This is a discussion on ICH!!! within the Tropical Fish Diseases forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
I 'm sure this has come up a zillion times already but I just noticed one of my Von Rio Flame Tetras had small ...
I 'm sure this has come up a zillion times already but I just noticed one of my Von Rio Flame Tetras had small white spots all over it.
I did some research and found that it matched Ich.
so what should I do?
I have it in quarantine right now and i put in a small dose of external parasite killers.
well, alot of people suggest raising the temp to 82 or higher and adding salt...but its questionable how much, some say 1 tsp per gallon, some say 1 tsp per 5 gallons...i dunno. but there are ALOT of ich(ick) medications on the market out there. just make sure whatever you do that you follow through with the medication for about 14 days. ick has several stages, and the only time that the ick will respond to medication is during the "free-swimming" stage...so the only way to make sure you've killed it all is to medicate for 2 weeks. you can buy ick medicine at your lfs. products such as "tank buddies" fizz tabs and such might not be the best since they suggest treating your tank only once, but then again, some say that brand works great. i think it becomes trial and error as far as which products work most efficiently, but again i would go for the one that says to treat for 10-14 days....anyways. someone a little more experienced might have some more info, but this is what i know. good luck!
Hi jininith2,
Slowly raise the temp of the tank to about 80-85° F. Treat with ich medication or salt, as the parasites cannot tolerate salt. If you use medication be sure to remove the carbon from your filter.
I hope you caught it in time...
Brie
Sorry to hear about your fish.
Try to increase the temp by 28-30C. Use meds that can kill ich. As the fish is now isolated, you may consider using Methylene Blue although Malachite Green isn't bad.
Remember to remove the carbon when doing the treatment as carbon tends to absorb the medicine.
Do the treatment for 2 weeks so the ich will be completely eliminated.
Ich will always be present even in your main tank. However, if your fish are in healthy conditions, they won't succumb to ich easily.:) You can use meds in the main tank but make sure to research first on the particular medicine you are using. Some can only harm the beneficial bacteria thus resulting to mini cycles. I would avoid Methylene Blue as it can harm the beneficial bacteria especially when it is used in overdose amount.
I don't think salt will work considering tetras don't tolerate high TDS(total dissolved solids) easily. But they will tolerate the salt more than the disease anyway if they are in severe health conditions.
You can increase the temp and continue the meds. I prefer not using any meds and just use aquarium salt to treat ich. Most meds kill the benificial bacteria in the tank. Ich cannot handle the changes in salinity level, but fish can.
Keep an eye on the fish on the main tank..I araise the temp in the main tank as well. Ich have several stages of ich...
1. Trophont (mature trophozoite) leaves the fish.
2. Trophont produces tomites, which fall to the subtrate.
3. Trophont bursts and tomites are released, which search for hosts.
The free swimming stage is the only stage they can be killed. So if you see ich on the fish, then there will be lots of tomites on the subtrate.
Make sure you keep up on the maintenance of the tank.
As the fish is now isolated, you may consider using Methylene Blue although Malachite Green isn't bad.
Methylene Blue is safe but not known to be very effective...
Oh, jininith, if you use the salt treatment, make sure to dissolve the salt in a cup or bowl before putting it in your tank. If the salt comes in direct contact with the fish it can cause burns.
I would just love seeing a sticky thread full of information about ich. Seeing as ich is a very common case, a sticky thread won't hurt but then again, some people like it better to ask help than reading informations anyway.
Oh, jininith, if you use the salt treatment, make sure to dissolve the salt in a cup or bowl before putting it in your tank. If the salt comes in direct contact with the fish it can cause burns.
Seeing as ich is a very common case, a sticky thread won't hurt but then again, some people like it better to ask help than reading informations anyway.
