Can I boil things to get rid of Ich?

Question

I have a quarantine tank, saw a fish with Ich at the store I brought home and tried to cure. Unfortunately he didn't make it. Have a chance to pick up some Dempseys tonight and want to use the tank. Can I just take everything out and boil the decorations etc. and clean the inside of the tank with boiling water? Will that kill the Ich that I can see on the slate, gravel and other decorations? Don't need to worry about messing up the bacteria, the tank has only been set up for a week. Really don't want to spend money on medicating an empty tank. Is the Ich stuck to my carbon cartridge and everything in my filter too? Or can those be boiled as well? Thanks for any help. I'd love to get these Dempseys tonight they are beautiful.

Well then I dunno what those little white spots are on everything then but they do not belong! Thanks guys

Answer 1

Bioling should kill the ich, but so will washing with a weak bleach solution or a very stong salt solution. Wash every thing very well, toss the filter media and you should be fine. Personally, I would pour a cup of bleach per 5 gallons in the tank and let it run for a while. Stir the gravel and toss the filter media, then wash everything down well and dry it all. That will certainly clear up and thing in the tank.

BTW, you aren't seeing ich in the tank on the gravel etc. It's too small to see in that phase of it's life cycle.

MM

Answer 2

You could actually keep everything in the tank and put some aquarium salt in it and raise the temp to about 90 degrees. That's how I got rid of my ich in my tank. That would take a few days though. If you want it sooner, you could empty the tank of it's water and wash down everything with vinegar. I would think that would work.