Will salt treatment for Ich harm Otocinclus?

**ralpf** · 01-26-2007, 1:30 AM

I only have a male Betta affected at the moment, all other fish are healthy, will the salt and heat treatment also harm my plants?

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**5xevy** · 01-26-2007, 1:34 AM

Can you temporarily quarantine the betta and treat him by himself?

**ralpf** · 01-26-2007, 1:53 AM

Unfortunately, I only have one tank, I could buy a smaller isolation tank (wife would not be amused), but I wouuldn't have a heater. Would it be okay to treat him with medication in a separate smaller tank at room temperature, what about a filter, I would have to cycle all over again, or would it be enough to change the water daily for that period and using a small membrane pump?

**TKOS** · 01-26-2007, 7:06 AM

The salt will be fine in the short term and it is best to treat the whole tank at this point. Ich is there and probably on all fish now even if you can't see it just yet.

Raise the temp and add the salt slowly. If the fish start to have trouble at higher temps then lower it a bit (thi smay require some small cool water changes to accomplish as water looses heat pretty slowly). Try the heat at 80F frist and then attempt to get it to 86f. This should help speed up the ich's life cycle so the salt can kill it quicker.

**ralpf** · 01-26-2007, 7:24 AM

Thanks for the support guys, I'll start tonight!

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**webcricket** · 01-26-2007, 3:04 PM

I've used heat/salt in a tank with an oto before with no problem. Most plants will also be unaffected over the typical 3 week treatment period.

**ralpf** · 03-14-2007, 5:20 AM

By the way my Oto did survive the salt treatment. But then two weeks later he developed something on his snout which I could not identify, I treated with fungal salt and eSHa 2000 (Europe) for one day in an isolation tank and he recovered. The snout is almost completely cured!