Ick in my tank..how do I cure my fish

tigertrackz

Hello,

I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 beta sharks, 2 id sharks and 2 Pictus Catfish & a red tail shark. My larger tank had a leak & I had to move them to this smaller tank. When I purchased my bala sharks a few weeks ago 1 of them was relatively thin compared to other bala sharks. He seems to swim okay but is smaller and is not an aggressive eater compared to his tank mates. I noticed today that he had a couple white spots on his tail and 1 of my id sharks seems to have 4 or 5 spots of ick on his head. Both fish swim okay when I am feeding them but both my id sharks seem to just lay around on the bottom of the tank and hide in a cave until feeding time.

I have heard I should raise the temperature to 86 degrees F but I am not sure if my species of fish can handle it? I am also not sure if I should use aquarim salt. I just gave them 1 treatment of ick medication but should I also do a water change yet?

I plan on moving all my fish to a larger tank that has been running for a few days but now because of the ick I do not know when I can move them? Should I use any of the water from the smaller 20 gallon tank? Is the water now contaminated in the 20 gallon and should I use fresh water for the entire larger tank?

Please help.

Romad

The heat salt method should be used only for fish that can tolerate it. Scaleless fish don't do well with salt so it doesn't look like a method you should try... :(

I've only had one experience with Ich and I used Kordon's Rid Ich + based on a suggestion from Aunt Kymmie who's a very knowledeable fish person and it worked very well for me. If you can get your hands on that, treat the tank for at least a week to 10 days after you see the last of the spots on your fish.

Good luck and I hope your fish make it through the outbreak. We're here to help so ask as many questions as you need to throughout the process.

aunt kymmie

Welcome to TFK, tiger. I'm sorry you're having problems with your fish. Unfortunately you have too many fish, and a bad combo as far as species, but you already know that. Your cats and sharks WILL NOT tolerate the heat/salt as Romad states. Also, with the scaleless fish you have meds should only be used at 1/2 strength. Get them healthy and then get them moved to an appropriate sized tank.

What brand of medication are you using? When I treat for Ich I follow the medication instructions to the letter (except for using at half strength) and the meds I use don't require a water change until treatment is completed. However, since I use at half strength (due to loaches and cats) it takes longer than a week so I do a large water change weekly.

Is there anyone in the tank that you are planning on moving them to? If that tank is larger and uninhabited I would consider moving them to the larger tank and treating them there. There is the stress of a move but they are in considerable stress now being in such a small tank and with so many fish.

Here's an article on Ich that is my favorite, which I think anyone experiencing Ich should read:

The Skeptical Aquarist

Tell me more about the larger tank. Is it cycled? What size is it?
We are here to help!!