# how to treat clown loaches for ich



## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

okay, i was told to open a secific topic in hopes of getting some good answers, so here goes.

i have 6 clown loaches in my cichlid tank and some of them have shown ich. i have raised the temp to about 88 degrees and have added some salt, but the internet is so broad on how much salt to add. 1 tablespoon per gallon? that seems crazy... it is a 125g so thats like 7 cups of salt.

so i ask everyone what is a good way to treat my tank for ick?

if salt, how much?

does salt actually kill the ich?

do i need to treat with meds to kill it?


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

kick-ich is what I've used for my silver dollars (they seem prone to it) ; but I can't use standard ich medicine since they're in my turtle tank (can't use copper based ich fighters).

It's a little expensive but works great.

I never had to raise the temp, I keep my alkalinity/salinity at 300+
I keep it around 1tbsp/5 gallons (per directions); then add more as I replace the water (as appropriate).


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Here's a recent topic that was successful-

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=218865

I have had good luck curing ich with the article in the library too.

1 tbs per gallon sounds like way too much to me. Good for you for seeking multiple sources of information! :thumb:


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

the library had this http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php and it said if using salt without meds go up to 4-5 tbs per 5 gallons.

that also seems excessive.

no one knows if the salt actually kills the ich?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Why are you asking if salt kills ich? Didn't we just point out successful treatments in multiple aquaria with salt?

Salt has been long-established as an effective treatment for the disease. But, like all treatments it can fail if improperly done or in cases of severe infection.


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Using too much salt can be detrimental to the loaches because they are scaless.

The same is true of using meds which is why I recommended that you quarenteen your plants and treat the aquarium with QuICK Cure at half dose levels for 6 days along with a mild salt addition (1-1/2 TBSP/5 gal) and increased heat.

Not quarenteening the plants and using a full salt dosage can be just as bad to the plants as using the meds.

QuICK Cure is probably the cheapest med out there.

It is effective too.

However, it will not kill the ick in one of the three life stages (cyst) and what you are doing with salt and heat is to shorten the life cycle so that those cysts hatch faster and get killed off by the salt and the med.

The longer you play around and not do what you really need to do, the longer and more devestating the damages to your population will be.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

i dont mean to sound like i am questioning things, but i have read that meds are needed and salt wont kill the ich.

being that these are loaches, i was just being sfae by asking. i fear using salt on loaches.

so i have decided to use meds at half doses.

my fish arent really bad off, the heat alone seems to keep the ich mostly at bay. i was just getting any info i can, cause when i do it, i want to do it right.


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