My fish got ich over night, one dead. Does anyone know how this starts? They were all normal then I wake up and a huge ich massacre appears.. what should i do to save fish and get rid of ich? I've been treating with salt and high temperatures at 82degrees. This is getting more stressful..:mad2:
Ich - how does it start?
- Thread starter Hungriee
- Start date
That parasite shouldn't be that quick to kill a fish without any signs of white spots on any of the fishes... Did you notice any white spots on them before?
Cause of ich is by due to quick temperature fluctuations, which causes stress to the fishes and causes the weakening of the immune system in the fishes... They are an opportunistic parasite, present in the aquarium, and they wait for when the fishes are stress and their immune systems are compromised (at least, that's what I think causes the parasite to thrive)...
The salt treatment should be effective against ich due to a difference in salt concentration in the water (tank water + salt) and the concentration in the parasite (protozoan). Due to the difference in salt concentration, the water in the parasite will be expelled in an attempt to equalize the concentration in the environment and in the cell.
If the fishes would be able to handle it (tropical fishes), I would raise the temperature to 86F... I think you could even go to 90F. A higher temperature would quicken the life cycle of the parasite and therefore, would go to the form which would be more vulnerable towards the salt. A temperature of 82F would take longer to treat a tank with ick, than in a higher tank temperature.
Cause of ich is by due to quick temperature fluctuations, which causes stress to the fishes and causes the weakening of the immune system in the fishes... They are an opportunistic parasite, present in the aquarium, and they wait for when the fishes are stress and their immune systems are compromised (at least, that's what I think causes the parasite to thrive)...
The salt treatment should be effective against ich due to a difference in salt concentration in the water (tank water + salt) and the concentration in the parasite (protozoan). Due to the difference in salt concentration, the water in the parasite will be expelled in an attempt to equalize the concentration in the environment and in the cell.
If the fishes would be able to handle it (tropical fishes), I would raise the temperature to 86F... I think you could even go to 90F. A higher temperature would quicken the life cycle of the parasite and therefore, would go to the form which would be more vulnerable towards the salt. A temperature of 82F would take longer to treat a tank with ick, than in a higher tank temperature.
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i agree with lucky777ca, but make sure your fish can handle a temp of 90F but 86F is beneficial...I used this liquid called AQUARI-SOL...its uses 12 drops per 10gallons of water..not to be used on amphibians or invertebrates crayfish snails shrimp..
About the ick medicine treatment, I have read that you need to take out your carbon filters, do you need to do that with the salt treatment? If you take the filters out won't the tank get cloudy & dirty? How long should you leave the filters out, and how long should you do the salt treatment? Also the salt is it called..Aquarium Salt, by: API ?
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Lupin
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Lupin
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:iagree:
On another note, Hungriee, feed them a variety of foods to build up their immune system and do plenty of water changes to avoid stress caused by poor water quality to allow them to resist ich easily thus minimizing any possible casualties.
UPDATE on my fish :
I did a 50% water change, the fish looks much better ; the tiger barbs don't have ich no more. but unsure if my tank is fully treated, probably not. The german blue ram is coloring up but got a little black when I did a water change. I added some more prime after checking the parameters with my water test kit (API):
.25 to .50 Ammonia (light green)
0 Nitrite (light blue)
<5 Nitrate (Light yellowish redish orange)
Temp set at 86Degrees, continually treating it with salt with 1 - 2 tablespoon ( 1 tblspoon every 5 Gallon ) I'm unsure if I put more it'll harm the fish. Since I dissolved it in the new water before I changed it into the tank.
I then waited an hour and tried feeding them with tetramin flakes - tiger barbs started eating again. The German Blue Ram began fighting for food, I'm thinking he was starving all day. Then I threw in some more Tropical Granules to make sure he had enough. 5 Minutes the food was gone, leaving scraps for the cory catfish. =)
During this time, I did notice they look better through more active swimming but right now they all seem settled and found a corner or hideout in the tank and are just floating with their fins flapping. Not sure if this is normal.. The cory catfish stopped eating and just sits on the gravel, and I've noticed he has quite a feel pinkish marks on his body and near his left gill only - could this be the ammonia hurting him? I've done water changes 50% levels and hasn't really helped, even with Prime.
Please help wiht my ammonia levels, could the dead tiger barb cause this ? Since his death ; i only have 5 now - and one of the barbs starts picking on the young GBR while the GBR is still holding up in a nipping fight.
I did a 50% water change, the fish looks much better ; the tiger barbs don't have ich no more. but unsure if my tank is fully treated, probably not. The german blue ram is coloring up but got a little black when I did a water change. I added some more prime after checking the parameters with my water test kit (API):
.25 to .50 Ammonia (light green)
0 Nitrite (light blue)
<5 Nitrate (Light yellowish redish orange)
Temp set at 86Degrees, continually treating it with salt with 1 - 2 tablespoon ( 1 tblspoon every 5 Gallon ) I'm unsure if I put more it'll harm the fish. Since I dissolved it in the new water before I changed it into the tank.
I then waited an hour and tried feeding them with tetramin flakes - tiger barbs started eating again. The German Blue Ram began fighting for food, I'm thinking he was starving all day. Then I threw in some more Tropical Granules to make sure he had enough. 5 Minutes the food was gone, leaving scraps for the cory catfish. =)
During this time, I did notice they look better through more active swimming but right now they all seem settled and found a corner or hideout in the tank and are just floating with their fins flapping. Not sure if this is normal.. The cory catfish stopped eating and just sits on the gravel, and I've noticed he has quite a feel pinkish marks on his body and near his left gill only - could this be the ammonia hurting him? I've done water changes 50% levels and hasn't really helped, even with Prime.
Please help wiht my ammonia levels, could the dead tiger barb cause this ? Since his death ; i only have 5 now - and one of the barbs starts picking on the young GBR while the GBR is still holding up in a nipping fight.
THe tank has not cycled.Keep doing water changes to keep the ammonia at .25 or less.When the ammonia and nitrite read zeros you can cut back to a weekly water change. 25% minimum a week if all looks heathy the more you change the better.