Am I doing the right thing for ICH?

[Chriznat20]

I have a 29g FW tank. I usually keep it around 76f for my community.

Last week noticed 1 ICH spot on my neon tetra, and 2 ICH spots on my corys.

Immediately tested water parameters, .25 ammonia, .25 nitrite, 0 nitrate (im still cycling). I did a 40% water change, and have been doing 25% WC's daily to keep my tank stress free. I use API's "stress coat" and have been doing 2x the normal amount to stimulate slime coat production to give the ICH something they cannot attach to.

Anyways, over a period of 3 days, I raised the tank temp to 86f and added 1 teaspoon of salt for every gallon of water I replaced into the tank (remember Ive been doing daily WC's). My total salt in the tank is probably about 25 teaspoons for my 29g tank. I dont want to harm my pleco or corys ( !! ) so Im trying to keep the salt on the lower end, if you would.. the ICH seems to be cycling fast... the white spot on my neon tetra fell off in a day, but there are now 2 much smaller ones on him. On appears to be hanging off of his slime coat.:y220d:

Is keeping the tank at 86f and maintaining a 1 teaspoon per gallon salt level going to eradicate my ICH?

 

[kevinb120]

Yes, you just have to keep up with the same regimen of salt and heat for 10 days to 2 weeks after the last of the spots go away. The heat speeds up the cycle of the ich itself, and the salt kills it when it is free swimming. So don't be alarmed if more spots show up over the next few days. Typically it only takes heat and salt to eradicate it, the stress-coat having anything to do with it is minimal at best. At 86 degrees, 1 tsp per gallon salinity should be enough to do the trick. My cories and tetras did fine with double that amount of salt though, I don't know if I would go any higher with the plecos..

 

[Chriznat20]

Yes, you just have to keep up with the same regimen of salt and heat for 10 days to 2 weeks after the last of the spots go away. The heat speeds up the cycle of the ich itself, and the salt kills it when it is free swimming. So don't be alarmed if more spots show up over the next few days. Typically it only takes heat and salt to eradicate it, the stress-coat having anything to do with it is minimal at best. At 86 degrees, 1 tsp per gallon salinity should be enough to do the trick.

Thanks Kevin

I started this regimen Thursday... and I just noticed that the spot on my neon tetra is gone (must've fallen off sometime in the past 6 hours and is mutiplying in my gravel!! :mad2

I did notice my corys have a few more spots. Strangely enough, my zebra danios, honey gouramis, and swordtails have NO spots on them at all!! They must be very healthy and thwarting off infestation (thus far!)

I will say, I am worried about my pleco and my corys. Since the temp and salt went up, they dont do much but sit at the bottom of the tank. The pleco seems peeved - he sits underneath the heater - as opposed to his own private cave - just floating there Good news is, I do not see any spots on the pleco.

How long can the corys and pleco tolerate the salt and high temps for? My tank is around 87f now and seems stabilized at that temperature. I have a visi-therm stealth pro heater and it keeps it solid at one temp, but takes a little while to warm up (150w).....

 

[XanAvaloni]

Chriz, I am not an expert (you need Mel to confirm things ) but it sounds like you are doing just fine and now need to exercise patience. If this has just been going on for 3-4 days you probably have a week to go for it to work through to complete eradication.

Most of the advice I see concentrates on the salt, the raised temp, and fanatical water changes, all of which you are doing. Not sure if the "stress coat" stuff is good, bad or indifferent as I don't recall hearing anyone mention using it for ich treatment.

You know the ich life cycle, right? You expect it to get worse when you start treatment as you want the parasites to grow <i>faster</i> (that's what the increased temp is for) get old and die and fall off. And the ich cysts, which are in the water all the time, not to find any weak spots on the fish to attach to, because you are keeping the fish so strong and healthy with the water changes.

Probably that ammonia spike was what led to the attack, but who knows, sometimes it seems like it just comes out of nowhere. Hang in there, keep doing what you're doing, and best of luck.

(of course I hit "post" and see that kevin has already answered. Oh well, consider this two votes for doing what you're doing. )

 

[Chriznat20]

Chriz, I am not an expert (you need Mel to confirm things ) but it sounds like you are doing just fine and now need to exercise patience. If this has just been going on for 3-4 days you probably have a week to go for it to work through to complete eradication.

Most of the advice I see concentrates on the salt, the raised temp, and fanatical water changes, all of which you are doing. Not sure if the "stress coat" stuff is good, bad or indifferent as I don't recall hearing anyone mention using it for ich treatment.

Well, I wasnt using API's stress coat "for" the ICK treatment, but it also removes chorine and chloramine from tap water, as well as an additive to stimulate the slime coat. So Ive just been adding about 50% more than I usually do when I do water changes (i.e. a teaspoon's amount extra) to hopefully help my fish develop more slime. I add it to every bucket of water that enters my tank anyways, so I figured a little more than usual wouldnt hurt! :troll:

Probably that ammonia spike was what led to the attack, but who knows, sometimes it seems like it just comes out of nowhere. Hang in there, keep doing what you're doing, and best of luck.

Thanks. Im thinking it was the spike too. Well, that and I added those 2 honey gouramis (non QT) last week and about 12 hours later spotted an ICK spot on one of the gouramis. Dont know if it was there BEFORE I added them of AFTER... but I dont usually ever have ICK problems (Ive had FW tanks since I was 9). I had an ICK outbreak in 2005 in my 55g tank that was pretty minor. I treated with ick-guard II back then. I still have the bottle, but Im sure its expired. IIRC, it worked good. If the ICK doesnt respond to the salt/heat by Friday, its going to get a round of ICK-Guard II (of course, Ill buy a new bottle!).

 

[kevinb120]

I would have someone just chime in on the plecos before the final commitment to the treatment temps/salt. I don't know diddly about them :y220d:

 

[Chriznat20]

I would have someone just chime in on the plecos before the final commitment to the treatment temps/salt. I don't know diddly about them :y220d:

Totally agree... Im very concerned about the pleco (1), and the corys (2) as well. I dont like the way the pleco is behaving; hes usually pretty content sucking on the glass somewhere, or nibbling on a piece of an algae wafer (I only put in 1/2 wafer at a time to prevent overfeeding and pollution). But he definately seems like hes stressed.

 

[Chriznat20]

Update:

No noticeble ICH spots on fish for 3 full days.

Im going to continue the temps at 86f until Monday. That way, it will be 12 days at elevated temperatures.

The last WC I did, I did not replace the salt. After not adding any more salt, my corys are now swimming around the tank again. Im pretty sure the salt stressed them out a great deal. I still consider it a great accomplishment that Ive only lost 1 fish during this outbreak- 1 honey gourami last week. The last time I had an outbreak (4 or 5 years ago), I lost 50% of my stock. It spiraled out of control faster than I could counter it.
So Im pretty confident Ive nipped this one in the butt... but just in case... is 12 days enough time that I kept the tank at 86f degrees to kill the life cycle of the ICH?

 

[mel_20_20]

I think you'll be fine... but I would try to maintain about 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons for about 7 to 10 days after the last visible specks have dropped off. You could safely do 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, but you should be fine with 1 per 10 gallons if you are worried about the pleco and corys.

I treated with 3 teaspoons per gallon at 87 degrees for 28 days with no problems in my tank with Brochis splendens and Otos, both of which are more sensitive fish, too, but I had a resistant Ich and it sounds like you probably don't.

It sounds like they are feeling a lot better. I'm sorry you lost one, but I'm delighted that the others seem to be doing well and that you have not lost more fish.

I don't remember if you mentioned it, but be sure to gently vacuum the substrate to help remove any un-hatched cysts.

Stress coat is good, but I love Prime, especially when cycling a tank. The traces of ammonia and nitrite that are present during cycling, which are very stressful to your fish, can be detoxified using Prime, though you still have to do the water changes to remove those substances because Prime detoxifies for about 24 hours, then the ammonia and nitrite are dangerous again.

It sounds like you've done a terrific job taking care of your critters... good going! Keep up the good work.

 

[Chriznat20]

Thanks Mel!!

Every other day, I do a 30% water change.... and Ive been vacuuming the gravel too.

Actually, I just got done doing a 50% WC about 1/2 hour ago. I looked and still arent spotting any new ICHs. :cool-1: I tested my water param's and didnt like where my ammonia and nitrites were... .25 ammonia and .25 nitrite, nitrate between 5.0 & 10. I figured a 50% WC was best. I'll do one tomorrow too if those numbers dont improve.

I cant wait until this is over though... want to get my tank back down to the temperature it should be at for my fish - I feel like Im torturing them keeping the tank at 86f. :nilly: