YIKES! is it ick?

[mark razmandi]

so my two smaller clown loaches (3.5") have white specks on them...i didnt know if it was sand because sometimes they get sand on them but i think it might be ick. my larger clown loach (6.5") doesnt have any specks...all my fish have huge appitites still and dont show any negative symptoms other than the specks...is it ick? if so, is it contagious? should i remove the two smaller clown loaches into my 20g and treat my tank? or should i treat the whole 90g? i have QuICK Cure, is that good? what should i do?!?!?!

P.S. my tank just went through a mini cycles so the parameters were crappy for about a week or 2

[russ]

you will have better results with a few pics.
i could be wrong,but i think clown loachs dont have scales...if so make sure the meds you have will not hurt the fish.

[fishlady]

get them out of that tank and into qt now.....
treat them with warmer water and some ich med that won't hurt them....but yes ich is very very very very ....did i say very contagious

[Somefishguy]

+1 Get them out and into higher temp (if i remember right you want it at around 88 )

Be careful with ich med. Since they dont have scales it may hurt them

keep a really good eye on the main tank for signs on other fish

[mark razmandi]

holy crap, well it doesnt say anything about QuICK Cure being harmful to loaches...

[specialone0812]

Yes, It is. remember that clown loach do not have scales.

[supadave]

You won't be able to use Quick Cure because it is not designed for fish that do not have scales. You also should treat the entire tank due to the fact that Ick is a parasite. What I did in a similar case was to add table salt to the tank and increase the temperature. I raised my temp up to around 89 - 90 degrees. You will want to add a powerhead if you don't aready have one, just for added oxygenation due to the increase of heat robbing the water of oxygen. I added about a cup of salt to a 55 gal. tank. Every other day I would perofrm a water change and add another cup of salt. Each day I noticed that the Ick would fall off the fish. I continued this treatment for about five days after I did not see anymore Ick on the fish. This was three years ago and I have never had Ick since. I got this treatment plan from either this site or cichlid-forum. I will see if I can find it for you and post a link.

BTW... the reason I said that you should treat the whole tank is because ick is a parasite that lives it's life through a cycle. And if I'm not mistaken it's only at a certain point in that life cycle that you can kill the Ick. I will find that article that can explain it better than I can.

[Somefishguy]

yup if you can treat the entire tank i would do so. Qt the scaless fish in a separate tank and just raise the temp on that tank. the rest of the tank i would treat with med. I use Rid-Ich + and have had good results with that. Dont add salt to the scaless fish tank though.

[supadave]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

Here you go Mark.... this is one of the articles:

[specialone0812]

and ick is contagious, really quick. so don't use same python or cleaning hose with other tanks. i mean anything, not just python

[Zulaab]

In short this is what you want to use Kordon Ich Attack Disease Inhibitor..
I trust this product completely with scaleless fish.

Here is their information.
Ich·Attack IS SAFE FOR USE IN ALL KINDS OF AQUARIUMS AND ORNAMENTAL PONDS:
* effective in fresh, brackish or salt water
* safe for fishes normally sensitive to medications including "scaleless" fishes such as loaches and catfishes, coral reef fishes and fry
* will not harm eggs
* will not harm plants or reef aquariums
* can be used with amphibians and reptiles
* does not affect beneficial nitrifying bacteria
* does not stain aquarium decor, aquarium sealants or equipment
* will not permanently discolor the water
* will not unduly affect the pH of the water

[specialone0812]

Yeah Jester, i used that as you suggested for my planted tank with Ram and guppy,loach...
after 3 days, ick was clear and none of fish had anything negative.
what i did was doing water change everyday( around 25-35&#37, adding Kordon ick treatment, and raising temp to 85( its just 3 days, so none of my plants had any bad effect

[Somefishguy]

i think you can get the kordon ich med at walmart

[mark razmandi]

CRAP i put my 2 smaller loaches in my 20 gal and treated with quick cure...CRAP as soon as read not to use it i snatched them out of there and put them back in my 90g....

ok everyone is telling me different stuff so someone please make it clear for me

my stock:

3 geo altifron
3 gymnogeo blue neon
2 geo red hump
2 geo jurupari
2 geo heckilli
1 gold nugget pleco
1 tiger pleco
1 fire eel
3 clown loaches
2 archer fish
2 raphael catfish
7 tiger barbs

these are all in my 90 and i also have a 20g with no fish and cycled water


MY QUESTIONS

do i need to put any of the fish in the 20g and treat seperatly...

if not, how do i treat my 90? what temp do i set the heater at? and do i use aquarium salt as well?

if wal mart has this ich treatment im going RIGHT NOW to get it....please respond im very scared for my fish

[Somefishguy]

I dont think you should panic.

If you can find this one at walmart then I think you should just raise your temp to 89 and treat with this medicine. The entire tank.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Kordon_Ich_Attack_Disease_Inhibitor_Saltwater_Parasite_Medications-Kordon_Novalek-NV39444-FIMEPS-vi.html

I am not positive they have this exact one at walmart. I know I have bought Kordon Rid Ich+, but do not think this is safe for scaless fish.

What i recommend is you go check to see if walmart has the medicine in the link. If yes then treat right away and raise the temp. If not, then just raise the temp in the tank, and tomorrow go find that medicine to add it to the tank.

Raising the medicine will help speed up the lifecyle of the ich, and will also inhibit it after it reaches a certain temp. I would not add salt as it may irrate the fish.

I would not panic too much unless your fish are covered in ich. If its just a few spots then you shoudl be able to start treatment tomorrow and everything should be fine