How do I get reoccuring ich out of my fish tank for good?

Question

I set up a 10 gallon fish tank for goldfish. I put an orange and black oranda and a bubble-eyed goldfish in the tank. Two days later the oranda got ich. I treated the tank and then the ich went away. About a week later both fish had the ich. I ended up taking the fish out of the tank and the oranda ended up dying. The bubble-eyed recovered and did not show any ich for 48 hours. With the tank, I cloroxed the gravel, plants, air line, and everything else and bought a new tank. I also replaced the oranda with another from the same store. A week later the new oranda died and the bubble-eyed and the red cap oranda have ich again. I have never had this much trouble with a goldfish tank! HELP!!!!!!

Answer 1

do a full water change out set aside alot of water and let it age drop youre fish in it and then clean the whole tank boil water to clean the gravel then return the fish to the tank age the water for a few days

Answer 2

You may have been stopping your treatments too early. Ich has a multi-stage lifecycle, and the spots you see on the fish are only one part. When the parasite is on the fish, they're protected inside a cyst wher they aren't affected by any medications you use. It's onlt when they drop off the fish and are in the water that they can be killed. So if you're stopping the treatment when the spots disappear, there may still be surviving parasites in the water that reinfect your fish.

Do a water change and remove as much as you can from the gravel with a siphon - that's where the ich will settle. Then use a good ich medication (preferable one with malachite green and formalin both as ingredients). You can also use non-iodized salt at a rate of a teaspoon per gallon. Make sure you remove all carbon from your filter if you use medication (it absorbs the medication). Slowly raise your water temperature (a few degrees an hour) to where it's around 86o. Keep it at this level and provide good aeration for the fish. Keep treating for 3-5 days after you stop seeing any spots on the fish. When the treatment's over, do another water change (25%) and slowly reduce the water temperature in the tank. While 10-14 days is average, there are some strains of ich that are more resistant. By treating and having it come back, you've been cultivating those parasites that are more resistant (killing the ones that are susceptible to the medication), so don't be surprised if your treatment may take a little longer.

Another suggestion I'd make is to get a small tank that you can set up to quarantine any "newcomers", whether it be fish, plants, or anything from a store's tank. Once you get your fish healthy, you don't want to introduce a fish or anthing that might have water from the store (including water from the bag it/they might come in, because any water has the potential to carry the parasite). If you stop it from entering your tank, the cost of a small tank and filter can be much cheaper than constantly buying medications and new fish. Also, if you have a small tank, the amount of medication you'd need to use would be less.

Eventually, you'll need to get a larger tank for your goldfish - as adults, you'll want to give them at least 10 gallons for each fish.

Answer 3

There are three stadges to the life cycle of the parasite known as Ich. The longest phase of its life (when its attached to your fish and visable) is also the phase of its life where it's safe from pretty much whatever your doing to kill it. This is because its underneath the slime coating that protects your fish (usually). When the cyst enlarges and breaks off of your fish, it falls to the gravel where every single "cyst" that you saw on your fish divides hundreds of times. It does this over the course of one day. Then they become free swimming, this time in the thousands, where it will find your fish, reattach, and begin feeding again. What you have to do is treat the entire tank for an entire seven days minimum. Regardless of what the package tells you about how it's a quick cure that will work in three days. Ich medication is however, very harsh. Raising the temp. of a tank also lowers oxygen. So if your raising the temp and useing salt and using a treatment for ich such as meth blue or quick cure, you need to make absolutely positively sure you have not just adequate, but extra aeration. During treatment, it is also advisable that you vacuum your gravel. These are cheap to buy, as long as your tank isnt say, sitting on the floor, easy to use. Remove all carbon, but keep your filter running just for the added water movement / aeration. By the way, increaseing your temp wont help unless you raise it above 86* which is the point at which Ich cannot survive. Unfortunately, if you do it too quickly, neither will your fish. Also keep in mind that some fish are more sensative to Ich medications, such as tetra's, plecos, catfish (many freshwater catfish are labled as 'sharks' of some sort). Good luck with your fish!

Answer 4

Yeah, raise the temp 5-7 degrees like the other person above said, and get some aquarium salt and put in how much according to the directions. It might be the place you are getting your fish from. Make sure when you buy your fish to check all the fish in the tank at the store very carefully. Sometimes they look ok but you can see small amounts of ich on them...
Goodluck w/ your fishies!!
and I forgot, you might want to cycle your tank w/ some goldfish for a couple of weeks after you treat the tank for ich...this kind of stabilizes the water.. I do this when I start a new tank everytime and it works very well.

Answer 5

when I had ich in my tank I raised the warmth to 86/89 tiers (2 tiers each few hours, no longer unexpectedly)... it does not kill the ich, despite the fact that it hurries up its cycle and prevents the reproduction of recent spores. and that i extra aquarium salt. as quickly as i spotted the spots laying off... i began vacuuming the backside of the tank and doing partial water adjustments another day. all and sundry informed me that's "overkill" despite the fact that it worked for me. i did no longer lose a single fish. (I had x-ray bellies and mollies.) I diminished the warmth as quickly as i spotted there become no longer a single spot left on the fish... yet I went from ninety to 87 and left it there for one extra week earlier slowly reducing it flow into opposite to ordinary to make beneficial I have been given all the shedded spores so that they does no longer reproduce. lots of individuals propose medicating the tank... yet i've got lost extra fish that way. did no longer lose any attempting it this type. in case you have fish that are no longer salt tolerant, attempt elevating the temp and cleansing the tank... or upload 0.5 the dose of cautioned salt quite of a entire dose.

Answer 6

o.k., the best way to kill ich is to slowly raise the temperature up about 5-7 degrees. then us the meds. for it. this usually gets rid of it. hope this helps:)

Answer 7

The problem could be coming from the fish store.

Answer 8

You can either raise the temperature or do a full water change. Hope this helps.