What to do if Ich not cured in 5 days

I would wait at least 2 weeks after I saw the last symptoms to add back to the main tank. So if ich is visually cured the first week, I'd wait out 3 weeks to 4 (better) to add back. I also like the salt dip ideas, but haven't really used them often. I have never heard of adult ich staying dormant within the skin of fish.

Beviking, I have read hundreds of posts on diseases and treatments. The ones that seemed most insightful I used as starting points and applied my (agreed meager) logic to get what I believe is a safe way to treat certain diseases. The only thing I've read about ich that said 2 to 4 days was that they cleared up or "kills" in that time. My bottle of Quick Cure says 2 days! WHATEVER!! I usually lose visual symptoms within this time (2-4 days) but I know that there are still juvenile ich in the gravel and microscopic spores in the water. Most of the "quality" articles I've read said to treat about 1 to 2 weeks. I have found this to work. Most conservative disease treatments within a quarantine tank say 3 to 4 weeks of confinement. I have in the past tried to rush success, only to have re-lapses! It gets worse the second time! You also NEVER want any parasite/pathogen to get any immunity to the medicine you are using. If you let them survive one battle with a certain med, it's very difficult to be successful with it in the future. The prolonged treatments also wear down your fish.
 
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Lila--this is a myth. Ich doesn't lurk in fish all the time. It may be around in a few fish for a limited time period, but all fish and all tanks are not infected. True, fish that are stressed suffer worse infestations than other fish--but they must be exposed to the parasite to become infected. The problem is that in the aquarium, the fish are basically a captive buffet for the parasites, so get worse infections than wild fish would. So, a wild caught fish might have a mild infestation that turns major in confinement, or an infected fish introduces it to a tank, but it is NOT in your tank all the time.

I've never had ich in my main tank. I've had temp drops, ect that stressed the fish, and had wounds pop up that stressed them, but I've never had ich show up. Thus the power of a q-tank!
 
Oh boy...

Sumpin' - I question the time lapse of ich life cycle, NOT treatment time. Personally, I treat all new fish for ich (regardless of signs) for 7 days and haven't had a reinfestation. Salt dips for ich don't work. The encysted ich is under the fish's skin, that's why we treat for several days, to kill the hatched tomites.

Lila, I too heard that ich is "always in tanks" and it is not true! Ich is a host specific parasite. When a host is present, it feeds, grows, and reproduces. I think the dormancy idea was sprung because ich can take weeks to complete this cycle at lower temps. Anyway, if fish are healthy, they can keep the majority of infesting tomites at bay. Only 1 tomite needs to attach to the fish, grow, and reproduce to produce 1000's more offspring and if only 1 of those is able to attach to the fish, the cycle goes on. It's when the fish become stressed that many of the offspring can attach to the fish and result in casualties if left untreated. Hence the illusion that ich was dormant.
 
Yea, Lila, I've read some articles saying that also. This is why I don't believe everything I've read. I read to get peoples opinions and experiences. About half (at best) of what I've read has some real truth to it. I know alot of people who jump to a conclusion to quickly and call it facts. I try to weigh all the articles together and look at what is a common experience, back that up with what I've personally seen happen, and finally experiment based on those findings. Most people will find that they can adapt any treatment to suit their own needs/likings. I believe it's very important to KNOW YOUR FISH. Not just the species, but your OWN fish. Each has it's own quirks, so get to know them.
 
I agree Beviking, and I understood you weren't questioning the treatment time. I'm just trying to answer a few questions in one post;) I also agree that alot of the "dormant" theory is probably based on incomplete treatments that have a re-lapse. I was just letting it be known what I have read and it is a possibility. I don't know all the answers, so I treat conservatively, hoping to nuke every last one of them without harming my fish in the process.

To me it's better to treat steadily for 2 weeks, than to treat one 1 week, and miss a few of them. By the time the meds have cleared up in the water and fish are just starting to rest, you have a full outbreak again. so now you are at 2 weeks of stress and starting the process all from scratch. Fish are weaker, ich has a chance to get "used" to the medication, and you are going bald from personal stress! At this point most people blame their meds, saying they don't work. They end up switching meds and causing more problems than good sometimes.

My idea is to compile all the "reasonable" info you can, decide what you are going to do, and stick with that. Be conservative, and patient. Watch closely what is happening during treatment and LEARN from your experience. Mistakes are only tragedies when we don't learn from them.
 
AMEN!!! And nicely explained I might add. I never begrudge anyone for being conservative! On the other hand, I don't want my fish exposed to chems longer than necessary. But then, if you don't get them all (ich), then you treat again and do just what you're trying to prevent. It's a viscious circle but I think I've broke it. Though I've only been in the hobby 2+years, I've been treating fish for 10. Hence, my less conservative approach. That isn't to say that I have all the answers either!
 
Well Longhorn, we hope our experiences have given you some good ideas about how you will "finish" treatment on your fish. I sure hate seeing mine get ill (I haven't in a long time now), so I feel for ya! We all hope you get this over with and I sure hope you remember your experience, as this will be YOUR basis for future treatments. Plan for the worst, hope for the best!
 
Originally posted by Sumpin'fishy
Well Longhorn, we hope our experiences have given you some good ideas about how you will "finish" treatment on your fish. I sure hate seeing mine get ill (I haven't in a long time now), so I feel for ya! We all hope you get this over with and I sure hope you remember your experience, as this will be YOUR basis for future treatments. Plan for the worst, hope for the best!
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DITTO!!!:)
 
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