another ich. ?

jax92178 · 03-07-2010, 01:52 PM

hello all I have a 30gal starter tank with two small Oscars, about 3" and 2 juvenile jag cichlids, about 1.5-2", I know this tank is too small for all I do. plan on upgrading soon, but I contracted ich. I started ich treatment as soon as I spotted it with jungle ich rid. after reading a bit I switched to a formalin, malachite treatment. ive been doing 30% changes and vaacing everymorning after feeding and before treatment. I raised my temp to 84 turned off lights removed some plants,not all (plants are art.) put in a carbonless filter and I was wondering if its normal for ich to get worse before better? they're behavior has improved but visually they look worse. am i on the road to recovery, or should I give up? ive been closely monitoring all parameters testing every night. all are norm. any advice? ty, aj

Judge · 03-07-2010, 05:25 PM

Welcome and sorry for the ich woes. There are so many unanswered questions. How long has the tank been running, did you cycle the tank, what are your water params and what kind of filtration do you have.

Jay · 03-07-2010, 06:22 PM

Hey AJ...welcome to the forum.

The best way to deal with ich is salt, good old table salt, and elevated temperatures.

Check out our video tutorial on the process...easy to follow...100% effective.

The chemicals you are using are not safe for Humans to handle

without a great deal of experience, and formalin is a close cousin to embalming fluid. Why would you put that stuff in your water?

Marketers are not going to make money selling you $.02 worth of table salt, but at the going rate for a bottle of meds...get my drift

Jay

jax92178 · 03-08-2010, 02:49 AM

so 50% water change then start treatment with salt? they r really covered now. it seems to be getting worse but the fish are still very active. tank did cycle bout 8th week into it I guess my? is does ich get worse before it gets better? and how can i now switch to a salt treatment video card is shot on my pc so.... can't watch the tutorial

ZeroSystem · 03-08-2010, 03:08 AM

Welcome to FTF Jax!

You mentioned you increased them temperature of your tank to 84 degrees earlier I believe. Ich has multiple life stages, and this cycle increases in speed depending on the water temperature. Since Ich can only be killed in one of it's four stages, speeding up the life cycle can give medications/salt more of an opportunity to kill the parasite. I too would recommend the salt/heat treatment over store bought medications. If I remember correctly it's two teaspoons of salt for every gallon of water, but I will have to watch the video trailer again to be sure. You'll want to continue the treatment for a few additional days after you notice the white spots are gone, otherwise it may come back. Hope this helps, good luck!

jax92178 · 03-08-2010, 12:09 PM

yes ty so its ok to just switch treatment? and is this the freshwater aquarium. salt? ty everyone. I'm also in the process of setting up a 55 gal to start its cycle

ZeroSystem · 03-08-2010, 04:01 PM

Aquarium salt will work however I believe just regular table salt is also acceptable. Usually I'd say it's best to pick a treatment and stick with it, but it doesn't seem like you're having much luck with the medications. Maybe use some carbon in the filter to remove the meds and switch over to the salt + heat method. 55's are a lot of fun! What are you planning on keeping in there? I remember I had a breeding pair of Jack Dempsey cichlids in my first 55g. Those were the days!

Judge · 03-08-2010, 04:42 PM

I agree with Jay, turning your tank into a chemical experiment can be very hazardous, especially to the fish.

I suggest plain ordinary table salt with the elevated temp. Ich is one of those problems that all of us have faced at one time or another..and likely will again. No matter how careful we are Ich manages to sneak in. if you do not have a quarantine tank, you might want to consider setting one up, they can save a lot of heartaches...keep us posted.

jax92178 · 03-08-2010, 06:48 PM

thanks guys any suggestions on dosage for a 30?

ZeroSystem · 03-09-2010, 02:15 AM

Get some water from your tank and put it into a container of some sort (bucket, pitcher, large cup, ect.) Add 2 teaspoons of salt for every gallon of water (about 60 teaspoons in your case) and mix it with the tank water. Add the salt slowly over the course of eight hours. The video tutorial says to use two days if needed to add the salt (assuming you can't sit around your tank for eight hours in one day).