# Possible Ich Problem?



## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi guys,

Basically looking for a little bit of help here.

Last night I noticed a couple of spots, much like salt grains, on the tails and fins of my young rainbow cichlids. At that point I turned my tank temperature up to around 79F

Checked them this morning and I have now noticed my two Green Severums also have the spots and a couple of other fish are now f licking of the substrate.

So to me it looks like a case of Ich. Last time I had it I caught it quite early and got the tank temp raised to 80F. As only one fish had it at the time it didn't appear to spread and after just over a week of high temp the problem vanished and the fish have been fine since.

Basically what I am wondering as, since I am loathe to load my tank with chemicals etc and the thought of putting salt in slightly worries me, will this treatment work again or could the spread of disease have gone to far to be treated by heat alone?

Also, if salt is the way forward, can somebody give me a sort of run through on what I should do as I have never added salt to the tank.

As a side note I am unable to test the water parameters as a friend has borrowed my test kit and is out of town for the day. 

Any help is much appreciated.

Edit - I meant to add I have fed the fish this morning and they are all eating well, a sign I usually take to mean they are in decent health.


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

read the article on ick--it basically says everything and it helps so much to know the life cycle of the ich parasite when trying to get rid of it.

With whatever treatment you go with you should start off with a 30% partial water change and gravel siphoning. This directly aids in the treatment of ich simply by removing some of the parasites. It's NOT a treatment all by itself but rather a boost to whatever treatment you end up using. 
If you use the heat and salt method you can do several 30% partial water changes/gravel siphoning during the ten+ day treatment--just be sure to keep the heat and salt level constant.

Please post back with any additional questions you may have after reading the ick article.

Robin


----------



## kicks15 (Apr 21, 2009)

HI

I've read a few of the threads here and also the tutorial on what exactly ich is...i have had my 60 gallon tank for 5 months now and today i noticed that my clown loach have ich on them...the other cichlids and rams n catfish appear to be fine. i am still new to fish keeping and have only 1 friend who assists me. awhile back he gave me the sodium chloride salt and i think i am going to give that method a shot. before i add the salt i will do a 30% water change and try to clean up some of my sand. some questions are:

1. i unplugged my heater cuz i messed up in setup of tank it is by window so temp is usually around 80 +/- 3F. now when i apply the salt is it worth to plug my heater back in and try to maintain that temperature? also, the salt itself will kill the ich during whatever phase it is in? i read how they go through a few morphs, so using the salt will kill them when they are a TORMONT? the ever presence of the salt will attack them?

2. if i do water changes, for ex i do 30% for my 60 gal i put in salt for 20 gallons when i am done?

3. i have a canister filter and a dual airstone but am only using one head. should i hook up the other port of the airstone?

i will most likely have more questions or worries but right now any input for the above will help 
get me started. i just don't want my fish to suffer or die.

thanks


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

The constant fluctuation of temperature may be the reason you have ich in the first place.
I would move the tank to a better location and get the heater to a stable temperature.
This will definitely help solve the present ich problem and prevent ich in the future.

During the treatment you want to add salt for the whole tank volume, initially.
Then as you do water changes only add whatever amount of salt you have removed according to the amount of water changed.
So a 50% water change would require putting back 50% of the initial salt concentration.

Your present filtration should be fine and probably doesn't require any attention.
Just keep the water as clean as you can and don't forget dechlor.
Get the tempereature above 80* and treat with salt accordingly.


----------



## kicks15 (Apr 21, 2009)

Thank you smellsfishy...i will do that...wish me luck!


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Good luck! :thumb:


----------

