My poor fish have ick HELP!!?

Question

I have a 55 gallon tank and it has ick. I have used quick cure for about 5 days so far and they are still infected. I have done a partial water change and all water readings are good. How often should I do a partial water change and what should I do differently to help my fish get better? I also have the maracyn & maracyn 2. I also have coppersafe. Do you know which is better to use? Can I use them all at the same time? I just need help. I don't want to see my fish die. Thank You.

My tank is a freshwater tank and I have 4 platies, 2 black tetras, 1 chinese algae eater, 1 pecostomis and 2 male guppies. I have had them for over a month now and this is the first problem I have come across. My 55 gall. tank has 2 long air bubble strips and one biowheel whisper filter. It doesn't have much gravel or decorations due to the ick infestation. The ick they have is the white little spots. The tank dandruff as one has called it. I have done everything the magicman has said so far. I will continue and see what happens. I appreciate any further information anyone has.

Answer 1

If you have already tried medication without results, there is another way to cure ich. The other approach is to actually destroy the organism with heat, and can be combined with the salt treatment, but not with meds.

The data that was studied (including a report by the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center) suggests that most strains of Ich cannot reproduce at temperatures above 85ºF. To use this temperature treatment approach, slowly (no more than 1 or 2 degrees per hour) raise the temperature to 86ºF, while maintaining strong continuous surface agitation to oxygenate the water.

This is extremely important because water holds less O2 at higher temperatures. (This is why meds should not be used in conjunction with high temp – most Ich treatment products also reduce oxygen levels. Less available oxygen, combined with the respiration difficulties an infected fish is already faced with, could be fatal.)

The adjusted temperature should be maintained for approximately 10 days, or a minimum of 3 days after all signs of the parasite have disappeared (the life cycle of the parasite is 7 days).

Do not discontinue treatment when the spots go away. This is critical, because we know that the parasites are visible only as a white spot (trophont) on the body of the host, and not during the reproductive or free-swimming stage. We also know that trophonts on the gills are impossible to see.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I wouldn't try all the meds at one time - you'll either overdose your fish or create additional stress.

Five days isn't all that long - a full treatment for ich should last at least 10-14.

Instead of jumping between treatments, I'd advise to continue with what you're currently using - and making sure you're using the correct dose. This and misdiagnosing the problem are the two most common reasons for a treatment to fail. If you've been doing water changes while treating the tank, be sure you've added enough medication to bring the dose in the tank back to the original level - that is, if you take ten gallons out, add ten gallons worth of medication (10 drops) when you replace the water, if you're not doing this already. You can raise the temperature of the tank to speed up the life cycle of your parasite as well as use the Quick Cure. Depending on the fish you have, you can raise it as high as 90o+ if the fish will tolerate this temperature, 85o if not - some additional aeration can help with oxygen since this will decrease as you raise the temperature.

Answer 3

Ick is alway in the tank. When you realize its there it has already begun its cycle and blooms. As I put it .. my fish tank has dandriff. LOL
You need to NOT do a water change durning the treatment with the quick cure. Do the full dosage once a day everyday at about the same time. REMOVE CHARCOAL FILTER. Up your tempature to 90 degrees slowly. Ick LOVES cold water. Do the treatment for 14 days. Watch for sick fish swimming funny... remove them cuz they are on the way out.
After the 14 days do a water change and start putting coppersafe in your tank. Lower the temp to 82 degrees.
Put new charcoal filter in system. Oh and make alot of air to circulate the tank durning treatment. I use 2 air pumps at once.

Answer 4

Assuming you don't have a saltwater tank you don't need to worry about Brooklynella, Cryptocaryon or Oodinium as these are strictly saltwater parasites and cannot live in freshwater. The only parasite known as Ich and living in freshwater is Ichthyophthirius multifilis. As 8 in the corner has so correctly said, if the ich isn't responding to medications, the salt / heat method is another very good way to treat ich. I suggest raising the temperature to 88-90F and adding 1.5 level tablespoons of salt per gallon of water. Research data shows that this temperature will not only cause the ich to stop reproducing, but also most likely kill it. Further this level of salt has been shown to kill ich as well. Don't use this much salt if you have loaches or scaleless catfish, if that's the case use 3/4 tablespoon per gallon. Add the salt slowly, over the course of a day as you also raise the temperature slowly, about a degree per hour. Treat this way for 7 days and then slowly lower the temperature to normal and do a daily 50% water change for 3 days to lower the salt content. You can also do daily water changes during this treatment, but if you do be sure to add back the salt for the amount of water you removed, not the entire amount again. Kosher salt from the grocery store is a good choice for this treatment.

MM

Answer 5

It seems that other medication does not work in your tank. And I'm afraid your beneficial bacteria have been killed by the medication too. Putting in aquarium salt and increasing water temparature is the best way to kill ich. Once it is cured, to prevent it you must let your fish live happily. Happy fish can ward off disease easily.

Answer 6

You can only kill off the Ich in your tank by keeping it medicated for 12 days, long enough for the ich to run its life cycle so the larva are exposed and die.

Its also helps to have the temp of the tank at 82 to kill the ich, they don't like to be hot.

Answer 7

if you are using ick stop in the tank you should take out the charcoal filter for a few days it is taking the medication out of the water before it can work. that might help

Answer 8

Normally I just raise the water temperature to about 90 Degrees F.
When you do this it kill the ICK. Also, be sure to pump plenty of air when raising the temperature like this. I use a 10" Bubble wand.

Answer 9

poor fish
try doing a water change every 2-3 days which will help get the water cleaner and less infected.also do not feed him/her flake food until it gets better i would reccomend feeding him/her peas which is very very helpful but the fish might not eat it in the first try so just try later but he will eat it sooner or later.also feed him zuccini and lettuce and this might or might not work.
hope your fish gets better

Answer 10

this is bad news any of my fish that have ever had ick all went to fishy heaven.