My fish have Ich, will the meds hurt my cory?

Question

I thought my fish were having constipation issues, turns out they've had ich! Two of them died before I finally figured out what was going on because I couldn't see the white spots. My female betta has some white spots on her now and is kinda lethargic and doesn't want to eat, although she isn't as bad as my poor guppy was before he died. My cory seems fine and happy as always.

I'm stopping off after work to pick up meds to kill the ich. My questions are:

1) Should I do a total water change first? The tank has some algae and it's about time for a good scouring, although I did my regular 30% water change last weekend.

2) Will the ich meds hurt my cory? I keep reading that scaleless fish can't handle the meds too well, but not sure if corys fall into that category.

Answer 1

Do a 50% water change before you treat. That will help remove some of the ich from the tank. Be sure to clean the gravel well with a gravel siphon as you do this. That's where the next generation of ich lives and you can't kill it with medications in that phase, but you can remove it.

I would suggest you try to find a good medication that contains Malachite green and formalin. Quick Cure is one brand that contains both.

These meds won't hurt your corys, they don't fall into the scaleless category.

I also would suggest you do two more things to help your fish recover. One, raise the temperature of the tank to 88-90F This will help kill the ich and will stop it from reproducing well. You may need to add an airstone to the tank due to the higher water temperature. Also, I suggest a daily 25% water change while cleaning the gravel. Again it will help remove more of the ich that the meds can kill yet. Be sure you dose the new water with meds before you add it to the tank. Don't do a complete new dose, only the new water each time.

This should clear the ich from your tank within 7-10 days, but be sure you treat for 7 days after you see the last white spot on any fish. No matter what the medication says, treat for this additional time to be sure.

If I can help further feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 2

Your corys can handle a half dose of the medication. Turn the heat up, add the medication and make sure the surface of the tank is being well circulated. Either direct the outflow of a filter toward the surface, add more air stones or a power head depending upon your set up though with the increase in temperature you want to make sure the oxygen exchange is increased. Do that large water change vaccuming the gravel really well before adding the medication and this should help you save at least some of your fish. All of your fish can easily handle temperatures in the 80s for a 2 week period. Try to figure out why the fish got sick. Usually ick shows up due to another problem that is stressing the fish out and lowering their immunity.

Answer 3

Try not to use it when your corys are in the tank. The corys don't have scales to protect their skin from medication. Set-up a small tank for your armored catfish and other fish without scales or set-up one for fish with the ick so not the whole tank will get infected. Change the water after the medication. Good luck.

Answer 4

Really good question, and I honestly don't know the answer to it. I would encourage a water change before and after the treatment and talk to an employee at a fish store for advice on your cory.

Answer 5

It does sound like Ich, so get a advertisement drugs, and quarintine him, and take care of both the betta and the tank besides. it would want to also be a competent theory to do an finished water substitute on the tank, and sterilize the gravel and decorations. you does no longer want Ich taking on your tank.