ick in my out door pond?

Question

how can you get rid of ick in your outside ponds besides having to drain and let dry out i had cat fish stocked in my pond they all died i was told it was ick thanks

Answer 1

As others have said Quick Cure is a very effective treatment for ich but be careful on a few fronts. You mention it's a pond of catfish.

NEVER use Quick Cure on any fish you or others may eat!! Quick Cure contains two active ingredients that are carcinogens. If this is a food fish pond drop me an email and I'll point you to some FDA approved ich treatments for food fish.

Also, Quick Cure can deplete the oxygen from a pond so be sure to aerate well during treatment. Aerate from the deepest point in the pond if at all possible.

If I can help further please feel free to email me

MM

Answer 2

I have no experience with out door ponds but I have had ick problems before and have gotten rid of it quickly and did have to drain the tanks. The key is understanding how and why they get ick in the first place. when you do an partial change of water for cleaning purpases if you remove to much water and then replace it right away with cold untreated water the, fish get a chill from the quick water temperature chance it is at this time ick develops. If you catch it early enough you will not lose any fish you do this by keeping an eye on them for the 1st couple of days after an cleaning. If you notice the fish are slamming them selves on objects in the pond and then getting little white dots on them ( like if you took the fish out and rolled it in salt ) then that's a sure sign of ick.
Go to your aquarium service store that deals in tanks and ponds they will have the ick treatment there for no more then $10.00, it comes in crystal and liquid form they will let you know how much to use just make sure you turn off the filter for the entire treatment process or it will not work, after the week treatment turn the filters back on and your good to go.

Answer 3

Be sure it is definitely ick and not something else. If you have a good local fish store they are usually great sources for info. I do not suggest big chains like petsmart though as most of the people that work in the fish area are not experts.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pond.htm is a good site to check for info and also talk to other pond people.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Go to your pet store and buy "Ick Clear" or a product that treats Ick. It should clear it up. If the first treatment doesn't work, treat the pond again.

I'm sorry about your catfish! *hugs*

Answer 5

I actually have a goldfish pond and as quickly because it have been given undesirable so I took each and all of the fish out and pumped the Water out and scrubbed the Pond and placed new water in it.I did get a good Pump and clear out equipment and all is surely.Goldfish are fairly hardy and could do nicely in a plastic bowl jointly as you sparkling the pond.My pond has 900 gallons water and it became a activity regardless of the shown fact that it became particularly worth it my Fish are healthful and consume out of my Hand.good success.

Answer 6

Make sure you have ich by identification, this site has good information about ich and a picture of a fich with ich:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html

Quick cure is safe for ponds and comes in large quantities (such as 32 oz. bottles that treat up to 32, 000 gallons http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quickcure.html ).
There are other large volume treatments as well, however this one is the one I have had the best pond results with.

Maintain a higher pH of 7.5 (or more), make sure your pond is well buffered with a KH at least 50 ppm.

EDIT:
Actually scientific tests (not anecdotal comments) on Malachite Green (a major ingredient of Quick Cure) are inconclusive at normal therapeutic doses as to the carcinogenic properties of this product (see: http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/files/527-C_LowRes_Bookmark.pdf ).

The key is normal levels, not overdoses. The major problem is low pH and KH when Malachite Green is used as well as older formulas that contain zinc. When used in a pond or aquarium KH and pH should be maintained and results will be much better in terms of risk to fish.
This article about Aquarium Treatments has more information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html

Answer 7

Go to a pet store and buy "Ick Clear". It works almost instantly.

Answer 8

Well, I would get a medication from the petstore and dose it correct;y. I would try to dose it maybe 0.1 more than the dosage. I would also add an airstone.