Ich attack?

Question

Fish in my tank:
6 Black skirt tetras
5 Neon tetras
2 Dwarf Gourami
1 Gold Gourami
2 Clown Loaches
1 oto catfish
1 red platy
many live plants.

I have a 55 gallon tank with a Ich problem. I started adding "Ich Attack" 2 days ago but it hasn't seemed to help any. I didn't take the carbon out of the filter. I need help bad! Tell me all you know and some tips please!

Answer 1

The Clown Loaches are scaleless, so you are gonna have to be very careful in your treatment. Start by turning up the temperature to between 83-86*. Then, over the course of 5 days, add 5.5 cups of Kosher salt. Keep the water very clean. Ick usually infects fish that are stressed, so by keeping the water clean, you can reduce stress. Vacuum the gravel twice a week for 2 weeks. When filling the tank back up, add as much salt as you took out (10% water change = add aproximately .5 cups of salt back in). The heat will speed up the life cycle of the parasite, causing it to drop off the fish. Once it drops off the fish, the salt in the water will kill it. Continue the treatment for about 1 week after you see the last sign of Ick.

Medications should be used as a last resort because you will have to be MUCH more careful with the Loaches. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: Though you may not see it on some fish, it is almost certain that ALL of them have it. Moving some to a quarantine tank is just a guarantee that you will reinfect the tank later.

EDIT: I have successfully used a cup of salt/10 gallons (in a tank with scaleless YO-YO LOACHES) in the past (in addition to heat) to fight off Ick, and I know it is quite safe to use much higher amounts.

Answer 2

Try taking the carbon out of the filter. If you don't remove the carbon, the carbon removes the medication from the water.

It may still take a few days to notice any difference. The parasites aren't affected by medication when they're on the fish - only when they're in the water. On the fish they're protected inside a cyst.

You can also try increasing your water temperature to 88-90o a few degrees an hour. This speeds up the life cyles of the ich making it drop off the fish faster.

Also - check the ingredients on the medication label - products with malachite green and formalin are the most effective against ich, but you can also use non-iodized salt. The correct dosage is a TEASPOON per gallon, but I would start with less because the same fish that are sensitive to medications are also sensitive to salt.

Answer 3

IF ALL YOUR FISH DON'T HAVE IT ,YOU CAN USE A HOSPITAL TANK FOR THE SICK ONES . IF ALL ARE SICK THEN SHUT OFF FILTER , THE CARBON WILL FILTER OUT PART OF YOUR MEDS.