I have a fish that has ick, and I can't get it to go away? What do you suggest?

Question

It is a painted glass fish. It turned up with ick 24 hours after I bought it, and it still hasn't died. I bought it over 2 months ago. I have treated the tank three times for ick, but it still hasn't gone away. One rosy barb caught ick, and died 3 days later, but all my other fish seem to be okay. I can't catch the glass fish so I can isolate it, and I want to avoid draining this tank, because it is so huge. Any suggestions on what I should do? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Your fish doesn't have ick. It either has neon tetra disease which I also doubt because the fish dies quick or it has a bacterial infection. To keep ick out of your tank, don't buy fish from Wally World, if you do, use a quarantine tank. Keep temp of tank at 80. Ick is a parasite and it doesn't like the heat. Aquarium salt is cheap and available at all pet shops, good for controlling parasites and for fish under stress. Never change more than 1/4
tank of water. Clean only 1/2 the gravel and do not stir it. Feed
fish only what can be consumed in 3-5 minutes, once a day.

Answer 2

With a bad outbreak just treating the water may not do it. Use the ich medication (Super Ich or something like it) in conjunction with Melafix and Pimafix to cover all your bases for other possible infections (fungal and bacterial). You need to quarantine the painted glass to avoid making the situation worse.

The parasite multiplies very quickly and stays attached to any and all surfaces in your tank. The ich parasite is nearly invisible unless it is on a fish. Cleaning every surface in your tank is a must. Frequent 50% water changes help remove the ich parasite when it is in its free swimming stage. Ich is only treatable when it is in the free swimming stage of its life cycle. This may help explain why you have had so much trouble stopping the spread of it. The combination of cleaning the surfaces and changing large percentages of the water may help remove some of the anchored parasites during their reproductive stage. Whichever are left should be killed by the ich medication as they enter their free swimming stage before attaching to a fish and devouring its cells.

All this may not do much if you have had an ich infestation for 2 months already, but it's worth a shot. In the future quarantine all new fish for a few days or more before releasing them into your aquarium. I have seen too many people encounter ich problems because they put seemingly healthy fish from their local fish store directly into their aquarium without first quarantining them.

Answer 3

Test your water for high nitrate levels. If they are high do a 15-20% change and add some "Aquarium salt". Note that quotations, don't use table salt or anything else, it will be called "aquarium" salt. Do a really good gravel vacuum as well. Use your ich treatment and then after it clears up do another cleaning and make sure to clean or change your filter. Ich can get caught here and still spread or respread. I have found suggestions online for a product called Quick Cure by Aquarium Products. If one product doesn't work then try another. Stress can also be a major cause of outbreaks of Ich. So watch for stress factors. Quarantine new fish in another area for a week or so before transferring. Other suggestions are for a product called Coppersafe. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Measure the end your tank and get a piece of glass that will make a barrier the short way in your aquarium. Use the piece of glass to "herd" the fish to one side of the tank so you can catch the sick one. You can then use the piece of glass to portion off the tank for the sick one, but better is to use a smaller "hospital" tank. Try using the ich treatment again, sometimes larger quantites of water make it harder to dose the fish correctly.
Treat it twice and if it doesn't get better, then euthanize it. This fish is costing you more than it is worth in medicine, time equipment and, killing of the rest of your fish.
Use 2 Alka-Seltzer tablets in 4 cups of water. Use a lid if you can't watch. Or just freeze the little guy in a ziplock bag with a little water. The temp falls and the fish goes to sleep. Leave it in the freezer for 3 days though, some can survive freezing for short periods.
Sorry, and good luck

Answer 5

First, are you sure it is ick? There are many, many, diseases that attack fish and most are very similar in appearance. "Ick" looks like small, white spots. Maybe try something like Melafix, which treats more than one disease, just in case.

Also, wash all plants and decorations very well, and make sure your filter is clean and working properly. Do not do a complete water change, but do several small ones over the course of the week, about 10% or so each day, replacing with fresh (yet chlorine free/treated) water.

As mentioned above, stress is a big factor. Do not add any new fish, and do not chase any around trying to catch them.

Answer 6

I just lost most of my fish to ick. but I did save some, I kept treating the tank beyondthe 3 days it said to, I did 1/3 water change 2x in a week and then I put the filter back in , new carbon etc.
I saved a few.

Answer 7

I suggest you put a penny in the tank. Sometimes the chemical reaction will get rid of this problem. Otherwise, there are products you can buy at the pet store or tropical fish store to add to the water. Best of luck.

Answer 8

ick is something that's always in your tank, what makes fish susceptible to it is stress, the stress of having new fish added, the stress of being the new fish, practically anything. I've had good luck using a product called rid-ich. its active ingredient is called something like malacite green. you add 1 tsp per 10g every day until you don't see any spots for 3 days. it worked for me

Answer 9

i had a betta that got ick and it is a pain in the a-- to get rid of but i did the chemical treatment and the i also was able to catch my betta and run him under warm clean water and using my fingers basically gave him a bath daily i made sure to clean the gills and face he lived and did well but it took me a long time to get rid of it good luck

Answer 10

buy a treatment at your local pet store, and do the water changes as the medication requires.