Started treating for ICH

[guppymax]

Re: Started treating for ICH

I would treat for a week after you can no longer see any ich on any fish. The ich you see cannot be killed and the hot water speeds up the life cycle to get it to a treatable form. Just add salt to the water change water when you change water and leave filters the way they are.

max

[Ellen]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Like max said, now you just have to wait it out.  :(  I think that a teaspoon of salt out of 9 tablespoonfulls shouldn't matter that much (that's how much you said you added, right?) so I would think you can just go ahead and take that out of there. Or leave it in if you want, it really shouldn't matter.

Are you vacuuming the gravel frequently now that you have ich? If you vacuum the gravel, you'll be removing cysts, so there's less ich to kill. If you do vacuum the gravel or do a water change, be sure to add back the salt you've removed.

Have you read the "Curing ICK...What's your best method" thread?

Ellen

[daisymac]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Yes, I read that but I am leaning towards natural ways to do this rather than adding chemicals. Maybe I need to re-read that post!

I need to vacuum more I guess. I din't realize that there were cysts sitting around. I am getting impatient and my husband is sick of me messing with the tank! I will calm myself, wait it out and hope he calms down as well.

[daisymac]

Re: Started treating for ICH

AARGH! One of the Otos died and of course I panic. The female betta wasn't looking too good either. So vacuum the tank on Sat., do a partial water change, add some salt, take the betta out, and add some QuICK Cure (at 1/2 dose) to the tank.

Sun. morn there are 2 dead otos, the betta is dead, and the clown loaches are hiding in the root again, and they haven't come out yet. I want to turn that darn thing upside down and shake them out, but they get so traumatized when I do anything to the tank, so I am just hoping they are okay. They hated the vacuuming! Not that I was going after them or anything like that!

Water is testing the same. I turned up the filter so there is more circulation in there. Added another 1/2 dose of the QuICK.

What else can I do?

[Mzungu]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Are you still seeing any signs of ich in the tank? Where did you put the betta when you moved her?

[szidlon]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Daisy,

Sorry you're having all these problems.  Are the fish showing any other signs of illness? ie: loss of appetite, clamped fins?
Have you added any new plants, ornaments or fish?

If I were in town I'd be close enough to take a look myself if you wanted, but then, I not an expert either.  Can you post a pic of one of the ailing fish?

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Here is an excellent article on Ich, its life cycle, treatments and myths: http://aquafacts.net/wiki/index.php/Ich

Mark

[daisymac]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Okay - just got back and here are my answers:

Mzungu - I can't really see the ICH on the fish because they are hiding, but I am going to post a picture from last week, when they seemed to be playing, where you can see the spots on a couple of the loaches.

When I moved the betta I put her in a bowl with treated tap water.

Szid - As I said before I thought a couple of the Otos may have spots, but it's hard to tell because they are somewhat speckled to begin with. After this post I will put the photo in.

The other fish seem perfectly fine. But the Otos seemed fine too, before they died! They are eating just fine. There is a little zebra danio I can't find, but without taking everything out of the tank I don't know what else to do. The only thing I have added recently was the female betta, but they already had the spots then. You live close to me - when are you coming back to town?

Mark - that is a great article and one that I hadn't already read. The point about the malachite and formalin stressing them was especially interesting. Maybe that is why the clowns are hiding.

Now this is a general dosing question. On the Quick cure bottle it says to add 1 drop per gal on all fish, except tetras. In that case you add 1 drop per 2 gal. Since I have 7 tetras, and considering the delicate nature of the loaches, I have been adding 13 drop for a dose. That seems right - dontcha think?

Thanks for the help.

[daisymac]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Here is the photo. You can see spots on a couple of them. The one that is at the back of the tank has always been paler than the others. The other 2 don't have spots - I don't think so anyway. No one else has spots at all.

[daisymac]

Re: Started treating for ICH

Mark - I re-read that article and I think the otos died because of the Quick cure. Is that what you got out of it? Although I have had trouble with otos before, and I hear that is common.