Double Checking Ich Medication

shootingstar26

Hey forum

I have an ich infestation, and I was browsing through the threads online, and I have a couple questions. Today I bought Mardel Coppersafe; it's chelated copper sulfate. After reading the side label I realized I didn't want my snail/plants to die out. So...petco doesn't have too many options. There was MelaFix and PimaFix, but reading the threads I guess they're not for me (right?) I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I try the salt treatment? I'm a little hesitant.

Opinions? It's a planted 18g with an Apple Snail, two mollies, three platies, pleco,betta, golden ram and a cory. The pleco, golden ram, and betta have visible signs.

kitten_penang

never use melafix with bettas and never salt with cory's.try maracyn and maracyn plus. other then that get aunt kimmy to send you the link to a forum thread thats gives good advice on treating ich.

shootingstar26

thanks!

aunt kymmie

This article is a quick synopsis of Ich and its life cycle, a very informative read:

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

Heat and salt didn't work for me and with plants and a cory it wouldn't be wise.
Corys are sensitive to meds, (as are the fish in my tank) so don't do well with the meds you have purchased. Salt and heat cause plants to take a beating.
If left untreated Ich can be lethal so you may have no choice but to use it if you can find the ones I recommend below.

What works beautifully for me is the following:

Kordons Rid-Ich+, used at half strength, follow the instructions on the bottle exactly.
Byron uses Aquarisol, with the same great results that I get. I happen to not be able to find this medicine locally. Melafix and Pimafix are for infections that are fungal and bacteria in nature (I believe) and not for parasitic infections. Is there a LFS anywhere near you? They most likely will carry one or the other meds listed above. Good luck and keep us posted!

dorabaker

um, to be honest i don't know a lot about different treatments for ich, but i had some tetras once that had it and i treated them with wardley 'ickaway' - i'm not sure if your lfs/petco stocks that, but it worked for me. i also turned the temperature up (to about 27 degrees i think.) anyway ickaway just contains malachite green and acriflavine, i think. i had corys in the tank when i treated it and it didn't harm them, although the pair i had were particularly resilient so its probably best not to use them as an example. it didn't harm my plants either. i don't know about snails though as i've never had them.
anyway that's just my experience, i think ickaway is pretty cheap and easy to get, it was for me anyway, ...but if its a bad infestation it probably wouldn't be strong enough, i'm really not sure. i hope the fishies recover anyway :)

shootingstar26

I'm sorry Aunt Kymmie - I didn't understand what you meant by " you may have no choice but to use it." Does 'it' refer to salt or the meds?

LisaC144

Excellent advice from Kymmie. She meant you may have no choice but to use meds. I never use salt or raise temps either when combating Ich. I use the same meds as Kymmie with no fish loss both times I've had it.
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shootingstar26

I still don't have to take out my plants, is that correct? My snail is going to another container, but can my plants stay where they are?

I got Rid-Ich+ today, so I'll be using that at half-dosage.

aunt kymmie

I'm so glad you were able to find the Rid-Ich+, that's good news. No, you do not have to remove your plants. Sorry I wasn't clear on my prior post, luckily Lisa knew just what it was I was trying to say but failed at.
Good luck with your treatment. Remember, 1/2 strength and continue treating for three days AFTER the last visible white spot has been seen. Keep up posted!

shootingstar26

Yay! Thank you so much for the help ya'll. Thanks Kymmie for the advice. I just dosed my aquarium and ironically I don't see any white spots anymore, but I'll continue dosing for a little while longer.