Please help with ick

[raseii]

Hi,
I just noticed that my pictus catfish has those white spots all over him. I just bought him on march 30th and now he has this. I am assuming it is ick, right? Anyways, he is in a 55 with 3 giant danios and 3 bala sharks. What should I do to get rid of it? And should I assume that since my catfish has it, my other fish will get infected also? He has a 14 day guarantee from Petsmart. If I took him back, will I still have to treat the tank since he was in it? I should also mention that I have 4 live plants in the tank and would hate to kill them. Help please. I am new to fish keeping and just need help.
Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Harlock]

If you read everything at this link you will understand the lifecycle of Ich, and how to treat it. Good luck.

 

[FooF]

dont take the pictus cat back. he stands a better chance with you if you read up on the salt/heat treatment in the link Harlock provided. yes, you would still have to treat for ich.

 

[raseii]

Thanks for the link. I have begun the salt treatment and turning the heat up slowly. 1-3 tsp. of salt per gallon sure seems like alot of salt doesnt it? As long as it will get rid of the ick I guess. Yeah, I decided to go ahead and keep the catfish. Also, I was thinking about getting another catfish and some clown loaces to ad to the tank. I know the loaches are big on getting ick and I was curious if I should ad them to the tank while I am doing this treatment or just wait awhile before adding any more fish?
thanks again

 

[JosephMCorbett]

Most will tell you to wait. However, IMO, if you are buying your fish from Petco or Petsmart or the like, I would suggest getting them now and treating everyone with salt for a couple of weeks. When your done, your done. I have never bought a fish at Petco that didn't have or get Ich shortly after.

 

[daveedka]

As a general rue it is never wise to add fish during treatment, but as JosephMCorbett said there may be some logic in breaking the general rule. One thing for sure, If you bring home any fish with ICH your pictus will get it again. I personally would reccomend treating the tank, and then setting up a small q-tank. Harlock has an article on the subject in the articles forum. The choice is ultimately yours though, on how you go about things.
dave

 

[raseii]

Thanks, I do have an empty 10 gallon I was going to get rid of, but I may go ahead and use it as a quarantine tank. I am going to do a search for Quaranting tanks and read more about it. I hope it tells how to keep them established, thats what I am wondering about.
Thanks again