Even after we clean the tank the ick....?

Question

the ick keeps comming to kill my fish any advice? we also tried using that medicine stuff...but they all still die?

Answer 1

are you using the right medication for ick,
when my fish get ick i treat on day 1 then on day 4 and on day 7 if its still there do a partial water change and then start the treatment again.
make sure you remove the carbon filters as this stops the medication working.

Answer 2

1. What do you mean clean the tank? Dont clean the whole tank out and then put the same fish back in, that could be deadly. What did you clean it with, hopefully not soap just hot water, warm water, or vinigar.
2. Ick is ALWAYS living in the aquarium it just attacks the fish when their immune system is weakened.
3. The natural way to get rid of it other than polluting your tank with medicines is aquarium salt.
4. Buy some, put in the correct dosage but half dosage for scaleless and tetras. Dont put in any for snails as they can die.
5. Raise the temperature of the tank to 82 degrees which will speed up the life cycle of ick and kill it faster.
6. If this doesnt work (which it really should) try the medicine Quick Cure, cheap and i have heard VERY positive results from it.
7. The reason why it is attacking is for you to figure out now, check your water parameters with a (liquid) test kit as they are most accurate. It anything is abnormally high do a 25% water change and add the salt and raise the temperature.

- I think i covered it, sorry this is happening to you i know some things are painful to both the fish and us! If you need anything you can email me! Good luck :] -

Answer 3

Ich can't be removed just by cleaning. And medications can take several weks to work. Depending on how heavy the infection is, you may do everything perfectly, but if there are too many parasites, you fish could have already be weakened to the point where some will die.

Here's what I would recommend:

1) Do a large water change while thoroughly vacuuming the gravel (removes old medication and parasites in the water).

2) Choose a proper treatment. The most effective medication is one with both malachite green and formalin as ingredients. You can also treat this with salt (non-iodized, at a rate of a tablespoon per gallon). If you have fish that are sensitive to either of these (tetras, catfish, scaleless fish) start with just half a dose, then increase it to the full dose by adding the treatment slowly over the course of a day or two.

3) Increase the temperature in your tank. Any amount is good, but over 86oF is best if your fish can tolerate it that high. The added warmth cause the parasite's life cycle to speed up, so it drops off the fish faster. When it's on the fish, it isn't affected by medication because it's inside a protective cyst. Keep up good circulation as when the water is warmer, it holds less dissolved oxygen.

4) Remove all carbon from your filters if using medication to treat. Carbon will absorb your medication so it becomes useless.

5) Be patient. As I said, if the infection is heavy enough, some of your fish may die - this is why it's important to start treatment as soon as you notice the first spots.

6) Continue treatment for 3-5 days after you no longer see any spots on the fish. Since the parasite is only killed while it's in the water, if you stop treatment too soon, you're likely to have the fish reinfected.

You may also want to make sure you've diagnosed the problem correctly. Ich appears as white spots, but the spots are large (about the size of salt grains). Another condition that involves white spots is velvet, but the spots are smaller, and if you shine a bright light (flashlight) on your fish, the spots will turn gold/rust in color. You can still use malachite green/formalin to treat this, but this parasite is able to use photosynthesis to make its own food as well. To treat this effectively, you also need to turn off all the lights on the tank for the entire course of the treatment.

Answer 4

Ick is a dieses, it needs to be treated until it is gone. I use Nox-ick, it works every time. You will need to remove the carbon from your filter, since it will absorb the medicine. Also add some aquarium salt and increas the temp a few degrees. Then you should be fine. Good luck!

Answer 5

Could be the water temp. also clean the tank everday so when the ick does fall/come off the fish it wont be in there for some time nor be able to get on the others.

Answer 6

your not treating them to late. Ya cant let the ick get that bad.