Is ick contagious to other fish?

Answer 1

Keep in mind Ich is ALWAYS in your water stress is what brings it out. Youd have to do an insane amount of work to get rid of it all and next water change bingo its back. Easiest way to fight ich is to prevent it. Im not on the up and up with fresh water ich but I know some saltwater fish like the blue hippo tang will get ich 9 times out of 10 if introduced to a new tank without a cleaner fish or shrimp in it. In my case the treatments did nothing but the fish eventually got strong enough to fend off the ich and is doing great now. So when choosing a treatment remember it can add to the amount of stress your fish are going through. With that said dont half dose the treatment either or you may just kill off the weak ich and stress out your fish. Without seeing how bad your infestation is I cant say what the best choice would be. As for raising your temp it could work but some strains of ich have been known to survive up to 92 degrees. On the side of prevention garlic is suggested to mask your fish from parasites... Ive done it and had the lovely aroma of garlic stew in my apartment that made me want to leave but im not sure about the parasites :). Best of luck with the problem just remember what ever treatment you choose from all these excellent suggestions avoid overtreating it. The fish live with ich in the wild every day and theres still plenty of fish in the sea :).

Answer 2

Lord yes.

I think you can get treatment for it, but you can also try a salt water dip (for fresh water fish), or if it's a salt water fish, a fresh water fish.
Let's say it's a salt water fish that's got the ick. So, you get some fresh water, and move the fish into it. This should kill the ick, but it can also kill the fish if you leave it there too long. Five minutes, tops, unless the fish looks fine. DO NOT walk off! keep an eye on the fish, and when it looks bad, pop it back into it's tank. Hopefully it'll have killed the ick and not the fish, and it will be gone in a few days. But if it's not, then it hasn't worked.

Answer 3

Yes! Its VERY contagious. Can wipe out a whole tank in 10 days.

Increase water temp to over 84 degrees and treat with a general ick treatment. Careful when using in a tank with scaleless fish, the wrong treatment/ dosage can kill them.

Answer 4

ok first off there is different cure for saltwater ICH and fresh water ICK. there are many articals on this all on the internet. Ich is definitly contagious in fact its not even a virus or bacteria its a parasite so it will fall off the fish and reproduce and so on and so on untill the numbers of ich in ur tank become over whelming to your fish. Saltwater fish can fight it off somtimes with their natural immunity. Ich can only be killed while its in the free swimming stage Copper in the water will kill it in saltwater. The bad thing is that copper also will kill all live rock and inverts. QT. tank is recommended with all new fish. also leaving your main tank fish free for 1 to 2 months will kill it very effectivley if you have corals and inverts in saltwater. Like i said its a parasite and without a host it dies.

Answer 5

specific, its contagious. im not a huge fan of making use of drugs that are extra to the water, yet circulate forward in case you think of this could help. we had a plague of ick in our fifty 5 gallon tank. we raised the temperature to approximately eighty 5 ranges F and left it like this for 3 weeks. the ick cleared up and everythings large. try raising the temperature slowly (in step with probability 2 ranges at a time). sturdy success!

Answer 6

Yes, very contagious. Separate the fish and treat with medicine.

Answer 7

Yes it is - both the freshwater and saltwater varieties.

If you have fish with it in your tank, you'll need to treat the entire tank.
See the links below for a variety of treatments - just be careful to match the treatment method with your tank inhabitants - some fish species are sensitive, as are plants and inverts (shrimp, snails, etc.) to both salt and medications. Malachite green and formalin are both known carcinogens.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

Answer 8

yes it is you should treat your whole tank with a treatment for ick

Answer 9

yes! if you have any scaleless fish in tank be sure to use a treatment that is OK for them.

Answer 10

big time. i tend to flush the fish with it as i dont buy expensive fish and its more expensive to treat it. if u want, there is "ich out" which works fairly well.