# Electric Blue Acara sick



## kevbmackin (Jan 11, 2022)

My 2 Electric blue acaras are very ill. First off 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 10ppm nitrate. 20 gallon tank with fake plants consisting of rescue fish - 2 Dalmatian Molly, clown pleco, 1 juvenile nickel size angelfish, 2 dwarf gourami, 5 juvenile geo balzani and ofc the 2 electric blue acaras.
Obviously this is a temporary setup the balzanis and electric blue acaras were going to be put into a 125 gallon and everyone else to be rehomed until the acaras came down with this sickness. It has progressed pretty quick, it started off looking like ick so I treated for it but it did nothing. I don’t believe the acara in the pic will make it through the night but I’m hoping to save everyone else as it seems to be spreading. Also raised temp to 82 and added aquarium salt. Any help is appreciated.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Sorry to see that. And yes, those Cichlids are definitely very ill, and they do look rough. I hope they are not too far gone to treat and save them. 
How long was the period, when you first noticed the symptoms and began treatment (to the point where it seemed to be doing nothing)? With a strong outbreak, it can initially look like things are just getting worse and worse despite medication and other things you attempt to bring it under control. 
So, despite the slow response to your initial treatment, I still believe you are dealing with a case of Ick.
Treatment with the salt at 3 teaspoons per gallon is definitely recommended. Plus, the higher temps will accelerate the life cycle of water you are dealing with so they can be killed by the salt. More water changes, will be appreciated by everyone in the tank to naturally promote better health. Just add make up salt to compensate for the amount of water drained out of the tank.
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And lastly, everyone in that tank should now be presumed ill with Ick. So, I would definitely quarantine this aquarium and all of those fish for 4 - 6 weeks until this thing runs its course.


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## fishboy75 (Jan 16, 2020)

I really hate to disagree with someone who I have great respect for on this forum and who provides so many educational and entertaining posts. But, I think the "natural" salt and heat method is far more tedious and stressful to fish than just using a good ick medication. It's such a pain to mix the salt and measure and add more when you do water changes. There have been conflicting views on the use of salt for decades so we don't need to get into that but obviously the addition of salt at a level the fish aren't accustomed to is a stressor, no matter how slowly you adjust it. Yes, raising the heat certainly speeds up the life cycle of the parasite but it also generates more bacterial growth as well- not a good thing when a fish might have an open wound or cut from flashing against a rock or substrate. Also, alot of aquarists don't account for the lower oxygen levels at higher temperatures and that leads to issues as well. I have used Kordon Rid Ich+ for years now and it has never failed me. I just follow the direction on the bottle and everything is back to normal within 5- 7 days. I also add extra aeration while I'm treating- I believe thats in the directions as well. I agree with the more water changes the better of course and at the end of my treatment i do multiple large changes to get rid of the medicine. Hope you can save them, whatever method you use.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

All good! And everyone's experience in this thing and mileage may definitely vary. 
To inform....
I'm just not much of a fan of using medications. Kordon Rid Ich+ is a combinant type of Formalin and Malachite Green The toxicity and product treatment measurement levels and requirements provided by the manufacturer are VERY specific. Failure to follow those requirements can seriously injure or kill the residents of the aquarium, with invertebrates affected in particular, but all fish in general being affected as well. Additionally, here is some of the more specific/relevant guidance provided by the manufacturer, as directions for use,

_*Typical treatments for Ich will depend upon the species of Ich involved, and may require six to 35 days or more in daily treatments. This means that daily partial water changes will need to be made followed by daily re-dosing of Rid-Ich+ until the infection is entirely gone. There are a number of "Ich" white spot species that can be involved, each with a different length of time of its life cycle in the white spot stage. In general these different species have different white spot stages varying from about 3 days as dormant white spots, to one week, to two weeks, to three weeks, and to 32-35 days or more. It takes an expert with microscopic examination to determine which species is involved. They all look alike. During the white spot stage the Ich are not treatable by any known treatment. Only when the Ich are hatched from the white spots and free swimming are they able to be killed by a treatment.*_

So, as the species of Ich cannot be determined unless by an expert with microscope (of which I at least, am certainly NOT! ) we are informed that their product WILL NOT treat all Ich species within 7 days, and a 32 to 35 day treatment cycle (or more) is recommended (my own treatment process takes a minimum of 4, with preferably 6 weeks to complete).
My own heat and salt regimen is best informed by this rather excellent article put on C-f by @Deeda a few weeks back,









Understanding, Treating and Preventing Ich videos


Check out the following 2 videos on Ich which was hosted by Chris Biggs featuring Dr. Denise Petty, DVM, a certified aquatic veterinarian Understanding ICH Episode 1 and Treatment and Prevention of ICH-Episode 2 I found the info very informative and while I have not knowingly had Ich in my...




www.cichlid-forum.com





That is indeed, probably the most comprehensive and understandable presentation offered about freshwater Ich, by a certified Aquatic (?) Veterinarian I have ever seen. And, I believe this presentation is a MUST SEE by anyone who really wants to understand and properly treat an freshwater Ich infestation in the aquarium.
So, does that info help to justify my own identification and treatment recommendations for this Ich outbreak problem?


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## fishboy75 (Jan 16, 2020)

I must have missed that post. Will definitely check out those videos. As you said, there is more than one way to skin a cat. I cringe when I read posts on Facebook about someone cranking their temp up to 90, use salt and medication at the same time without increasing aeration and wind up losing all their fish. It's either salt and heat or medication, definitely not both at the same time. I have never had issues with my clown loaches, Synodontis or plecos using Rid Ich+ but I am also careful about dosage and would do a water change immediately if the fish looked stressed. Observation after treating the tank is very important. Learned that lesson as a teenager when I treated a tank for Hexamita went to bed and woke up to a dead giant pleco. Poor guy was almost 18 inches long living in a 5 foot long × 1 foot wide tank with a 10 inch Oscar. Talk about poor husbandry. Still feel bad for those fish 30 years later. I guess as long as the lesson is learned and not repeated but it's nice to help people so they never have to experience it in the first place.


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