One of the fish in my tank has come down with Ich so I am now in the process of treating my entire tank for Ich. At the recommendations of a fish store, all of the decorations, plastic plants, live plants and carbon filter have been removed. I am using NOX-Ich and have raised the temperature in the tank to 82 degrees. The fish store recommended treating for a period of no less than a week so as to avoid having subsequent break outs. My first question - only one of my fish has any appearance of Ich - what do I do with this fish? I know I'm supposed to assume all fish are infected and treat the whole tank, but do I wait for this platty to get better/die or flush her now? Also, when I put everything back in the tank in a week or two do I need to treat the decorations/plants, and if so with what and how? Besides NOX-Ich (sodium chloride and malachite green) should I treat with anything else besides frequent water changes?
2006-10-31 01:52:03 · 4 answers · asked by nicoleharres 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
yes I would have to agree but I would switch meds to melafix works better and keep the water pristine as possible
2006-10-31 05:13:15 · answer #1 · answered by C live 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the first response, put the stuff back in, excep the carbon. Don't know why they'd have you remove that stuff, unless because they were thinking the malachite green would stain it. Not familiar with that med, just follow the directions on the bottle. Wait for the platy to get better. Ich is usually pretty easy to cure. Really, all you need to treat the tank is some salt and raise the temp. Here's some links, do a search for treating ich. Just be sure you have good aeration in the tank, higher temps will decrease the oxygen in the tank.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/
http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/home.php
2006-10-31 05:15:16 · answer #2 · answered by tikitiki 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The likely reason you were advised to remove ornamentation is that the organic dye - malachite green - you are using to treat the infection will stain many plastics and ceramics. It is important to treat the entire community, as this ich is infectious. Be careful with malachite green -- it should be used at half strength for certain scaleless and senstive fishes. These include tetras, black, redtail, and rainbow sharks, eels, ghosts, and mini-frogs. Unless you have mini-crabs or ornamental snails, you may prefer to use chelated copper salts next time -- this tends to be non-staining. Ich infections can be a sign that your fish are under stress. Common causes include crowding and degradation of water quality. Also note that if you feed live foods such as tubifex works, these can be a source of transmitting infectious organisms and parasites. Rinsing tubifex works under a modest stream of running cool water can help. Dead worms and debri are washed away -- healthy worms "ball up" together.
2006-10-31 16:25:04 · answer #3 · answered by JON B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Treat the whole tank and all the fish. Some just may not have any outward signs.
I would also put the plants, filters etc back. Not sure if ick will stay on this stuff but just in case better it is coated with medication than risk reintroducing it back into the tank once it is cleared up. It will have a blue stain on the stuff but it will disappear over time.
2006-10-31 02:05:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋