Ich treatment products, need advice

G

grenathor

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Sep 11, 2007
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What's the best product for treating ich? The LFS sold me some Costapur, by Sera that cures ich and other parasites, but it contains malachite green oxalate which colors pretty much everything in my tank (silicone, tubing, even the shell of my snail looks colored by that stuff; white markings that now show bluish)

I wanted to know if there is a better / less damageable product for my tank that cures parasites and fungi. what i have doesn't cure fungi but i prefer to get both products in case it happens so I can react fast without the need for a ride to the LFS). I read often of Pimafix and Melafix in posts here, sounds like lots of you are using it, does it stain silicone?

Also, is there a way to get rid of that blue color on the silicone besides taking it off and resealing?

thanks
 
turn the heat up 3 degrees and add aquarium salt to the tank once the temp has risen.

the blue will probably not go away ever.

i would recommend separate medications for parasites and fungi.. but it depends on what type you get as to what kind of medicine you should use. there are many kinds of parasites and many kinds of fungi.
i would recommend buying a food with internal parasite medication in it for new fish, and not getting fungus medication until you need it.

melafix and pimafix are often the first attempt because they're all natural and they're not strong medications. for this reason, they also dont always work very well.. so some people just skip this step altogether.. but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have it on hand as a "just in case" sort of thing. neither of them stain silicone.
 
Sulfathiazole is a great medication for fish because it works internally and externally. It gets rid of Bacterial,Fungal and Parasites. I also agree with the post above. There is Medicated food for specific disease or illness a fish may have. Para Guard I believe may also another medication which treats Bacterial, Fungal and Parasites to.
 
Being natural, i would go for pimafix / melafix but can they be used both at the same time in the tank?
 
For Ich raise the temp to 84-86 add salt(NaCl) the heat itself can kill the ich parasite (freeswimming stage) the salt messes with the cell membrane(fw ich has trouble in hypersalinity and marine ich in hyposalinity) add an airstone when bumping temp as warm water holds less dissolved O2.
other meds Malachite/Victoria green, formaldahyde, formaline,salt(many meds are a combination of these)
copper based med which have side effects.
there are a lot of meds out there some are more specific while others target a broad range.
BTW, pimafix and melafix would not do much to clear an ich infestation.
 
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you will need to remove your snails malachite green will kill them.

You should only raise the temp 2 degrees per day the fish need time to adjust to the temp.

Only use aquarium salt.

I use Rid Ich cheap and has always worked. The blue will fade in time. Snails can't go back in the tank till the all the color has gone and filter media has been changed.
 
I had Ich for the first time ever last month. All I did was raise the temp from 78 to 86 for 10 days. Cured the Ich. It's a 75 gallon cichlid tank. I did change the outflow from my filter to be above the water line thus adding more oxygen into the tank. I raised my temp in two degree intervals every two hours. I have 15 fish, 5 from Petsmart had Ich. The other 10 never showed any signs of having it (caught it early I suppose). I didn't bother with salt or any other medications.
 
For ich I raise the temp to 80 F and add aquarium salt. I step up water changes to 3 X a week and really vacuum the substrate. I stop the treatment until the I have not seen any white bumps for at least 2 weeks. But ich, never really goes away and may come back if water conditions are poor or the fish are stressed.
 
The blue stains on the tank seals will fade in time (I speak from experience).
I'm not sure about the stained air tubing because I took mine out shortly afterwards.
 
For Ich raise the temp to 84-86 add salt(NaCl) the heat itself can kill the ich parasite
Click to expand...

the actual temperature is not what kills the parasite, it's the CHANGE in temperature. so if you dont want to get the temp up this high, an increase of 2 or three degrees will be fine and won't stress the fish out either.
 
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