Issues with Ich - Please help!

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Dos-Loachez
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Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:17 pm

Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by Dos-Loachez » Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:25 am

So i made the mistake of getting a pleco from my local Pet Smart and didn't separate him for a few days.. Like i should have expected he had ich and decided to share it with everyone else in my tank.. (I alerted Pet Smart also since their situation with ich had gone unnoticed and began to spread. I currently have a 10 gallon with the following in it: 2 very small Golden Dojo (Weather) Loaches, 1 Kuhli Loach, 3 guppies, 3 neon tetras, 4 red cherry shrimp, 1 ghost shrimp.

The pleco didnt last to long and died a few days later. I've been treating with Rid-Ich Plus for over two weeks now and have done water changes every few days, but no real change. I was afraid to increase the temp higher than 80 (In attempts to speed up the lifecycle of the ich) due to my Loaches. I've read that using aquarium salt can help but i'm really at a loss what to do at this point.

Some of my research says to raise the temp up higher than 80 and keep it there for two+ weeks! Is there anything else i can do that is safe for the loaches and shrimp that wont basically poach them? If i do go the salt route should i continue Rid-Ich Plus? I just want my poor loaches and other members of my community to be happy and stress free again!

Dos-Loachez
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:17 pm

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by Dos-Loachez » Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:52 pm

So i guess I'm to understand that no one on this board has ever had this issue before or any helpful advise?..

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DainBramage1991
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Location: Northern New England

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by DainBramage1991 » Fri Apr 13, 2012 1:45 pm

Raising the temp alone won't kill ich, but salt can. I've used (with good success) standard run-of-the mill aquarium salt and nothing else as an effective treatment for ich. Like you, the source of my infestations were new fish that I failed to quarantine properly (lacking a way to do so at this time).

I've seen a wide range of dosage info posted on the web, but what has worked for me was to slowly (over the course of about 2 days) add a level tablespoon at a time of aquarium salt until the ratio runs about 1 teaspoon/gallon (3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon, so that's 1 tablespoon for 3 gallons). Raising the temp increases the speed of the ich lifecycle, but I don't recommend it in your case because your Dojos will start to suffer above 76 degrees. I leave the salt concentration at that level for 2 weeks, then I start to slowly bring it back to normal through weekly 25% water changes.

With loaches, catfish, and other scaleless/small scaled fishes you need to be very careful about what medications you put into the tank, as they tend to be very sensitive to them. Even following normal dosing instructions can lead to toxic results. Salt doesn't have that disadvantage, as long as you don't pour it all in at once (or remove it all at once with a huge water change) which can cause osmotic shock.

Good luck, I hope your fish get better soon!

kimura
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:31 pm

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by kimura » Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:55 pm

I hate to be the one to say it but you have some stocking issues with that tank. The dojo loaches are a cooler water fish and will get to be quite
large. The Kuhli loach would like some more friends as would the neon tetras but the tank is already overstocked. There is no room for any pleco
in that tank, especially a common pleco which can grow to nearly two feet. You might have got a sailfin which get large or a rubber lipped which
stay small but tend to be more fragile in my experience. Those are about the only plecos that petsmart sells.

All that being said, I would immediately have your water tested so you know where that stands. Raise the temperature slowly
to 84, add more surface aggitation from a bubbler to compenstate for the lower oxygen levels from the raised temperature and following the
instructions on the ich medication. All that should work but heavily stocked tanks are a bit tougher sometimes. At one point I had an ich outbreak in a
heavily stocked loach tank and fought it with meds for two weeks doing massive water changes, gravel vacs to no avail. Eventually I
broke down and bought a UV sterilyzer and it knocked the ich out in less than a week.

There should be a sticky thread somewhere on this site detailing ich but i summed up the treatment more or less.

Good look man.

Dos-Loachez
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:17 pm

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by Dos-Loachez » Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:21 am

kimura wrote:I hate to be the one to say it but you have some stocking issues with that tank.
I have a larger tank (30 gal) to transfer them to once they get larger right now they're still tiny.
kimura wrote: There is no room for any pleco in that tank, especially a common pleco which can grow to nearly two feet. You might have got a sailfin which get large or a rubber lipped which stay small but tend to be more fragile in my experience. Those are about the only plecos that petsmart sells.
The Pleco situation was a bit longer of a story and wasn't bought for my tank. It was for another tank (29 gal) that contains several african cichlids and at the time had 2 guppies. One of which a cichlid destroyed and devowered the other i figured i'd try to save and put in my tank. She was infected by the ich on the pleco and in turn infected my tank and my community.
kimura wrote: I would immediately have your water tested so you know where that stands. Raise the temperature slowly
to 84, add more surface aggitation from a bubbler to compenstate for the lower oxygen levels from the raised temperature and following the instructions on the ich medication
I've had a bubbler in the tank for that reason and have followed the Ich medication instructions but gave a slightly lower dosage (even though it says it's safe for loaches) But with the higher temprature i didn't want to stress them out completely so i kept it at 80-81
DainBramage1991 wrote:Raising the temp alone won't kill ich, but salt can. I've used (with good success) standard run-of-the mill aquarium salt and nothing else as an effective treatment for ich. Like you, the source of my infestations were new fish that I failed to quarantine properly (lacking a way to do so at this time).
Won't the salt kill my cherry shrimp? Even at such a low dosage of 1/3?

Dos-Loachez
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:17 pm

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by Dos-Loachez » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:11 am

Also i feel like i should add that one of my itsy dojo's has taken a turn for the worse which completely breaks me heart as i've grown perhaps a little to attached to him. He had a pretty bad case of ich the last few days and while everyone else in my tank has cleared up substantially i fear it was just to much for him in the end. He currently seems stiff but is still breathing, i'm pretty sure he hasn't been eating the last few days either. :( His condition really makes me heart sick as i've had him for a few months now. I placed him in a little breeder floaty tank with a mossball in hope of keeping him upright and did a small water change hoping he'd perk up a bit. I'm really not sure is he is past the state of saving but i'll pretty much do anything to save him at this point. Maybe someone has a suggestion?

Diana
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Re: Issues with Ich - Please help!

Post by Diana » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:19 am

Do not raise the temperature so high for the Dojo Loaches.

I would separate the fish and shrimp and treat each according to what they can handle.

2 very small Golden Dojo (Weather) Loaches, Cool water, not so high salt, Rid Ich
1 Kuhli Loach, Warmer water, not so high salt, Rid Ich
3 guppies, Any water temp, very high salt is OK for Guppies, Rid Ich
3 neon tetras, Cooler water, not so high salt, rid ich
4 red cherry shrimp, Mine are fine in cooler water, no salt. I have no idea if they can even carry Ich. I would remove them for this treatment. Then do not put them back with fish that might eat them (Dojo Loaches get big enough to eat them)
1 ghost shrimp. pretty tolerant of most things, but probably not a carrier. Remove this guy, too.

Ich can live in the gills.
There are more than one type of Ich. At least one cannot be treated with Rid Ich or any of the dye-based medicines.
If you are using Amquel or Amquel Plus do not use it while using any dye-based medicines. Rid Ich is a dye based medicine.
If you are using a UV sterilizer, stop. It can deactivate some meds, but I do not know which ones. It is OK with salt.
Remove activated carbon and any other similar material from the filter.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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