so i got a bit of ich goin on and i picked up some super ich medication. i decided to read online a bit just to do some research and see that some people say to take the carbon out of the filter. would the carbon remove the medication from the water column? it doesnt say anything about removing the carbon filter on the directions so im not sure if i should. also im using a mellinium 200 filter and if i pull out the carbon cartridge im also pulling out the mechanical cartridge and doing thus will result in pretty much no filtering going on and that seems like a bad plan. any advice?
ich and carbon filter
- Thread starter rich
- Start date
hmm i need to find a carbon free cartridge for the 2000 then because as soon as i pull it i end up with no mechanical or chemical filtration .
so i pull the filter add 3/4 the dosage of super ich (ive got some kuhlis and a hillstream loach). and 5 or 6 hours later ive got 2 dead albino cories and the other 3 arent looking so hot. i popped the carbon back in and am clearing out the meds. ill do a water change, wait a day then try again i guess as the ich is still there obviously. my kuhlis dont really seem to dig the stuff either. well see how it is tomorrow i guess, bummer.
Ok first off what type of Ich medication are you using. Cory cat fish (especailly albino's) are very sensitive to ich medication, especially the stronger meds like Quick Cure. First off you need to see if you have any scale less fish in your tank. Scaleless fish are typically catfish of one variety or another and put them in a seperate area. If they too are infected with ich Jungle makes a product espcecially for treating scaleless fish.
Ich is by far one of the easiest aquarium parasites to treat and it can be done with out losing any fish. First off you should up your water tempature to around 82-84 degrees. I know that sounds high buy your fish will be fine. This speeds the life cycle of the parasite up and causes them to break free of the cysts on your fish. The medicine you use cannot harm the ich when it is encrusted in those spots on your fish so your number one goal is to get it out into the water.
Next add aquarium salt to your water. This will first off help your fish's gills funtion better and is just a good all around tonic for freshwater aquariums. Then I would reccommend using Quick Cure on your ich. It is simple to use and works fast (hence the name) and in within a day or two you should be good.
Yes! Remove all carbon from your filter and buy all new filter media once the problem is cured.
Ich is by far one of the easiest aquarium parasites to treat and it can be done with out losing any fish. First off you should up your water tempature to around 82-84 degrees. I know that sounds high buy your fish will be fine. This speeds the life cycle of the parasite up and causes them to break free of the cysts on your fish. The medicine you use cannot harm the ich when it is encrusted in those spots on your fish so your number one goal is to get it out into the water.
Next add aquarium salt to your water. This will first off help your fish's gills funtion better and is just a good all around tonic for freshwater aquariums. Then I would reccommend using Quick Cure on your ich. It is simple to use and works fast (hence the name) and in within a day or two you should be good.
Yes! Remove all carbon from your filter and buy all new filter media once the problem is cured.
Sorry not to have rang in earlier on this. If the carbon has been running for more than a few weeks, it is no longer actively chemically filtering your water, but is serving as biological filtration--the bacteria will readily colonize it's surface.
When treating ich, if you choose to use medications, removing carbon that is new is needed, as it will remove the medications from the tank. If the carbon is attached to your biological media, then you need to compensate for that loss with more water changes. With medication, you need to check that it will not cause problems for any fish in the tank.
Treating ich without medication is easy--raise the temp slowly to about 83-85, and add 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon. Mixa portion of the salt in a jar of tank water, and pour in. Repeat until you've reached the required dose. Do frequent water changes, cleaning the substrate each time, and replacing the lost salt. Maintain this routine for 4-6 weeks after the last visible ich, then begin doing water changes without replacing the salt. This worked well with my puffers, and didn't bother the bristlenose, kuhli loaches, UDC, or peacock eel.
When treating ich, if you choose to use medications, removing carbon that is new is needed, as it will remove the medications from the tank. If the carbon is attached to your biological media, then you need to compensate for that loss with more water changes. With medication, you need to check that it will not cause problems for any fish in the tank.
Treating ich without medication is easy--raise the temp slowly to about 83-85, and add 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon. Mixa portion of the salt in a jar of tank water, and pour in. Repeat until you've reached the required dose. Do frequent water changes, cleaning the substrate each time, and replacing the lost salt. Maintain this routine for 4-6 weeks after the last visible ich, then begin doing water changes without replacing the salt. This worked well with my puffers, and didn't bother the bristlenose, kuhli loaches, UDC, or peacock eel.
thanks for the replies. i put the carbon cartridge back in last night and this morning all is well. the 3 remaining cories are alive and eating happily. i also noted that the 2 that died were the 2 i had previously written a thread on cory poor health.
before i did the ich treatment i read alot online so that i would have a basic undestanding of the process. the only thing that threw me off a bit was the pulling of the carbon as directions on the bottle didnt mention it. and on the 2000 the chemical and mechanical filtration are one in the same cartridge. the bio filoter is another GIOGRID cartridge thing.
so what i did was raise the temp to 82, pulled the carbon/mechanical, dosed 3/4 of a full dose due to the sensitive nature of a few fish in the tank, after 5 hours of it i had noticed a couple cories were dead and put back in the carbon thus clearing out the meds. the fish that had white spots have dropped them so thats a good sign. from the research ive done i know the parasite is still active in the water and i plan on using the salt method to not stress my fish again. so do i use regular salt or an aquarium brand of salt? is the dosage a teaspoon or a tablespoon per gallon (29 of either seem like a hell of alot of salt
. thanks for all your help. rich
before i did the ich treatment i read alot online so that i would have a basic undestanding of the process. the only thing that threw me off a bit was the pulling of the carbon as directions on the bottle didnt mention it. and on the 2000 the chemical and mechanical filtration are one in the same cartridge. the bio filoter is another GIOGRID cartridge thing.
so what i did was raise the temp to 82, pulled the carbon/mechanical, dosed 3/4 of a full dose due to the sensitive nature of a few fish in the tank, after 5 hours of it i had noticed a couple cories were dead and put back in the carbon thus clearing out the meds. the fish that had white spots have dropped them so thats a good sign. from the research ive done i know the parasite is still active in the water and i plan on using the salt method to not stress my fish again. so do i use regular salt or an aquarium brand of salt? is the dosage a teaspoon or a tablespoon per gallon (29 of either seem like a hell of alot of salt
. thanks for all your help. rich