so my south american puffers are/have been crawling with ich for about 2-3 weeks now and we have been trying to treat it with this med called paracide green for about a week or 2 now. i told my gf to get salt but when she returned from the store she came back with this stuff. finally im getting my way since we are not seeing any progress and we are gonna switch to a salt treatment. i was wondering if this was safe to do with the med that we were previously using because i heard salt mixed in with some meds can be toxic, but im not sure about this one. also what is the proper temp to raise the tank too for a salt treatment and how much salt should i add for how long/how often. thanks.
need major help with ich
- Thread starter disisgustavo
- Start date
Here is some info on ich.
I would do a large water change or 2 before adding anything
This is copied from Guppy @ monsterfishkeepers.
Ich is a protozoal infection that afflicts fish and can rapidly kill them, most often by damaging gill tissue.
The organism goes through a life cycle of;
a small white spot feeding on your fish,
which drops off to the floor of your tank and encysts,
while encysted it divides into up to 2000 new mobile organisms,
the cyst ruptures, releasing the mobile organisms which seek out a host.
Only the mobile stage is vulnerable to treatment by anything that will not also kill your fish.
Here is an old fashioned but very effective method for treatment.
It can be used for most fish but morymids, corys, and some pims are sensitive to salt. Because the organism infest the tank, the whole tank should be treated.
Raise the temp of your tank to at least 85-86 degrees F.
Add aquarium salt (dissolved in water) at a ratio of 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water in your tank.
Now wait, while waiting it does not hurt to add a powerhead or airstone to increase the O2 level.
Over the first couple days your fish will look worse but then they will clear up. about the sixth day they will look clear but because some ecystments have not yet hatched keep the treatment up for the full 10 days.
If you are not able to raise the temperature you need to extend the treatment, at 85 the ich's life cycle is quick but at 72 it can take weeks, below 70F treat for 6 weeks.
There are medicines you can use but many fish are sensitive to them, you can also try just heat at 90-91 degrees F but some fish can't take that heat and some strains of ich can survive it.
The salt and heat method is one I have used several times with sucess.
I would do a large water change or 2 before adding anything
This is copied from Guppy @ monsterfishkeepers.
Ich is a protozoal infection that afflicts fish and can rapidly kill them, most often by damaging gill tissue.
The organism goes through a life cycle of;
a small white spot feeding on your fish,
which drops off to the floor of your tank and encysts,
while encysted it divides into up to 2000 new mobile organisms,
the cyst ruptures, releasing the mobile organisms which seek out a host.
Only the mobile stage is vulnerable to treatment by anything that will not also kill your fish.
Here is an old fashioned but very effective method for treatment.
It can be used for most fish but morymids, corys, and some pims are sensitive to salt. Because the organism infest the tank, the whole tank should be treated.
Raise the temp of your tank to at least 85-86 degrees F.
Add aquarium salt (dissolved in water) at a ratio of 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water in your tank.
Now wait, while waiting it does not hurt to add a powerhead or airstone to increase the O2 level.
Over the first couple days your fish will look worse but then they will clear up. about the sixth day they will look clear but because some ecystments have not yet hatched keep the treatment up for the full 10 days.
If you are not able to raise the temperature you need to extend the treatment, at 85 the ich's life cycle is quick but at 72 it can take weeks, below 70F treat for 6 weeks.
There are medicines you can use but many fish are sensitive to them, you can also try just heat at 90-91 degrees F but some fish can't take that heat and some strains of ich can survive it.
The salt and heat method is one I have used several times with sucess.
there used to be an excellent article on dealing with Ich in the articles area here, but apparently the articles are unaccessible, which is pretty stupid.
I would recommend the method rallysman suggested, being careful to jeept treating for a week after all signs of ich disappear from your fish to make sure it's really gone.
I would recommend the method rallysman suggested, being careful to jeept treating for a week after all signs of ich disappear from your fish to make sure it's really gone.
ok, i know how to treat it, but will can the salt be mixed with the chem thats already in there and not be lethal? btw i plan on doing a big water change before starting salt treatment.
also it says that the salt needs to be dissolved in water first, does this mean i have to do it before adding it to the tank or can i add it directly to the tank and mix?
also it says that the salt needs to be dissolved in water first, does this mean i have to do it before adding it to the tank or can i add it directly to the tank and mix?
also the one south american puffer who has it really bad looks like the fins that are right next to his gills are stuck to his side and he cant really swim and is just bobbin around mostly at the top of the tank. i was wondering if i should try to net him and manually un-stick his fins. im really worried about these poor little guys, they are also getting red around the gills and also around their tails they have red spots. someone please help asap!!!!
CArbon in the filter should remove any medication already in the tank.
Salt treatment is used with an increase in temperature.
Dissolve the meds or salt in water first, then pour it into the tank.
DO NOT try to release the fins yourself...
Quick answers on the fly - I'll re-read your posts and see what else I can offer.
Salt treatment is used with an increase in temperature.
Dissolve the meds or salt in water first, then pour it into the tank.
DO NOT try to release the fins yourself...
Quick answers on the fly - I'll re-read your posts and see what else I can offer.
The symptoms you are describing may actually be Velvet, not Ich. It's really hard to tell from the picture, but the clamped fins really makes me wonder. The two are easily confused.
The following is shamelessly plagiarized from http://www.fishforever.co.uk/fish-disease.html
Velvet (Oodinium)
Velvet is a parasite that is often confused as ich. The difference is, velvet is smaller and infects predominately the body and looks like a fine powder rather than salt sprinkles. Velvet attacks the body of the infected fish and is very contagious. Velvet is most likely caused by stress, poor water quality or chilling (sudden changes in water temperature). Velvet is a bit easier to cure than ich because the life cycle is shorter. However, this disease can prove fatal if left untreated.
Symptoms: Fish will dart around and flash or scrape its self against aquarium décor, appearance of fine yellowish or white dust on body, fins clamped and/or rapid gill fluctuation (breathing heavily).
Treatment: Increasing the temperature to 82°F and application of a commercial chemical treatment is most effective. It is also said that adding salt will aid the fish in its recovery as in ich.
The following is shamelessly plagiarized from http://www.fishforever.co.uk/fish-disease.html
Velvet (Oodinium)
Velvet is a parasite that is often confused as ich. The difference is, velvet is smaller and infects predominately the body and looks like a fine powder rather than salt sprinkles. Velvet attacks the body of the infected fish and is very contagious. Velvet is most likely caused by stress, poor water quality or chilling (sudden changes in water temperature). Velvet is a bit easier to cure than ich because the life cycle is shorter. However, this disease can prove fatal if left untreated.
Symptoms: Fish will dart around and flash or scrape its self against aquarium décor, appearance of fine yellowish or white dust on body, fins clamped and/or rapid gill fluctuation (breathing heavily).
Treatment: Increasing the temperature to 82°F and application of a commercial chemical treatment is most effective. It is also said that adding salt will aid the fish in its recovery as in ich.
wow, i hadnt even heardof velvet but reading those symptoms im almost 100% sure it is. the chemical treatment we have been using though says it is "an excellent broad spectrum remedy used to treat excessive slime formation, external fungal infections, Ich or other white spot disease and other external protozoa and flukes," will it work for velvet or is there any specialized medications i can use? we just got back from the fish store and got aquarium salt, should i still add in the amounts that are listed for ich treatment?