Loaches Online Forum

thanks, I'm going to go with the salt. I am really against meds. Would a diatom filter help? I just remembered I have a used one that was given to me a few months ago. I believe everything including a sealed bag of powder is in the box.

add aquarium salt... it will help the fish build up a slime coat to protect the fish from getting more... i think it helps kill the ick in it's free-swimming stage...

IMO, the link that Shari posted to Daveedka'a Ich article is the holy grail of all ich articles.
http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/25.htm

Despite what the ich sticky say’s, salt can be a safe ich cure, but only if it is applied correctly. Clown Loaches are a million times more likely to die of ich, than they are of a salt sensitivity, but keep in mind that the salt level needs to be high for the salt treatment to be 100% effective. 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water will wipe out most of the toughest cases of ich. Less salt may work sometimes, but there is a risk of it not working.

Most of the problems that arise with the salt treatment are caused by that it is either added or removed too quickly or an improper dosage. It should be mixed with water and dripped in over the course of a few days. Then when the ich treatment is over, it should be removed by small slow water changes over the course of a few weeks.

A big problem with new fish is that many LFS's don't tell their customers that they treated the tank water with salt or meds. Many fish may die when brought home because of the acclimation problems that salt can cause. Salt needs to be removed very slowly as to not shock the fish’s osmolarity system. A TDS meter is very good tool for measuring the salt content of water. If you test the bag water with a TDS meter, you'll know instantly if the water was treated with salt. If the water is treated with a high content of salt and no acclimation is done, the fish may die of gill damage and asphyxiation if not immediately, then within 72 hours. A simple 20 minute acclimation would not be enough either. It would be smartest just to maintain the salt level that is in the transport bag because after all the fish may still have ich in its gills or ich may have entered the transport bag by cross contaminated through the fishnet at the LFS. Also you don’t want to put the fish through any unnecessary osmotic stress. Adding salt/TDS isn’t nearly as stressful to the fish as it is to remove the salt/tds.

IMO, all new fish brought home should be quarantine in salted and/or medicated water for a few weeks to prevent ich and other parasites from getting into the main tanks. Worming meds, like Prazipro and Levamisole, should be used during the quarantine period also. Length of the Quarantine period depends on the health of the fish and the value of the fish in the main tank. Extremely cautious keepers, that don’t want to take any chances on risking the lives of the fish in the main tank, may quarantine new fish for atleast 3 months.

well so far so good. the tank is at 87 degrees. At every level, every corner. No loss yet. 2 of the 5 clowns have it, the 2 plecos and the gouramis are ich free.

I pulled out the diatom filter that was donated to me. It was a PIA to get going correctly, but I have that running too now. Can't hurt I suppose?

Diatom filter can't hurt. Be sure to clean it well after the Ich is gone.

Ultra violet can kill the swimming phase of Ich.