Ich is getting worse

Bone53 · 01-06-2007, 06:13 PM

I have done the saltwater treatment and I have turned up the heat to 86, but the Ich seems to be getting worse. Is there anything im doing wrong or something I haven't done?

Tommy Gun · 01-06-2007, 06:26 PM

Welcome to the forum!

Can you give us more information as to your situation such as how much salt and of what type you are putting in the tank?

In short, the salt and heat treatment does not kill the Ich protozoa, but rather speeds up its lifecycle so that it dies naturally before it the fish dies. So, it is somewhat expected to get worse before it gets better.

The alternatives, using meds such as the Malachite Green are really tough on the fish as well and shouldnt be used on scaleless fish at full doses. This salt and heat treatment has worked for a lot of people and so I would stay patient, and keep a good eye on things like you already are.

Again, welcome to the forum! It is great to meet you.

BJP · 01-06-2007, 06:32 PM

If you think the ick is getting worse, then I'm assuming that's based on visual evidence of ick exitting the fish.

The tomites which are the only stage of ick that can be killed cannot be seen by the naked eye.

With that I would think that either the fish are still in a state of stress leading to the continual emergence of the ick or the exit wounds themselves are becoming infected.

Lots of water changes vacuuming well should help eliminate the stress while improving the water quality.

More information will be needed to determine what facters could be leading to the stress other than water quality. How long has the tank been set up? How long have the fish been in the tank? What are your basic water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc. What filters are on the tank? What type of fish are we dealing with?

An additional med may be needed to help with the wounds if they are what you're seeing.

Bone53 · 01-06-2007, 07:41 PM

Thanks for all the info.

I was putting in two tsp. for every gallon. I put the salt in slowly and it was just Publix brand ordinary salt. I got the Gouramies on Monday of this week. My brother told me about the salt treatment so we did it. We figured that the Ich came from the pet store.

Tommy Gun · 01-06-2007, 07:47 PM

It probrably did come from the store and maybe even from the water...did you add the water from the bag to the water in your tank?

The stress from transporting the fish home could have been enough to reduce their ability to fight off the Ich as far as attaching to thier sides.

Usually, the recommended dose of salt would be 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. Three teaspoons make a tablespoon, I think, so you may be a little high there, but that is easy to fix. The hope here is to get your fish healthy enough to fight off the Ich and then speed up the lifecycle of Ich in its free-swimming form so it cannot become the 'white spots' you see on the fish.

Bone53 · 01-06-2007, 07:57 PM

Unfortunatly we did get a little bit of the water in my tank. I guess i did do a little over the top on the salt, but they still seem healthy aside from the Ich. Thanks again.

Tommy Gun · 01-06-2007, 08:06 PM

No problem. The salt you can take out with water changes. I might suggest doing a 50% water change and then adding one and a half teaspoons of salt, just for now. That way you have reduced the salt, but still have close to what you would want normally.

I cannot tell you how many problems can come from adding LFS water to yours. I always dump the fish into a big bowl I have set aside just for that purpose, or if it is only one fish, I dump the water through a big net into the sink. So many fish go in and out of an LFS that the water can get full of all kinds of things you would really like to avoid.

BJP · 01-06-2007, 08:24 PM

It's really too soon to expect a full recovery from ick since it's been less than a week since you began treatment. Daily 50% water changes vacuuming well will help remove much of the ick from the substrate where it's reproducing, it'll extract some of the freeswimming ick trying to find the fish to reinfect and it'll improve the overall water quality reducing stress to the fish. Readd the salt, predissolving it first to replace what you took out with the water changes.

Tommy Gun · 01-06-2007, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BJP

It's really too soon to expect a full recovery from ick since it's been less than a week since you began treatment. Daily 50% water changes vacuuming well will help remove much of the ick from the substrate where it's reproducing, it'll extract some of the freeswimming ick trying to find the fish to reinfect and it'll improve the overall water quality reducing stress to the fish. Readd the salt, predissolving it first to replace what you took out with the water changes.

Honestly, I am 95% sure that the Ich needs to go through the 'white spot' phase in order to reproduce. Once it is passed that stage, it drops off to the substrate and can split into hundreds of 'babies' I guess you can say. Give me a minute and I will give you the link to that information about the complete lifecycle.

Bone53 · 01-06-2007, 08:36 PM

Alright, I think I will go do a water change I think it will help anyway because the last one I did was last week.

Also just a question, I know that LFS is the pet store water, but what exactly does it stand for?