Ich question...........

S

Sally

AC Members
Sep 16, 2004
38
0
0
Seattle
I know there have been many, many questions about how to treat ich. I just noticed a couple of my fish seem to have this ailment. I'm gradually raising the temp to ~86 degrees in my 25 gallon, and when that's accomplished I'll add the salt (~2 tsp per gallon is what I've read). The question I have is will this treatment affect my cory cats (2), my singapore shrimp (1), my dwarf gourami (1), or my bristlenose cat (1) who is very young--only about 1 inch. I can move the shrimp to a smaller (6 gallon) tank that I have set up as a platy nursery if the salt/temp will not be good for him, I just don't want to have the ich problem in that tank, also.

pH 7.6-7.8
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate less than 5ppm

Thanks.
 
The low level of salinity isn't harmful to cories, gouramies, or bristlenose--and I suspect the shrimp will be fine as well. The high temp can be more of a concern, so make sure you have adequate surface agitation. Moving the shrimp shouldn't be necessary, but if you choose to do so, just dip the shrimp in an intermediate tank, swish them around gently, and put in the new tank. This should remove any cyst that possilby was caught on the shrimps exoskeleton--this is the only way crustaceans can be a vector.
 
During this temp/salt treatment, am I supposed to remove any activated carbon from the system? I know this is supposed to be done if your are using medication. I have an Eclipse hood on the tank. Also, am I supposed to dissolve the salt in a small amount of tank water before adding it to the aquarium, or can I place it directly on the bottom gravel?
 
Dissolve the salt before adding it. I don't think the carbon will need to be removed-it should affect the salt in anyway. If it's more than a few weeks old, it certainly won't matter either way.

Dissolve a portion the salt in a jar of tank water, add to tank. Allow the added water to fully disperse--you'll be able to see 'waves' as the FW mixes with the SW. Repeat as needed to bring the tank up to desired concentration.
 
Thank you, OrionGirl. I appreciate your help. How long am I supposed to keep up the treatment? I read somewhere three days past the last cyst has fallen off the fish, but if the cysts are in the gill areas, how do I know when the last one has dropped off? Is there a better time parameter? Such as five to 10 days?
 
Okay.. One more last question (hopefully). I'm getting ready to add the salt. At what rate do I add it? Since its a 25 gallon tank, I need 50 tsp of salt, correct? I know enough not to add that much salt all at once. I was thinking of adding it it seven parts, starting now with 7 tsp, adding 7 more tsp until reaching 49 tsp--which is a total of 7 dosings. Is this correct? What time intervals should the salt be added. Once an hour, once every couple of hours? I know, I'm making this more difficult than it should be, but this is the first time I've had to treat my tank and I want to do it right so I don't lose any of fish.
 
Your dosing looks good. When I've added salt, I wait about 20-30 minutes between additions--and monitor the fish. If their behavior changes, go slower.
 
Thanks, once again. The temp is now 86, and I've added about 2/3 of the total salt to tank. I have about two more doses to go to reach 2 tsp/gallon. Hopefully this will take care of the problem.
 
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