I have is for checking antifreeze).

How long will this take to neutralize the ich in the tank?

How long should I wait before returning the tank to normal WATER conditions?

How long after that should I wait before adding my starter cycle (for me this is a single bunch of Anarchais and a feeder goldfish)?

How long after that should I wait before adding the rest of my fish and the new plants?

How long do I have to wait to see if the ich is off of my fish? (the current residents of the tote are two goldfish, two common plecos, four feeder guppies, and a white cloud that jumped out of my 18-gallon and landed in the saline 20-gallon just last night).

Would the kill period be faster if I added more salt?


Thank you, I appreciate any help with this problem, and let's hope it ends soon!
 
OrionGirl

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Raising the temp to 86 is important to actually killing the parasite. You'll likely want to add some serious aeration--the cool water fish will not like the higher temps, and may start gasping at the surface without some supplemental aeration.

For treatment, I would maintain them in the heat and salt for 2 weeks. If you can't stabilize the temp, increase this to 4 weeks.

For the main tank, just feed it some ammonia each day, and you will not need to re-cycle, the bacteria will remain happy and healthy.
 
R

RioXingu

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Mar 30, 2004
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If I am reading your post correctly, you removed fish from a tank to a tote, and then treated an empty tank for Ich?
If that is the case--
Treating the tank was unnecessary. Ich, an obligate parasite, will die without a fish host. All Ich tomonts (mature parasites) and theronts (infectious swarmers), will die in a few days without fish to continue their life cycle. All that needed to be done was wait (maybe a week, without doing anything).

The fish in the tote may become reinfected by theronts, unless the previous treatment was effective in killing them off.

Please correct me if I am wrong in my interpretation.

Bill
 
Q

QCppg

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May 4, 2004
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I probaly should have stated this clearer, but what has been said is still useful.

I am trying to sterilize the afflicted tank. I don't mind doing the "fishy" cycle again, I have plenty of goldfish that I can move around. The fish proper have no visable parasites, however I plan on treating them with salt ASAP. The main tank is currently at 80 degrees, and I plan on raising that another 10 degrees. I added half a package of table salt (about a pound), and plan on doing a 100% water change when I'm sure the parasites are dead.
 
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