Suggested medicine for ick?

Question

My mollies have ick. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good product that clears ick that they have used (and it works!). I tried 1 "Jungle Ick Tablet" but it isn't really the best. Anyone?

Answer 1

If you're looking for medication, try something with both malachite green and formalin as ingredients. Quick Cure and Rid Ich are two brands that use these, and I've seen both at WalMarts. I like the quick cure, because the dose is 1 drop per gallon, so there's no measuring involved, and it's convenient to add back medication if you do a water change during treatment.

You can also use salt to treat (non-iodized preferred). If the molly is your only fish, you can add the salt up to 3 tablespoons per gallon of tank water. If there are other fish in the tank, I would only use 1 tablespoon per gallon, unless you have sensitive species (tetras, catfish, scaleless fish). In this case, whether you use medication or salt, you should only start at a half dose, and slowly increase.

Both treatments benefit from raised tank temperatures - the parasites aren't treatable on the fish, only when they're in the water, so increasing the heat speeds up the life cycle so they drop off faster.

Answer 2

There are many remedies at your local store. The best have Malachite green in them. If you have scaleless fish like catfish, use half strength. Couple hints.. raise the water temp in the tank to 80 to 82 degree, mollies like that anyway, and it speeds up the lifecycle of the parasite that causes ick. They are vulnerable to the medication when they are microscopic and free swimming in the tank. Make sure to follow dosage directions every day.
Add a tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons if you haven't already. Again, mollies like that and it helps them produce slime which helps to keep them from getting ick.
Remove any charcoal based filtering as it will remove the medication from the water.
Once the white spots are gone add a good stress conditioner like novaaqua. Ick causes small sores on the fish and the conditioner will help with to prevent infection.

Good luck

Answer 3

There are many medications of varying effectiveness.

I also would like to first mention that good water conditions will go a long ways in aiding in the treatment of your ich infestation, as even the best of medication may not work in less than optimal conditions.

Mollies in particular require electrolytes in the water. This is part from aquarium salt (min. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons), Calcium, and magnesium (which are both present in your GH)

Here are some parameters to check:
*Ammonia/ nitrites-0
*GH-150 + for mollies
*KH-100+ for mollies
*pH - stable, however over 7.5 is preferred.

Most treatments that contain Malachite Green (which is the majority) are more effective AND safe with proper buffers and electrolytes in the water (i.e. salt, calcium, magnesium, carbonates)

Here are few I use and recommend:
*Quick Cure; very fast and effective, however use at half strength for many tetra, catfish, and scaleless fish (with many scaleless fish you would want to make sure of your buffers and possibly add Sulfamethazine too)
*ParaGuard (by SeaChem); not as fast, however more safe
*Medicated Wonder Shells; moderate speed and very safe in part due to their ability to buffer the water and add electrolytes.

For more about Ich treatments, lifecycle, and more please read this article: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html

Answer 4

Use Coppersafe. I have used it to successfully treat a tank for ich. It also doesn't dye tank silicone blue like the medications containing Malachite green do. Just follow the instructions exactly and you can't go wrong. Adding salt to you tank water will also help to keep your mollies healthy. BTW.. Nothing can cure ich in a day. It takes more than a day for ich to go through it's life cycle.

Answer 5

Just raise the water temp to 82 degrees F. The mollies will do fine, but the ich won't. When sure it's gone, lower temp to 80 and leave it there.

Answer 6

my fish had ick and what i did was:
turned up the temperature to 82
added aquarium salt
and used medcine (quick cure) it is the best it cures ick in 1 day! trust me

Answer 7

turn the tempature in the tank up slowly and the ick cant live in the water if its 88 degrees!

Answer 8

rid ick

Answer 9

They sell a few different kinds at walmart. I would get the drops, that is what walmart uses in their tanks so it must work well.