Water Temp?

[CatFishLady]

My 2 blue cats got ich after adding my pim about 2 weeks ago, treated with meds did water changes and it seemed to have gone away. Well, I noticed on Friday that my smaller blue cat was covered AGAIN, the larger one had a few spots and the pim was covered. (The mollies and sharks were ich free from what I could tell) So we retreated that day. Left to go out of town Saturday afternoon, gave them plenty food for the night, got home yesterday and the smaller one had died     Took him out and did a 50% water change as directed on the ich bottle.

Ok...what I also have noticed when doing the water changes, is that our water temp coming straight from the tap is between 78-80 F. The temp has always been at 80 F since we set it up. Should I or do I need to buy something to get the water temp to cool down in the tank??? If so, what???

Thanks for the help :)

[Mzungu]

Re: Water Temp?

That's odd that the temp is so high in the tank - do you have a heater in there? What kind of lights are you using? How cool is your room temp in the house, usually?

I'm not sure about the blue cats, but everyone else should be ok in 80 F. And a higher temp will make the ich's life cycle go a bit faster, which is good when you're trying to kill it.

Since this thread is about temps, I won't go into the ich thing, but let us know if you continue to have problems. There are a lot of threads on here, too, if you need a quick read or two.  :)

[sproett]

Re: Water Temp?

I wouldn't worry about your water temp, blue catfish do fine in 77-82 degree water in the wild.  Consider yourself lucky you don't have to use a heater!  
Since they are catfish without scales you may want to only treat them at a 50% dose for the ich.  Also, ich has a life cycle so you want to make sure you treat for the entire cycle and like Mzungo said there are other threads that go into greater detail.

[CatFishLady]

Re: Water Temp?

That's odd that the temp is so high in the tank - do you have a heater in there? What kind of lights are you using? How cool is your room temp in the house, usually?

Yes, I have a heater in it...but it is turned off. I'm not sure about the lights, but they are off all day and only on maybe a total of 2 hours at night. The temp in the house during the day is set to 80 and it gets down to 72ish during the evening and all night. When I get up in the morning I always check, it's still at a steady 80 when the house is 72! (that was this mornings temp)

[CatFishLady]

Re: Water Temp?

BTW: I bought and I'm using the ich treatment for "sensitive species"

I just wanted to make sure the water temp is ok for ALL my fish  :wink:

[sproett]

Re: Water Temp?

water temps:
Hexanematichthys seemani 72-79 degrees C
Pimelodus blochii 68-79 degrees C
Ictalurus furcatus 77-82 degrees C
Pleco 73-86 degrees C
Mollies 68-82 degrees C
Colisa lalia 73-82 degrees C
Pimelodus pictus 68-79 degrees C

so...I'd keep them at 77-79 degrees.  While treating for ich (or most diseases) you can safely raise the temp to 80-82 degrees F.

[sproett]

Re: Water Temp?

Oh, and I'm not familiar with the ich medicine your talking about.  Hopefully someone else is and can jump in and help on that one.

[CatFishLady]

Re: Water Temp?

Thanks  

I don't have a choice...it'll stay at 80 F unless I add an A/C to cool it down!!

[CatFishLady]

Re: Water Temp?

Oh, and I'm not familiar with the ich medicine your talking about.  Hopefully someone else is and can jump in and help on that one.

http://www.petco.com/product/102867/Wardley-Wellness-Ick-Out-Sensitive.aspx

"Ick-Out Sensitive" is what it's called. Got it at LFS (Petco)  

[Zulaab]

Re: Water Temp?

Just to repeat what others have told you.  
Day 1 Remove Carbon Filter - 50% water change, treat for Ich,
Day 7 50% Water change, treat for Ich, Increase Temp to 82
Day 10 25% water change, treat for Ich,
Day 14 50% water change - Dont treat.
Day 17 Lower temp to 80, add Carbon Filter - 50% water change.
Day 21 50% water change.

This has worked for me in the past and has never failed me.  I add the extra "boost" on Day 7, because this is when most of the visible Ich will be free floating and can be killed off.  By increasing the temp the Ich will become free floating and hopefully by the 7th day your fish have become better and can handle the change in temp.  Increasing the temp will reduce the number of days the life cycle takes for Ich to become free floating.

[sproett]

Re: Water Temp?

They do make chillers but I don't think it's necessary in your case.

[CatFishLady]

Re: Water Temp?

Just to repeat what others have told you.  
Day 1 Remove Carbon Filter - 50% water change, treat for Ich,
Day 7 50% Water change, treat for Ich, Increase Temp to 82
Day 10 25% water change, treat for Ich,
Day 14 50% water change - Dont treat.
Day 17 Lower temp to 80, add Carbon Filter - 50% water change.
Day 21 50% water change.

This has worked for me in the past and has never failed me.  I add the extra "boost" on Day 7, because this is when most of the visible Ich will be free floating and can be killed off.  By increasing the temp the Ich will become free floating and hopefully by the 7th day your fish have become better and can handle the change in temp.  Increasing the temp will reduce the number of days the life cycle takes for Ich to become free floating.

I'm treating mostly catfish...does this regimen still count? The bottle says: treat, 24 hrs do 50% water change, repeat every  3 days for 3 treatments.

[sproett]

Re: Water Temp?

Here's a link to a good article about ich.

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

[fishingaddict]

Re: Water Temp?

thats odd i thought ich would mostly occur at cooler temps. what i have learned is to treat ich, add aquarium salt and raise the temp.  ive only had one issue with ich and used aquarium salt for a few days and it worked.

[Mzungu]

Re: Water Temp?

I'm treating mostly catfish...does this regimen still count? The bottle says: treat, 24 hrs do 50% water change, repeat every  3 days for 3 treatments.

I'd just follow the directions on the bottle. If I'm reading right, it says that the treatment will take 9 days? Regardless, keep an eye on your fish, and watch for signs of ich even after treatment, although at a temp of 80 F their life cycle will be shorter than in a cooler tank. All in all, you should be good.  :)

I guess it's a good thing that your tank stays at a steady 80 degrees! Stability is important. From what sproett posted (thanks for those temps, BTW!) everyone should be happy.