how to treat ick with salt and heat?

anark

anark

AC Members
Oct 21, 2004
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Toronto Ontario
ok...so my tank probably has ick (from another thread)

...can i use table salt? i remember seeing a thread where they said this was ok.

i have a 33 gal. and deocder says 1-3teaspoons per gallon? so i gotta put in 50-60teaspoons of salt!?

i guess i mix it was hot water...then cool...then add slowly?

or.........?

HELP!
Allan! (thanks again)
 
IMO 1 teaspoon / gallon is enough. Dissolve in water (doesn't have to be warm IME). Table salt is fine. The general opinion these days is that even iodized salt is okay.

I actually use a course grade salt which we use with the cattle as it is on hand. Not knowing any better some 25 or more years ago I would just throw it in the tank and the course grains slowly dissolve. WARNING: This is not the advised method of adding salt :) I never had any problems doing this, mind you, and after over 25 years with fish (off and on) it's hard to break the habbit...

You should rather dissolve in a gallon of water or so...

I always have salt in the aquarium. I know this is a contested area, but we live in a tropical part of the world and it's been my experience over the years that having no salt leads very quickly to various prolems with ich and fungus. That may only be true for this area, and perhaps only the case with the local rainbowfish and gudgeon, but I have never had trouble with salt in the tank at all times and the rainbowfish etc have lived their full lifespans. YMMV with other fish in other areas.
 
I'd add 1tsp/g (and you're adding per gallon of water in the tank, so probably about 28g) the first day. You can indeed use table salt (I prefer pickling salt, it's pure NaCl, but many people use table salt with no problem at all), and dissolving it before you add is a very good idea.
If you want to increase the amount of salt to 2 or 3tsp/g I'd do it over the next day or two, just to give the fish some time to adjust.
Turn the heat up to 86F - I'd try not to increase the temperature more than 5 degrees F per day, so for example if the tank is at 77F I'd increase it over 48h. This may be overly cautious, but I don't like to stress the fish any more than I have to when they're already sick.
While you're treating, try to change the water and vacuum the gravel as much as possible - this will remove free-floating parasites, as well as those multiplying in the substrate.
Be sure to treat for at least a week after you see the last spot drop off the last fish so you know it's completely gone.
Good luck :D
 
thanks amosf and blinky ...ok so i added about 30teaspoons of table salt (dissolved) and am slowly raising the temp.

to continue this treatment...do i add anymore salt over the next few days? everyday do 30teaspoons of salt? ...or waterchange and then add salt again?

thanks for clarifying

Allan! (who also thought blinky was a guy only because of the nickname)
 
The dosage is what you want to keep constant, for example, 30 teaspoons of salt, is kept constant. When you do a water change as suggested, you have to replace salt that you removed to get back to the same concentration. For example: You remove 50% at a water change. You then add fresh water back to the top. Since you removed 50% of the water, you removed 50% of the salt. Therefore, you will need to add 50% of the original dosage which will be 15 more teaspoons after the water change.

Also, be sure to use tank water or dechlorinated tap water when dissolving the salt.
 
anark said:
to continue this treatment...do i add anymore salt over the next few days? everyday do 30teaspoons of salt? ...or waterchange and then add salt again?
Click to expand...

Nope. The salt stays in the tank and adding more will continually increase the salt level in the tank.

Only add more salt when you change water - ie if you change 10 gallons of water then add another 10 teaspoons of salt with that new water.

If you top up water due to evaporation, then don't add salt.

tim
 
Whats the actual concentration of salt water for a SW tank?
 
I've been reviewing threads for methods for treating ich and heat and salt are mentioned often but I have a couple of Coreys. I've heard salt can be very bad for them. This true?
 
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