Certain Fishes and Ich Treatment?

Question

I need to treat my 55 gallon for ich. I have very healthy thriving fish but am worried about how they will tolerate treatment. I'm especially concerned about my baby mollies ( a few weeks old) tetras (someone told me they don't tolerate ich medication) & my catfish. Will these fish be adversely affected?

Answer 1

The catfish would be by far at the highest risk from typical ich medications as especially so if he is a scaleless catfish. Assuming those are the only fish in the tank, you would still have to treat at 1/2 normal dose with ich medications. This leads to much slower and less reliable results. I would suggest for that mix of fish treating the tank with heat and salt instead of conventional medications. To treat with heat and salt change a large portion of the water, about 50-60% while cleaning the gravel very well. Clean the filter and change all the media. Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons of the tank. Raise the temperature to 88-90 F. Raise it slowly, about 1 degree per hour. You may need to add an air stone or two depending on the type of fish and how heavily the tank is stocked. Treat for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish. After the treatment return the tank temperature to normal.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

My ick cure bottle says that tetras are sensitive to the medication and suggests using 3 drops for every 5 gals. instead of the normally recommended 5 drops per 5 gals. of water.

I've used it in my tanks with guppy fry of a few weeks and the little ones were fine.

Answer 3

Catfish and Ich are a tough combo...
I'd look into a treatment that doesn't contain malachite green or copper...
http://www.novalek.com/kordon/formalin/index.htm