My goldfish has ich and I am treating with salt, but I don't have a heater?

Question

I came home after Easter dinner only to find that my black moor goldfish had developed a nasty case of ich. Because all of the pet stores were closed, I was told to do a water change (I did about a 30% change) and to add 1 tsp of salt per gallon of water every 12 hours for a total of 3 times and to raise the heat in the tank to 80 degrees. However, I don't have a heater in my tank and was unable to acquire one. My questions are:
1. Will just salt alone work (my tank is about 70 degrees right now)
2. How long will it take before the white spots come off?
3. How long should the salt stay in the water?
4. Should I do water changes during the process?
5. Will the ich from the black moor affect my other fish (a smaller black moor, a calico, and a feeder)?

Thanks so much in advance!

Answer 1

The salt should start to do the trick, but it will help if you can get a heater. The parasites that are the white spots you see should start disappearing once the treatment kicks in. In the meantime, you should absolutely separate your black moor from the rest of your fish to prevent the ich from spreading, but still treat the entire tank for ich; sometimes your fish will have it but you don't see it until it is too late. The salt will stay in the water, period. It doesn't dilute after time, and none of it will escape with evaporating water. You should be changing the water, but not too often because this will put extra stress on your moor. Every 2-3 days should be enough; make sure the water has sat out for long enough to be room temperature. If you don't want to buy a heater, put your black moor in a room and make the room itself warmer with a portable heater; this worked for me with my guppies when their heater broke. Good luck!

Answer 2

It's worth a try. Pickling Salt is like table salt except without the iodine and the anti-caking additives. 1 teaspoon a gallon wont kill all the ich, but can severely slow it's growth until you get the Ich medication. It's an improvisation, but it certainly can't do any harm. The best Ich Med is Coppersafe- works in 1 day, 1 application lasts a month.

Answer 3

Symptoms Of Ich In Fish

Answer 4

Salt treatment really only works well when combined with heat. It can kill the ich without heat, but it's a very slow process and requires far more salt than you are using. With no heater, I would suggest you get a good ich medication tomorrow and begin treatment that way.
1. Salt alone will work at levels of about 2 tablespoons per gallon, but that would be somewhat stressful on the fish.
2. That way it could take up to a month to clear up
3. At least 5 weeks.
4. yes, nearly daily to vacuum the bottom
5. Yes, no matter what the treatment you choose, the ich will spread very soon without very prompt treatment.

Hope this helps.

MM

Answer 5

You have gold fish here. Get rid of the salt. DO NOT TURN THE TEMPERATURE UP.

That is a great way to rid your fish of ich, by killing him. Treat with meds not salt and your fish will be fine. The added stress heated water will put on your gold fish will kill him faster than the ich.

If you are sure he has ich, go get medicine for him. Stop believing crap from the net if you want to save your fish.

Answer 6

I suggest you dont put too much salt in your tank, because salt is reccomended for cichlids mostly. If you want to cure the ich i suggest you go pick up Rid Ich+ its cheap and affective. The ich will most likely affect your other fish. Ich grows on low temperatures and dies around high temperature. Buy a small heater or just put small amounts of warm water in your tank and raise it up to about 76. Add half a tea spoon of salt once in your tank. If you have a bowl dont add salt. Just apply the medicine once a day followed by a 20 percent water change before the next application
If you use rid ich+ the problem will clear up in about a week
if you use salt and no heater the problem wont go away and your fish will die

Answer 7

Just adding salt will be alright. Turning the temperature up speeds up the life cycle of Ich, so your fish are cured faster. Without a temperature increase, it could take longer to cure your fish but it won't prevent a cure alltogether. In coldwater (50 degrees) the life cycle can be up to 6 weeks, whereas in warm water at 85 degrees it could be a matter of days. If your other fish are weak or stressed the Ich could get ahold of them as well but they should be fine since they are also going through the salt treatment.

Ich is one of those things that is always in your tank and waits for its chance to infect fish when they become stressed or weak.

Answer 8

Salt bath.. In a bowl, place some tank water and a small amount of salt. The water should taste a little salty. Leave the fish in for about a minute. Wait ten minutes and do it again. Do this three or four times. I've saved many fish from near death with salt baths. You want to have the water as salty as you can without damaging the fish further. Along with this medicate your water.

Answer 9

Not sure about all your questions, but a good way to increase the temperature of your tank water is to boil some water and put it in a plastic cup or bag. Let it bob in your tank water. This will soothingly raise the water temperature.
(I've never had a fish with ich, so I've never had to treat it before)

Answer 10

yes the ich will probably affect the others.....

ich is a parasite.
no, salt and temp changes alone are not enough to get rid of the ich from the tank completely.

if you are SURE it is ich, you need some parasite medication for the tank from a petshop - the sooner the better because ich can be fatal if left untreated.
if you are unsure, get a multicure.

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