Ich.....what do I do?

Question

I have a red belly Pacu,silver dollors, and two needle nose fish that share an aquarium. Recentely I discovered my Pacu has ich.....I have tried to treat them but I cant get rid of it. I have heard that if you set your temp. up a few degrees then this helps in the treatment process. Does anyone know if there is something else I can try.....Please and Thank You :)

Yes, I realize the Pacu will get bigger, we have a 100 gallon aquarium at this point and plan to get another when the Pacu gets large enough.

Answer 1

You can increase temperature to kill ick. Ick will not live at temperatures above 86 F so slowly increase the tank temp to 88 F and eventually all the ick will die. Now, that's usually to slow to save the fish, so I would suggest you also use a quality ick control medication. The best on the market contain Malachite Green as an active ingredient. Not only will this kill ick, but the vast majority of other freshwater parasites. CAUTION: Malachite Green is a known carcinogen. Be careful to not get it on your skin if at all possible.

If the pacu is in very bad shape there is a more radical solution. You can create a dip for him. Enough salt will kill ick even on a fish, but it is very, very stressful for the fish and should only be done if the fish is very heavily infested with ick. You would create the dip by making a 5% salt solution (that's 5 grams of salt for every 100 ml) and place the fish in this bath for no more than 2 minutes. It will kill the vast majority of the ick on the fish, but again, is very stressful to the fish and I make no promises that an already sick fish would live through it.

Hope this helps, feel free to contact me if you need additional information.

MM

Answer 2

Omg.. i hate that disease i have 16 fish in my tank. then one got ich. all but 2 died...<>< its not safe!!!!! what i recomend doing is fisrst raise the water temp to about 80. this will speed the cycle of the parisite. then use my favorite.quick cure. it dose ich. its only like 3 bucks. then wait about 1-2weeks till it clears. when the last fish get all the ich off. cure for anouther 3 days. then do a 20-30% water change just in the rocks to get ride of and stow aways. then it will be safe. DONT GET ANY MORE FISH!!!
HIGHLY CONTAGOUS!!

Answer 3

the link below is a guide to the life cycle and treatment of white spot aka Ich

now you do know a red bellied pacu gets to around 100cm long and needs about 300 gallons just for himself?

Answer 4

The first treatment is to identify the fact it is actually ich and not velvet, white spot or something else.

When you are treating ich there are three different types and all three are treated differently. Just because a bottle of ich medicine says it is ich medicine doesn't mean it is going to work. You have to be sure it is going to treat the parasite you have. (Sounds dumb but this is the truth. You can pour bottles of medicine into the tank stressing the fish farther and not taking care of the problem.)

More about ich.

Is it white spot disease or is it Ich? You need to know the difference between the two since they are treated differently.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

There is a treatment you can buy at the pet store and even wal-mart. Just follow the directions on the container and they should be fine. Good Luck

Answer 6

Treat the fish,renew the water.