I had a bout with Ich in May, and was confident that after 21 days of treatment (with Malachite Green, higher temps, frequent gravel vacuuming, 50% WC every other day and increased oxygen) I did not see anymore evidence of Ich. So I reinstalled carbon filter, and reduced temp to 76-ish degrees, but kept the increased oxygen with powerhead, 2 bubblers, and allowing water from my HOB to fall into the tank with a lower water level.
Yesterday I spotted Ich on one of my Clowns. So today after work, I will restart a course of malachite green with a gravel vacation and 50% WC. Here is my question, if I installed a UV Light would that help prevent Ich, and or speed up eradicating Ich that is currently in my tank?
I have a 55 gal planted community tank with a Penguin 350 HOB, a powerhead, 2 air stones.
4 Clowns
2 Gold Gourami (1 male and 1 female)
1 Guianacara Sphenozona Cichlid
1 Common Pleco
2 Red Eye Tetra
Ich resurgance and UV Light
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Ich has a life cycle that is temperature dependent. No medicine, UV, or other treatment will make them go through their life cycle faster except raising the temperature.
Add UV, if you want. However:
UV is very effective in relatively empty tanks where the water flow guarantees that ALL the water in the tank REALLY passes through the sterilizer often enough to interrupt the breeding cycle of Ich. In a heavily planted tank the water has too many possible dead spots. Ich can hang out in those areas and breed.
UV may deactivate certain meds. Do some research. If the medicine you are thinking of has any hint of 'Turn off aquarium lights during treatment' then it is highly likely to be deactivated by UV. Also, E-mail the manufacturer and ask if their product is UV stable.
UV can be combined with salt and heat.
Fenbendazole is showing some promise as a treatment against Ich.
http://forum.sfbaaps.org/viewtopic.php?t=7428
The AFA or afa mentioned is Aqua Forest, Amano's outlet in San Francisco.
Note the reference back here to Loaches
Add UV, if you want. However:
UV is very effective in relatively empty tanks where the water flow guarantees that ALL the water in the tank REALLY passes through the sterilizer often enough to interrupt the breeding cycle of Ich. In a heavily planted tank the water has too many possible dead spots. Ich can hang out in those areas and breed.
UV may deactivate certain meds. Do some research. If the medicine you are thinking of has any hint of 'Turn off aquarium lights during treatment' then it is highly likely to be deactivated by UV. Also, E-mail the manufacturer and ask if their product is UV stable.
UV can be combined with salt and heat.
Fenbendazole is showing some promise as a treatment against Ich.
http://forum.sfbaaps.org/viewtopic.php?t=7428
The AFA or afa mentioned is Aqua Forest, Amano's outlet in San Francisco.
Note the reference back here to Loaches
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
OK, so the increased temp will accelerate their life cycle that much I got, but does that also mean that once the cist falls off the fish, and the parasite is vulnerable in the substrate, that the increased temp is enough to kill it?Diana wrote:Ich has a life cycle that is temperature dependent. No medicine, UV, or other treatment will make them go through their life cycle faster except raising the temperature.
My understanding (which is limited) is that while the Ich cist is visible on the fish's body that it is impervious to meds, but once the parasite cist falls off into the substrate and it begins to reproduce, that at that stage of its life cycle it is effected by meds. So a two prong attack of higher temps, to speed up the cycle and meds to kill it when it becomes vulnerable?
Yes, that is mostly right.
There is a strain of Ich that has been identified that is tolerant of any temperature that our fish can handle. With the exception of that strain, Ich can be killed by temperature alone. Frequent vacuuming is really helpful, too. This removes a lot of the Ich organisms from the water, and reduced re-infestation.
Raise the temperature in the tank to 90*F. Slowly, over a few days. Ich can be killed at temps over 86*, but the trick is to get ALL the water to that temperature, including under the substrate.
Combining heat and medication is better for fish that cannot handle that much heat. The heat will make the Ich fall off the fish faster. Then they reproduce faster. It is these babies that are killed by medications. Make sure to maintain therapeutic levels of medicines in the water all the time because there will be Ich at all stages, and you need to be sure to kill it during the phase that is susceptible to the meds.
Another treatment, and the oldest known:
Move the fish to a new tank daily, 100% new water, and sterilize the old tank. No meds, no high temperatures. Just patience and persistence.
There is a strain of Ich that has been identified that is tolerant of any temperature that our fish can handle. With the exception of that strain, Ich can be killed by temperature alone. Frequent vacuuming is really helpful, too. This removes a lot of the Ich organisms from the water, and reduced re-infestation.
Raise the temperature in the tank to 90*F. Slowly, over a few days. Ich can be killed at temps over 86*, but the trick is to get ALL the water to that temperature, including under the substrate.
Combining heat and medication is better for fish that cannot handle that much heat. The heat will make the Ich fall off the fish faster. Then they reproduce faster. It is these babies that are killed by medications. Make sure to maintain therapeutic levels of medicines in the water all the time because there will be Ich at all stages, and you need to be sure to kill it during the phase that is susceptible to the meds.
Another treatment, and the oldest known:
Move the fish to a new tank daily, 100% new water, and sterilize the old tank. No meds, no high temperatures. Just patience and persistence.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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