Hello,
I am in desperate need of some good advice. I have a 66 gal community tank including 8 clown loaches.
I have been treating my tank for ich for 15 days using "Quick Cure" (Malochite green and Fermald). I have treated the tank as follows:
1st treatment (3 days) 33 drops 82 degrees
2nd treatment (3 days) 40 drops 82 degrees
3rd treatment (3 days) 45 drops 83 degrees
4th treatment (3 days) 33 drops 82 degrees
25% water changes every 3 days
My ich outbreak has always been mild. I only started out with 1-3 white spots on 3 fish (in a tank of 35 fish). It has stayed that way. I can't treat the tank with the maximum dosage because it will kill the loaches.
Please advise
Ich in my community tank
Moderator: LoachForumModerators
Could you translate your drops into a measurement relative to the advised dosage? This will make it easier to understand what you are doing.
OK, thinking aloud:
Now, if your dosing is about 1/2 of the recommendation, it should have worked over fifteen days, something may be wrong (examples: bad water, presense of another disease, resistant strain. The only time in my experience when I utterly failed to deal with Ich was when the fish was also infected with a much more serious parasite.).
What are the water parameters? Is anything else wrong?
(more information may help)
The best option is probably to do the following three things:
1. Install a UV (only if your tank has been running stable for more than 3 months). By itself it is probably not sufficient. This will cost you $100 or so, but it is really helpful to have a UV if you want to keep fish for long time.
2. Bring the temp to 86F (check your other fish first for temp requirements: clowns will be fine with 86F, but not some other species)
3. Switch the drugs, after a water change.
(My personal favorite is Ich Guard halfdozed with a little extra NaCl; a really radical change is to go to Quinine which does not need to be halfdozed and worked for me even in low dosage under UV)
Incidentally,
Good luck.
OK, thinking aloud:
Now, if your dosing is about 1/2 of the recommendation, it should have worked over fifteen days, something may be wrong (examples: bad water, presense of another disease, resistant strain. The only time in my experience when I utterly failed to deal with Ich was when the fish was also infected with a much more serious parasite.).
What are the water parameters? Is anything else wrong?
(more information may help)
The best option is probably to do the following three things:
1. Install a UV (only if your tank has been running stable for more than 3 months). By itself it is probably not sufficient. This will cost you $100 or so, but it is really helpful to have a UV if you want to keep fish for long time.
2. Bring the temp to 86F (check your other fish first for temp requirements: clowns will be fine with 86F, but not some other species)
3. Switch the drugs, after a water change.
(My personal favorite is Ich Guard halfdozed with a little extra NaCl; a really radical change is to go to Quinine which does not need to be halfdozed and worked for me even in low dosage under UV)
Incidentally,
is not true. It may hurt loaches but it is not certain it is actually worse than long-term ich infection. I'm not suggesting full dosage, however.I can't treat the tank with the maximum dosage because it will kill the loaches.
Good luck.
The suggested dosage would be 66 drops for my tank ( 1 drop per gallon), but I have been 1/2 dosing or a little more.
My water conditions are excellent, I use a charcoal purified water system. I do 15% water changes weekly. I never had a disease in my 2 year old tank until I purchased new fish 3 weeks ago. I did not quarantine, a mistake I will never make again.
Can I bring the temp. up to 86 degrees when I am using the Quick Cure? I read that temperatures should be kept at 82 degrees at the most when using meds.
What is NaCl and Quinine? What is the active ingredient is Ich Guard?
Should I also be using aqurium salt?
What is the maximum dosage of Quick Cure that the loaches could tolerate.
Thanks for your quick reply jennifer
My water conditions are excellent, I use a charcoal purified water system. I do 15% water changes weekly. I never had a disease in my 2 year old tank until I purchased new fish 3 weeks ago. I did not quarantine, a mistake I will never make again.
Can I bring the temp. up to 86 degrees when I am using the Quick Cure? I read that temperatures should be kept at 82 degrees at the most when using meds.
What is NaCl and Quinine? What is the active ingredient is Ich Guard?
Should I also be using aqurium salt?
What is the maximum dosage of Quick Cure that the loaches could tolerate.
Thanks for your quick reply jennifer
Could you please check the exact Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate levels anyway and post them?jmiller wrote:The suggested dosage would be 66 drops for my tank ( 1 drop per gallon), but I have been 1/2 dosing or a little more.
My water conditions are excellent, I use a charcoal purified water system. I do 15% water changes weekly. I never had a disease in my 2 year old tank until I purchased new fish 3 weeks ago. I did not quarantine, a mistake I will never make again.
You are probably correct about ich coming with new non-quarantined fish, but you still MUST check.
Also, if the new fish was wild-caught or bottom-feeders, deworm now.
Depends on what other fish you have there, not on drug.Can I bring the temp. up to 86 degrees when I am using the Quick Cure? I read that temperatures should be kept at 82 degrees at the most when using meds.
Add extra O2 sources if you don't have enough.
Malachite Green, Salt (==NaCl), Acriflavine.What is the active ingredient is Ich Guard?
(I myself would half-dose, but then add a bit of extra salt).
Quinine is the malaria drug, but it kills Ich too.
Opinions differ..Should I also be using aqurium salt?
What is the maximum dosage of Quick Cure that the loaches could tolerate.
(I'd avoid formalin to start with, and I don't mind salt when i think it would help)
Again, if a drug does not work in 15 days. it is time for something else.
very welcome, good luck.Thanks for your quick reply jennifer
I will go and buy Ich Guard today and change my treatment. Can you advise me how much aquarium salt I should add to my 66 gallon tank? How do I administer the salt? Can I drop it directly in the tank, or should it be disolved in water first.
I should do all of the above and bring the temperature to 86 degrees. Is that correct?
I am trying to stay away from copper treatments as I have read that it stays in the tank long after the treatment is over.
I should do all of the above and bring the temperature to 86 degrees. Is that correct?
I am trying to stay away from copper treatments as I have read that it stays in the tank long after the treatment is over.
Check the water parameters first, before putting anything in.
Again: difficult-to-cure Ich is quite often a sign of another problem. Like Ammonia.
Check your other fish specs, 86F may kill some fish not designed for it.
If you are going to do "all of the above" (UV+Temp+Different meds), then do not add more salt for now. UV will do most of the work, you just need some meds to clear the remaining parasites.
Not an advice, but here is what I do: put 1/2 dose of Ich Guard (see the package for instructions, and it is IchGuard and NOT IchGuard-2 ) + 1/4 aquarium salt (see the package for instructions). You can dissolve salt in tank water, I usually don't, but spread it around and not on fish directly. Again, probably no need for extra salt if you have UV running, simply 1/2 dose of IchGuard.
Check your store for the med called "Ich Attack" -- it is quinine based, and this is what you'll try using if you still have no progress after a few days. Also, if "all of the above" really does not do anything within a few days, you almost certainly have some larger problem.
Good luck!
Again: difficult-to-cure Ich is quite often a sign of another problem. Like Ammonia.
Check your other fish specs, 86F may kill some fish not designed for it.
If you are going to do "all of the above" (UV+Temp+Different meds), then do not add more salt for now. UV will do most of the work, you just need some meds to clear the remaining parasites.
Not an advice, but here is what I do: put 1/2 dose of Ich Guard (see the package for instructions, and it is IchGuard and NOT IchGuard-2 ) + 1/4 aquarium salt (see the package for instructions). You can dissolve salt in tank water, I usually don't, but spread it around and not on fish directly. Again, probably no need for extra salt if you have UV running, simply 1/2 dose of IchGuard.
Check your store for the med called "Ich Attack" -- it is quinine based, and this is what you'll try using if you still have no progress after a few days. Also, if "all of the above" really does not do anything within a few days, you almost certainly have some larger problem.
Good luck!
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 76 guests