ICH/salt/temp question
- Thread starter adblair
- Start date
I still have a few ich spots mainly on the tail of one of my loaches.... it has been almost 2 weeks since I started treating this with salt and heat.... I'm beginning to think I am dealing with Super ICH also 
If I leave my temp at 86 and continue treating with salt will this be bad for my fish?
If I leave my temp at 86 and continue treating with salt will this be bad for my fish?
I have questions about my own ich salt bath battle
I've been following this post and have used it to start my own ich salt bath battle. But I have a question. I know one is supposed to remove the carbon in the filter before medication, but does the salt constitute a medication.
So, am I supposed to remove the carbon from my filter during the salt bath treatment?
I have a 20 gallon with a clown loach, pleco, algae eater, 2 cats, 2 serpae tetras and 3 tiger barbs. I'm on Day 4 with a temp of 84 degrees and 18 teaspoons of salt added so far (and thinking I should stop). I've taken a couple gallons out so I can have more surface ripple. My fish seem to be hanging in at 84 so I'm thinking of pushing it up to 86. I have two fish obviously affected with ich, the loach and the pleco, both long term residents and both looking miserable. For their sake, I hope I'm doing the right thing.
Thanks
I've been following this post and have used it to start my own ich salt bath battle. But I have a question. I know one is supposed to remove the carbon in the filter before medication, but does the salt constitute a medication.
So, am I supposed to remove the carbon from my filter during the salt bath treatment?
I have a 20 gallon with a clown loach, pleco, algae eater, 2 cats, 2 serpae tetras and 3 tiger barbs. I'm on Day 4 with a temp of 84 degrees and 18 teaspoons of salt added so far (and thinking I should stop). I've taken a couple gallons out so I can have more surface ripple. My fish seem to be hanging in at 84 so I'm thinking of pushing it up to 86. I have two fish obviously affected with ich, the loach and the pleco, both long term residents and both looking miserable. For their sake, I hope I'm doing the right thing.
Thanks
Please forgive me going slightly :OT:
How did you find the suckerbelly?? Someone gave me the idea to get one and posted that exact same link but I have searched high and low and not only can I NOT find the suckerbelly, I can't even find a description of it online like at liveaquaria.com and stuff.....anyone know where I could buy one??
How did you find the suckerbelly?? Someone gave me the idea to get one and posted that exact same link but I have searched high and low and not only can I NOT find the suckerbelly, I can't even find a description of it online like at liveaquaria.com and stuff.....anyone know where I could buy one??
laruem2000,
AC will not remove salt, or cause any problems when using salt. It will rmove most meds and some other toxins and chemicals. So there is no "need" to remove it during salt treatment.
you are at 18 teaspoons in a 20 gallon tank, so you are probably a little over 1 tsp per gallon of actual water. I would go at least another 10 tespoons just to make sure. you can watch your fish for reaction as you slowly raise the level, but my experience has been that they won't notice the difference.
dave
AC will not remove salt, or cause any problems when using salt. It will rmove most meds and some other toxins and chemicals. So there is no "need" to remove it during salt treatment.
you are at 18 teaspoons in a 20 gallon tank, so you are probably a little over 1 tsp per gallon of actual water. I would go at least another 10 tespoons just to make sure. you can watch your fish for reaction as you slowly raise the level, but my experience has been that they won't notice the difference.
dave
13BRAVO said:
I think it might have been me who posted about getting a suckerbelly...
I just happened upon them while I was traveling. Try searching under some of the other names given. Google searching for butterfly loach brings up a lot of sites with information. When I bought mine, the store called it a Chinese Butterfly Loach. I had to do a lot of searching to find ANY information on them. I bought mine from the Aquatic Critter in Nashville, TN. I'm not sure if they will ship fish.... I've never asked. I saw them on www.aquariumstuffers.com for $3-4, but I have never ordered anything from them, so I don't know if they would be trustworthy or not. I think I also saw that sometimes they are called a Hong Kong Pleco. Good luck!
Well, one of my loaches has 2 (hooray we're down to 2!) final ich spots on his tail. As soon as those disappear, I will start counting days to the end of treatment. Is 1 week enough with my temp at 86 or should I go longer?
One of two remaining loaches seems very thin - he is the one with the remaining spots. He seems to be eating fine, and he acts mostly fine. Do fish lose weight? :huh:
One of two remaining loaches seems very thin - he is the one with the remaining spots. He seems to be eating fine, and he acts mostly fine. Do fish lose weight? :huh:
Thank you. I will work on increasing the salt and rest assured that I'm fine with the ac in the filter.
Now, on to my next worry. I noticed that the loach has fin rot in addition to the ich. Will a broad spectrum antibiotic work okay with the increased temp and salt?
I know I sound like a newbie, but this tank has been up and running for over two years now. I recently tried a lfs and have been slammed with new challenges. Obviously, I've never had a quarantine tank and now need to learn all about these oh not so fun experiences. Thanks so much for your help.
Now, on to my next worry. I noticed that the loach has fin rot in addition to the ich. Will a broad spectrum antibiotic work okay with the increased temp and salt?
I know I sound like a newbie, but this tank has been up and running for over two years now. I recently tried a lfs and have been slammed with new challenges. Obviously, I've never had a quarantine tank and now need to learn all about these oh not so fun experiences. Thanks so much for your help.
I personally don't like to double medicate, but depending on severity you may have to. Broad ban anti biotics are also an added danger to your bio-filter. I would try to isolate exactly what you CL has and treat for it specifically. It would really be best not to have to treat all of your fish, therefore I would also try to move it into a quarantine vessel. I say vessel because it doesn't have to be a tank to work. a clean 5 gallon bucket or 30 gallon trash can or anything in between will work. You will need filtration and heat, you will also want to tranfer as much media as possible to the filter to prevent a cycle.
Although this is a lot of extra work, in reality it would just be better to quarantine him IMO. Each medication or treatment you add increases stress, combined with each ailment in the tank, and your fish are getting a lot of stress. I would watch the fin rot closely for a day or two it may heal on it's own with the salt and heat levels in the tank. I wouldn't bank on that but wouldn't get in a huge hurry to take action.
I am not an expert on fin rot or secondary infections, so hopefully some one else will weigh in and add some thoughts.
dave
Although this is a lot of extra work, in reality it would just be better to quarantine him IMO. Each medication or treatment you add increases stress, combined with each ailment in the tank, and your fish are getting a lot of stress. I would watch the fin rot closely for a day or two it may heal on it's own with the salt and heat levels in the tank. I wouldn't bank on that but wouldn't get in a huge hurry to take action.
I am not an expert on fin rot or secondary infections, so hopefully some one else will weigh in and add some thoughts.
dave
adblair said:I think it might have been me who posted about getting a suckerbelly...
I just happened upon them while I was traveling. Try searching under some of the other names given. Google searching for butterfly loach brings up a lot of sites with information. When I bought mine, the store called it a Chinese Butterfly Loach. I had to do a lot of searching to find ANY information on them. I bought mine from the Aquatic Critter in Nashville, TN. I'm not sure if they will ship fish.... I've never asked. I saw them on www.aquariumstuffers.com for $3-4, but I have never ordered anything from them, so I don't know if they would be trustworthy or not. I think I also saw that sometimes they are called a Hong Kong Pleco. Good luck!
I believe it was you! Thank you yet again!
