My 2 fish had ich disease and died before I caught it. I want to make sure the tank is clean before I put more fish in it. I heard heating it up and running the filter would work. Will it?! Any advice???
2006-10-05 09:02:47 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
First of all - Ich is an Ectoparasite that has 3 different stages. If your fish have very small white spots on them (kind of like someone salted them) then you definitely have Ich. However - buying meds at this point is a waste of money because the parasite is not vulnerable to meds in this stage. Once the white spots have fallen off the fish - they go down into your gravel/substrate and begin an encysted stage where a single Ich parasite multiples up to 2,000 different ones. Once they become free swimming - they are vulnerable to meds/salt, but not before that point.
I just got through treating one of my tanks with Maracide Concentrate by Virbac Animal Health, and Evaporated Sea Salt. All you honestly need though is Salt. If you have a biolocial filter which has carbon in it , and treat with meds, you will need to take them out all together (because if you don't they will just remove your medication from the water). Salt by itself however you don't need to do anything but put it in and raise the water temp.
Salt, and raising the water temp to 85-86 degrees (provided your species of fish can tolerate that temp) is the best way to treat this mess. I wish I would have had the article out on Wiki before I started my treatment. Could have saved a ton of time and money had I done that. I'll post it for you here in my sources. The guy who wrote this truly is the Internet authority on Ectoparasitic treatments. Just use Evaporated Sea Salt, and warmer water and you will be ok. Go to the website in my sources and read the article out there. You will have a full understanding (more than you ever wanted to know) once you read it.
2006-10-05 12:39:41 · answer #1 · answered by sly2kusa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sly is 100% correct with his answer! Kudos to him!
The only thing I can add to this is that with Goldfish, you cannot use any medications with copper. F/mg (formalin and Malachite Green such as cure ich, quick cure) products work best in a darkened tank. Light deactivates MG, so towels around the sides and no lights. Understanding the use of meds is very important. You should never use Salt and Formalin products combined, salt and formalin can seriously burn a fish. Alway's check before useing medications in tandem with the experts.
If salt is used, the gravel must be vacced daily to remove any of the ich cysts before they can divide. Only salt the new water replaced from cleaning as well dureing treatment.
You can find articles and expert help through the boards like GAB
So meantime, do clean the tank down and filters, dose the salt to 0.3%, thats 1 tsp per gl or 1 tblsp per 5 gl. Let it run....
2006-10-05 21:57:19 · answer #2 · answered by Fire_Wolf 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do a 50% water substitute as we talk. medicine gained't in hardship-free words kill the ich, notwithstanding it also kills each and every of the constructive micro organism besides, that's probable what has got here about, probable ensuing in an ammonia spike. also, do not overmedicate. too a lot drugs is as undesirable, or worse, than none in any respect. Then bypass get some liquid try kits that try for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, i'm making a raffle you haven't any, and get your water examined. see you later as you're medicating, you mustn't be able to get the water cycled, so that you'll basically elect to do 20-30% water transformations as regularly as necessary to shop the ammonia down till your medicine is completed. then you actually can bypass ahead and recycle your tank then. strong success!
2016-10-16 03:41:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Healthy fish don't suffer from ich. Maintaining proper temperature and keeping the water from being fouled by regular water changes and not feeding too much is the true key. People add things like melafix http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11269 or freshwater salt http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4982&N=2004+113014 when adding fish to an aquarium to help prevent problems brought on by stress.
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2006-10-05 12:47:31 · answer #4 · answered by iceni 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, that will work. Ich needs a fish host to reproduce, so without one it will die and leave no offspring. Increasing the temp makes this happen faster. To be extra safe, you can add 3 teaspoons per gallon of salt to kill the ich.
2006-10-05 09:07:58 · answer #5 · answered by inghit 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that is a wives tale. My fish have had ick before and we had to go to a fish or pet supply store and get a special medicine to go in the water. I would recommend going to a fish supply store or a pet supply store and talking to an expert to find out how to clean the tank and such before adding new fish. If we hadn't asked, we would have never known what my fish had. Once it was cured, they lived a few years after the incident.
2006-10-05 09:07:45 · answer #6 · answered by iceprincess_12_04 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
ich is a common thing.when you fish ever gets ich again just put him/her in a separte tank and then treat the reagular tank with medicine and the small tank. when you see take the fish that was infected and look at it carfully and when it is gone you can stop putting medicin. and for the big tank. put ONLY ONE DOSE of medicine.. wait two days then put in some salt. wait a week before new fish is added
2006-10-05 09:27:25 · answer #7 · answered by FishBoy0 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋