Ich, Salt, and No Heat

I've my son's two new oranda red caps in the 10 gallon QT for about 2 weeks now, and they're showing ich.

Started the ich regime at 1 tsp per gallon and as per another post, upped the temp to 84 degrees over the course of the day and added aeration.

Even with aeration, the fish were stressed and not breathing well -- gasping and hanging out at the surface.

I dropped the temp down to 79. Now they are just flashing, which is good. I intend on, over the course of a few days, adjusting the temp up 1 degree per day and adding additional salts to 1½ total per gallon. At any sign of stress I will drop the temperature back again.

Assuming I cannot raise the temp above 80, or at most 82, what would be the duration of the ich treatment to ensure I get all of the ich? Obviously 2 weeks is not going to get everything since the cycle will not be sped up overly much.

Thanks in advance,
Roan

Hrm, I wonder if 14 days will actually do it. That length of time is pretty much based on an accelerating the ich cycles with higher temps. IMHO 80 degrees isn't high enough. I really don't want these guys to break out again and I have to be very careful as they are my son's fish.

Interesting, they really don't have a *lot* of ich spots, but Hundred, the biggest one, is flashing like mad and is obviously very uncomfortable with the ich. Zero isn't too bad, but obviously unhappy.

Poor guys.

Roan

indiginess said:

sounds like your best bet is to leave the temp down and overdo the time... if they are comfortable with the salinity. no harm, no foul, right?

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Yes, but I wonder about the salinity as well. Hundred is *really* clamping those fins big time. I don't feel good about how he looks. One teaspoon per gallon isn't a lot, but they are goldfish.

nice names, BTW. i just named my clown plec Pi... its nearly impossible to comprehend or follow.

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Thanks, my four year old named them

Oh, I like Pi, great name and very original!

Roan

rrkss said:

14 days is more than enough time to totally eradicate the ich parasite. At 80* ich will go through its lifecycle in about 4 days. Entering the free swimming stage vulnerable to salt very quickly. I have had a 100% kill on my 3 ryukins using this method.

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Hrm, well, that's the life cycle for the ones that are actually visible on the fish. It'll take 3-4 days those trophonts to fall off. Those are just the visible "mature" ones. It can day hours to days for the tomonts in the substrate to reproduce and release tomites. How long depends on the temperature of the water. The colder the water is, the longer it takes and you can't do diddley unless they are free swimming.

Just how long is what I'm wondering.

Roan

rrkss said:

Clamped fins are a sign of the ich infection. It just shows that the fish are uncomfortable due to the parasites burrowing into their skin. Unless you see the fish freak out and go into a corner upon the addition of the salt or sudden erratic actions, I would not worry.

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Therein lies why I worry. Yes, s/he has done the freak out a couple of times. He seems a little better now that i've lowered the temperature even further -- to 78 degrees.

Salt overdose is very easy to see, the gills will get very swollen and the fish will breathe very heavy.

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Trophonts in the gills will produce the same physical symptoms, though, and my worry lies in compounding that with salt.

Roan