need help with ich

somerton16

hello, i have 2 green sevrums that are infested with ich. i have read most of the articles about ich. i am just a very doubtful person and was wondering if i was doing the right thing. i took them out and put them in a spare 10 gallon tank with water from the 55 gal tank that they came from, i put a heater and an air stone in and raised the 10 gal and 55 gal to 82 degrees jsut in case any of the other fish have it too or it is floating around in there. i have no gravel plants in the 10 gallon. am i doing the right thing or should i just put them back in the 55 and hope it doesnt spread to the other fish. i am useing the heat and salt methodi put 11 tablespoons in the 55 and 2 in the 10 gallon. i dont have a filter in the 10 gallon so i'm gonna do a 1 gallon water change every 4 hours is this sufficient enough or should i do them sooner? pls help save my fish. thank you in advance and i hope this works.

Splash Spooky

IMO I would leave the severums in the 55 gallon and treat the whole tank and if you are using the salt method in the FTF article it says raise the temp to 86 F and if your are uncomfortable with that raise it to at least between 82-84 F and add 2 - 3 teaspoons of salt per gallon. This method does work, some of your other fish can also be hosts of ich and you might not be able to see it.
I used the salt method in the article and left the temp raised and the salt in the tank for two weeks even though I could not see ich on my fish I wanted to make sure that it was eliminated. Add the salt gradually and raise the temp one or two degrees per hour. Hope this helps.

somerton16

i am treating both tanks but i just noticed today that the sevrums have ich and they are pretty much covered in it. so i took them out jsut to be sure they dont spread it to any one else i will eventually raise it to 86 gradually. any suggestions on the qt tank with no filter is the asking for dead fish. i am takeing out a gallon every 4 hours

tony

Splash spooky is on the money, I would do away with the qt and just treat the whole tank.

Splash Spooky

How are your fish doing today Somerton? Sorry I wasn't more clear I was suggesting that you put your fish back in the main tank since your are treating it anyways. IMO there is more of a chance of your sererums surviving in the main tank than in an uncycled tank with no filter.Even though you are doing all those water changes it is not the norm for your fish and if you are getting the water from your main tank they might as well be in with the other fish.
Like you I love my fish and I know what you are going thru. IMO it's always the weakest fish that get ich and in some cases some kinds of fish will get it before others. Ich can be under the gills of the fish and go undected for a long time. Hope this is being helpful.

andysutt

Use the elevated tempature and salt method

I had a twinbar platy that I swear couldn't have another spot of ich on it.

It cleared up within a week.

I left him in the 55g tank w/ all the other fish.

Your treating the ich, not the fish.

yank30265

I hate to medicate. i did the salt/temp method and used Super ick cure. Gone in 3 days. Sometimes you have to medicate

andysutt

Never heard the "sometimes you have to medicate" technique.

It wasn't gone in 3 days either... it can live for quite a while with no known visible signs on the fish. Thats why you leave the water tempature and salt levels raised for a minimum of a week after the very last visibile trace of ich is gone.

I can only remember one time when I personally medicated for ich, and it cleared off all my fish. Never will I do that again.

yank30265

super ick cure is the way to go. read the directions and you wont lose any fish, take out the carbon before you medicate. its all in the directions. wait to long with the salt thing and youll be draining the whole tank to start over.

andysutt

What do you mean wait to long w/ the salt thing? I'd like a explanation before I respond, because I don't know what your referring to.

However, I do know that natural remedies are usually always better than medications when it comes to fish.

I prefer not to use them as well does alot of educated fish people. (not saying your not educated) Im just saying I have seen lost fish w/ Super Ick cure so its not a surefire way.