I have ich in a freshwater tank?

Question

I have a 20 gallong tank with 2 Neon Tetras and 1 Silver Molly. All have white spots on them showing ich. What is the best treatment?

Answer 1

Well, a couple got close....
Ick is a parasite in your aquarium. To dispel some common myths it is not caused by poor water quality or low temperatures, or ammonia, or dirty filters or anything else like that. It does not lurk around in a tank waiting to attack fish, it does not only attack weakened fish, it is not airborne. None of that is true. It is caused by a specific parasite and must be introduced into the tank. This usually happens when you bring in new fish from an infected tank. The best treatment for ick in a tropical aquariums is:

Change a large portion of the water, about 50-60% while cleaning the gravel very well.

Clean the filter and change all the media but leave out the carbon.

Add 2 tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons of the tank.

Raise the temperature to 88-90 F. Raise it slowly, about 1 degree per hour. You may need to add an air stone or two depending on the type of fish and how heavily the tank is stocked.

Add a good ick medication as directed on the bottle. Try to find a medication that used Malachite Green as the active ingredient. (CAUTION: Malachite Green is a known carcinogen. Be careful not to get it on your skin!)

Change 25% or more of the water daily being sure to clean the gravel as you do so.

Continue the treatment for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish.

After the treatment, return the carbon to your filter and lower the temperature to normal.

This will work and will remove the ick from your tank.

MM

Answer 2

Either the salt with raised temperature or medications will work. I've used the Quick Cure that VG mentioned, and it works well. You can also gt this at stores like WalMart (about $2). If you can't find it, look for anything that has malachite green as an ingredient. Remove all carbon while treating.

If the treatment is working, you'll see all the white spots disappear off your fish in a few days - DO NOT stop the treatment! The parasite has a 3-part lifecycle and only one stage is on the fish. this is why you do a large water change to begin treatment. By not seeing the parasites on the fish, they've reproduced and are now in the water. Continue treatment till you don't see spots on the fish for at least 2 weeks. If you raise the temperature, increase aeration in the tank to compensate. (see link below for ich life cycle and treatment methods)

Answer 3

Start with a 20% water change with a gravel vac. Then start raising the temperature slowly to 85, about 1 degree per hour.
At the same time, put 4 teaspoons of Aquarium salt (not table salt)
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=WaterConditioners
if it is a 20 gallon tank.
24 hours after the temperature is stabilized, do a 20% water change. Then wait 48 hours before doing a 3rd water change.
The neons might be sensitive to commercial Ich treatments, many use copper sulfite and say use half a dose for tanks with neons or scaleless fish like catfish. Catfish do not tolerate salt well at all. Instead of 1 rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons I'd only do 1 rounded teaspoon per 5 gallons.
If you are going to use a commercial product, follow the directions very closely. I'd give the salt and high temperature a little time first. The remaining salt and high temperature will probably benefit the commercial cure as well. I like Aquara Sol or Wardley's Ich cure. Both are copper sulfite based treatments. Other treatments use malachite green and are equally good.
http://www.aq-products.com/APpro/aquarisol.htm

Answer 4

SALT AND HEAT. Do not put meds in your tank, salt works better and is so much less stressful to the fish and system. Here's what you do.
Crank up the heat to 83 degrees
Put in one teaspoon (non-iodized) rock salt (ice cream or kosher) per gallon tonight.
Tomorrow morning put in another teaspoon per gallon.
Tomorrow evening same thing. This gives you a 3% salt bath.
Leave them in it for two weeks. If you change the water dose it with 3 teaspoons per gallon.
The fish will get slightly worse on the second day, don't worry by the 4th or 5th day they should come around. The spots will deminish and be gone. When 2 weeks are up make successive water changes until you remove most all of the salt.
The problem with the ick med is 1. it destroys your filter bio bugs 2. very stressful to the fish 3. doesn't work well because it cannot kill the tomites that are beneath the surface of the fish's skin. It only kills the larvae in the water and gravel. If you use Quick Cure ick will come back and reinfest. Salt is far more effective. I have used this treatment before and works flawlessly. Lower the temp no more than 2 degrees per day and maintain 77 degrees. Ick likes cooler water and doesn't like warmer water. It should not return.

Answer 5

Quickcure is a good remedy to use for ich, but, in the event your LFS doesn't carry this, just look at the boxes of medication that your LFS carries. They will indicate what they are meant to treat. Raise the temperature to around 80 degrees, which speeds up the life cycle. Treat according to directions. Ich has four life cycles, so make sure to treat for at least a week after the visible parasites disappear as they may still be living in the substrate.

Answer 6

what i have done in mine was put abt a table spoon of pickling salt in my tank and it took it a way that's what works for me but do not let it touch the fish