# Both my synodontis and my pleco have ICH! Eeek! Help!



## califjewls (Dec 28, 2008)

I of course rarely see my synodontis and my pleco and today I was doing a routine rock re-arrange to keep aggression down and out came my catfish upset that I had just messed up his very good hiding place.. and what do I see but ICH!! Then onto my pleco's hiding spot and what do I see, more ICH!! Eeek! Now it all makes sense as to why my catfish wouldn't come out as usual for dinner the last couple days.

No spots on any of my cichlids as of yet. I added my pleco about 10 days ago he could have been my carrier.

Okay so the plan:
1. I placed my catfish and pleco in a hospital tank, pleco doesnt look good! Unfortunately it is only a 5.5 gallon tank 16x8x10 but that is all I have available.

2. I am going to turn up the heat a bit to about 80-82 degrees, remove carblon and dose my hospital tank with Aquari-Sol.

3. My malawi are happily swimming around like nothings wrong, but I am also turning up the heat to about 80-82 degrees, removing carbon and dosing with Aquari-Sol. I will also remove some water to create a lot more surface movement.

My questions are:
1. Did I forget anything?
2. Should I do a water change before I medicate main tank?
3. How long will I dose the main tank? 7 days? or less?
4. I have a RENA XP1 on my main tank is the BIO-CHEM ZORB a carbon? Does it have to be removed while medicating??

Thank you for any help...


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## califjewls (Dec 28, 2008)

My pleco didn't make it through the night..  But my catfish is looking energetic today


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I would also treat the main tank with something...There's really no sense in removing fish when you treat for ich. The entire tank needs treating.

Sorry you lost the pleco...They can be quite sensitive to meds, as can synos.

Have you read through the ich article in the link below?


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## califjewls (Dec 28, 2008)

Thank you cichlidaholic, yes I read the article it helped a lot. I quarantined my syno because he didn't see to have much energy for the 2 days prior to figuring out he had ich and he wasn't getting food since my mbuna's barely let a drop of food hit the sand, no 2 second rule for them..LOL

I am giving him a 1/2 a small catfish wafer daily and hes eating well, but he does not like that small tank. After 3 days of meds and I put a UV sterilizer on his tank for 4 hours I still see some spots? Should I still see some spots on him? I thought ich was short lived on their body after 2-3 days of treatment? I am using Aquara-Sol (copper).


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## Donfish (Dec 24, 2007)

Well you can't kill the ich in the encysted (white spot) stage, you have to wait till they fall off and hatch and get it in the free swimming tomite stage, this is why you need to treat the tank the ich started in and you need to treat for at least a week to 10 days to kill all the tomites. Even if the fish look clear it may get it again once it's put back in the original tank. You also can't judge by spots because sometimes ich hides in the gills and mouth.

Just use heat and salt if you want to try that or one of the newer organic ich treatments like ich attack for the least stressful cure (I've had good luck with these) or go with the formalin, malachite green or copper based treatments for a tougher more stressful cure. The chemical cures are harsh on scaleless fish like loaches, inverts and chew up most plants pretty good. The chemicals may inhibit or kill your biofilter if not used correctly. Remove any charcoal before doing treatment, water changes before treatment can't hurt if you pull in any cysts or swimmers doing it.

Read the article here and the instructions on the bottles and you'll eradicate it.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The copper based meds don't work as well as other meds do. The ich seems to worsen before it gets better. I don't like them because of this and never use them.

You could try a different med, or you can just wait it out.

If you use something with formalin and malachite green (Quick Cure is my fav) just dose it at half strength because of this being a pleco. And be aware that it will stain your silicone, but it fades over time.

You need to make sure you continue to treat for 3-4 days after seeing the last white spot fall off. And squeeze in all the water changes you can...This aids in removing the free swimming parasites from the water.


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## califjewls (Dec 28, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> You need to make sure you continue to treat for 3-4 days after seeing the last white spot fall off. And squeeze in all the water changes you can...This aids in removing the free swimming parasites from the water.


Ok thank you! bucket and siphon here I come!


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