Has anyone successfully treated ick in large numbers of fish in one tank?

Question

I bought 10 new fish (5 sordtails and 5 guppies) from the pet store 4 days ago. They looked perfect in the store. I know my tank was healthy and ready for them. However, within 24 hours they started to get a few of the very small white specks on their tails and a little on the bodies here and there. I have been treating the tank for 3 nights now and so far they are all still alive and it looks like it may be clearing up a bit , only the red sordtails still have it on them. Should I continue to treat the whole tank till it clears up or try and seperate them? I have been doing partial watr changes every 24 hours when I add a new treatment as it said on the treatment box. I have never had much luck with treating them even this long without some dying.

I have removed the carbon soon as I noticed the spots and began treatment. I do about a 50% water change. With the medication I am using it says there is no need to raise the water temp. I have mine around 80. I added a little extra salt anyways also just to see if it helps. When I do the partial water changes I use one of those gravel hoses that pull the stuff up out of the gravel also.

Answer 1

No one has mentioned why your fish contracted ich. First you should never add that many fish to any tank at one time. Not only is it a heavy load for your bio filter but stresses out the fish for "hiding" places and acclimation to the tank. This is the reason ich attacked your fish. They were highly stressed.

Ich is naturally occuring in the water source, you cannot keep the free swimming form out. It will only attack and attach itself to a stressed or wounded fish.

Continue to treat the entire tank until there are no signs of ich.
Salt is not needed in your tank. Even with MM's numerous outdated webpages, and forums there is still no where I have found that states salt kills ich. As I have always stated, ich doesn't like salt, but is not killed by it either.

Remember in the future, don't add that many fish. Only one or two a week apart. This will keep the fish from becoming stressed in the first place.

Sounds like you are doing a good job this time!

Answer 2

Ich can certainly be treated in large numbers. I would raise the temp slowly to somewhere around 80-83 degrees F. Ich is a parasite, and goes through several different stages. Raising the temp, will speed up the cycle, and increase the effectiveness of your treatment.

Do not separate the fish that look healthy. There really isn't a good way to know for sure if they do not have it. Keep treating your tank for several days AFTER there are no visible signs. There is a stage the parasite goes through where it is not easily seen. If you stop treatment early, you may risk the survival of even just one, re-infecting your entire tank.

Partial daily water changes are a good thing. 25% a day is perfectly fine. Also note that gravel cleaning will help in removing some of the parasites.

Did you remember to remove the Carbon in your filter? Carbon is meant to absorb chemicals in the water that may be harmful to your fish, but it will also absorb medications. For the treatment to be fully effective, you must remove any carbon in your filter.

I hope everything works out for you. Good luck.

Answer 3

SundayP get off it and grow up.

Sorry to hear about your fish.

Sounds like you caught most of it in time. Treat your tank with the fish in the tank. It should be clearing up with the meds. Remember your carbon needs to come out. Some fish.

Continue to treat your tank. Sometimes you have to treat ich more than one time to rid it from your tank. Adding salt does not kill ich. I have tried that route and by the time I have realized it doesn't work,most of the fish passed.

Ich isn't a nice parasite to have in your tank at any time. In all my years I've found the best way is to diagnose early and treat with meds. Also, routine maintenance and keeping the fish from stressing in the first place really helps. I've also started to feed my fish garlic based foods.

Answer 4

Ick will take a long time to treat. I'd only separate the fish if there is one that doesn't have ick, but if the majority have it, then most likely all of them would get it.

Also, putting 10 fish in a tank at one time is asking for problems. I think putting 5 new fish in a tank is the limit.

Answer 5

i will never buy swordtails again. I bought them from the forest lake pet store in MN and brought them home to our 110gal community tank. All four swordtails showed signs of ich within the first day. Its related to stress, so thats why they got it, and probably why yours got it to. However, we lost our two oldest scats and several other fish.

i have treated Ich in my 29 gal with twelve fish, and not lost one. The key is to follow directions on ick-away bottles or meds, and 'bake' the tank with the heater to about 90* for several hours. Dont leave it hot too long, so bring the temps down in about two hours. This should kill off most of the parasites. Also, good filtration and a chemical called stress coat are very good at preventing ich.

Good luck with your fish, hope they all make it!

Answer 6

I would treat the entire tank for ick. Unfortunately pet stores are out to sell fish.... not give them a quality of life that lets them live to their potential lifespan. Also the majority of pet shops have all the tanks tied into one filter system. One fish is sick.... they are all sick..... By adding that many fish to your tank at once threw the chemicals all out of wack . You'll probably have to either cycle your tank again or like I said earlier, treat the entire tank for ick and pray for a low death rate. Good luck!

Answer 7

One point to remember about ich it that it's never just one fish in a tank that has it, it's the entire tank. It's in the water, filter and gravel. Yes, a tank full of fish with ich are readily treatable. It sounds as if you are on the right path and that things are improving. YES, you must keep treating! Treat for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots. The ich can still be there just not on the fish. That's due to the life cycle of the parasite. Here's a bit more info on ich and some treatment suggestions.

Ich 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 treatments 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. Threat for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish. After the treatment return the tank temperature to normal.

OR

Use 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.

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

Salt is a valid ich treatment you can find literally 1000's of hobby related links that support this and some that don't, but here's support from veterinarian conferences, research labs, government publications and and various University Fisheries and Biology departments. It's science and it's proven.
veterinarian support of salt treatment
http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=15788&cid=3806&search=
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00343.htm

General resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyophthirius_multifiliis

Scientific research links
Supports salt treatment with heat
http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?DocumentID=276.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA006
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio354l/Projects/2000/ginger_hsieh/index.html
Supports heat treatment:
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/AS/AS-459.pdf.
Download the Ich pdf here:
http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/aquaculture/Health.php

If you have access:
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?sid=U2TAADUBS1GM8G3RFACUJ1R2G00C3U91&ID=36388
http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1577%2F1548-8454(2001)063%3C0293%3ATFIIIC%3E2.0.CO%3B2

MM

Answer 8

Follow the treatment program it does work. You may not be able to save them all but it is better then having all them die. I would continue to treat them all. it sounds like you may have caught it in time. I think stress has a lot to do with ick too. I went through almost the same thing you explained. I often wonder what is in our water.

Answer 9

This is my steps and they work for me even in larger tanks with a large number of fish. It takes roughly a week to cure ich. You can use medications, you can also use salt with high temperatures.

First step:
20-25% water change with gravel vac. Most likely your poor water conditions contributed to the outbreak of ich.
Second step:
Raise temperature (no more than 1° per hour) to 85°.
Third step:
Add aquarium salt (not table salt) in the amount of one rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons. If you have scaleless fish, reduce that to one rounded teaspoon per 5 gallons, as they don't tolerate salt.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=WaterConditioners
Fourth step:
After 24 hours, a second 20-25% water change. Add more salt. If you took 5 gallons out in the change, put another rounded tablespoon in. Adjust for your situation.
Fifth step:
Wait 24 hours.
Sixth Step:
A third water change of 20-25% and replace salt removed.
If this does not cure the fish, you will want to use a commercial ich curative, such as copper sulfate like Aquarasol http://www.aq-products.com/APpro/aquarisol.htm
or in more extreme cases, Malachite Green
http://www.aq-products.com/APpro/quickcure.htm

Good Luck

Answer 10

I treated my whole tank. Keep the temp up to 85 or so to help the parasite go through its life cycle faster and continue what you are doing.