summersquash

After all fish have died from ICH will the ich die out if I leave temps at high temperature for a few weeks and then do a partial water change and make sure my tank is cycling o.k. If so I will start out with just 2 fish at a time until I am sure everything is o.k. Is this a good plan or should I start all over with scrubbing tank and doing a new cycle.

AlyeskaGirl

I have read that it needs hosts and when there are no hosts it will die within 3-4 days, add some aquarium salt and keep a high temp as you said. Along with doing water changes do some really good gravel vacs.

0morrokh

If the tank is left for several weeks without fish, you'll lose the cycle. You'll have to keep adding ammonia to the tank to keep it cycled.

sirdarksol

It takes two weeks for the ich infestation to die off. As Omorrokh said, keep the temp high for two weeks and add ammonia to keep the tank cycled.
It's sad to see an empty tank for two weeks, but it's better than scrapping the setup and starting over.

summersquash

Last night I was really depressed. I had lost a fish everyday for the last 4 days, but today the ones left are better. I used ich meds for three days. Yesterday I added some antibiotics because the tails were looking bad. I have done all I know to do by reading the forum.. I just want to be sure and have my tank cycled and ready for fish the next time I add fish. I will wait a few weeks to add any more, even if the fish I have left live. I am new and naturally I jumped the gun and added fish before being sure tank had cycled. I ordered testing kits but has taken two weeks to get them form PetCo. I think they will be here tomorow. I did have filters from another tank that I used to help cycle tank and my pH was good at 7.0. I added two or three fish at a time, and all was well until I added the last 4. I didn't have a setup to quarantine them to see if they were well. Apparently they were not because one died the next mornng. I am going to do better. I have read enough to know a little more are about what I need to do. Hopefully the ich will not come back for a long time.

Cordi

killing ich is easy..

when the temp it 29c ich's life cycle is 5 days.. at 30c+ it dies (but this could be too high for the fish you keep). you can only kill ich when it's in it's final stage.. free swimming on day 5 (by which time it will look like your fish are better but in fact your problems are about to begin again tenfold).

the only problem with using meds is that they can kill your benificial bacteria, but on the other hand if you keep your tank at 29c the bacteria colonise your tank fast.

keep treating your tank as directed for the next few days, then do a 50% water change and add carbon to your tank. you also want to get some Tetra Safestart and add the right ammount for your tank.

you should have no problem with your tank by the end of the week and you should be able to start adding the fish you want to the tank by about saturday.

of course, make sure you check your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate before you do.

regards,
Cordi

sirdarksol

Once you get things stable, you may never see ich again. I have five tanks running and have never had to deal with ich (or any other parasite or disease).

Like you, I jumped the gun at the beginning. I lost fish to ammonia poisoning instead of disease. Since then, Fishlore has taught me a ton and my aquaria are all doing well.

Edit:
Respectfully disagree with Cordi's statement that the tank will be fine in five days. While sites like Wikipedia say that the parasite's life cycle is five days at 80 degrees (F), we have had more than a few people who have kept the aquarium at the requisite 82.5 or higher for five to seven days at the recommendation of such sites before turning the temp back down. One week after turning the temp down, the ich cysts waiting in the substrate (bit of supposition here: which may be significantly cooler than the upper levels of the water, which may be the reason for this issue) open up with a salvo of parasites that overwhelm the fish with numbers alone. This second wave usually kills off the entire tank.

The experience of these people suggests that, if you have ich, keep the temp up two weeks and wait until then to add any more fish.

Agreed that you should watch ammonia/nitrite levels after adding antibiotics. Some antibiotics won't mess with the cycle (gram negative vs gram positive and such), but it's best to know. TSS will help if your cycle does crash.

Cordi

No Disrespect taken

The only instant that this would happen is in a river tank where the water flows in only 1 direction therefore doesn't mix as well as a normal tanks.

but even with no flow a heater will heat the whole tank up to temp in 24 hours.

i mention this since i've just set up a new tank and like all my new tanks, i fill with water then heat it up to 32c before i add any filtration (normaly since i can't afford to get filters at the same time i get tanks). 3 days ago i got a 400 litre which i filled with water, put in a 100w heater (which isn't designed to heat a 400l) and within 24 hours the tank was at 32c throughout.

summersquash

I have my temperature set at 80 degrees. I am using meds, so should I up the temp to 82. I think I read that if you used meds not to raise temp so high. It was too hard on the fish. I have a new heater, but I am having trouble stabilizing it at a level temp. Has anyone had trouble with heaters before. This morning I saw the temp droping so I turned it up some but it is neraly as high as it will turn. I wonder how high they will go. I am afraid that I am going to come back and have boiled fish. I guess that would get rid of the ich but I would feel awful if I had put the sick fish through an even worse death.

sirdarksol

You are correct, summersquash. Most of us suggest temp over meds, so that's why I said 82.5 or higher. If you're using meds, you can leave it at 80. All you're doing is speeding the life cycle so the parasites get to the stage where they are susceptible to the meds. It would be a little more harsh on the fish (not much) to raise it to 82.5 or higher, but you'll be attacking the ich at two different stages, increasing the probability that you'll kill the infection.

What brand of heater do you have? Some heaters are more prone to overheating than others.

Shaina

I unfortunately had this happen not too long ago...the quarantine tank I was using for the fish being prepped for my 90g was taken over by Ich, and I ended up losing every fish in there when it was all said and done.

Since the tank was empty I did a major water change, heavily vac'ing the gravel to try to pick up as many eggs as possible, then brought the temp up to 90F and wrapped the tank in towels to try to keep the whole thing hot instead of losing a lot of heat through the glass (the house was only 60 degrees at this time), and added excess pure ammonia to keep the cycle and in hope of it killing any nasties at such a concentration.

I left it that way for a week (8 days actually), then did a big water change again and let the tank cool down to the normal 78 and added new fish...and had no problems at all in terms of disease or cycling.

I'm not saying that method is fail-proof, but it worked for me despite being a really terrible Ich infestation.

fishchick

I never flush my fish down toliet ! I dispose of them to trash ! If they are sick water is contaminated !

summersquash

I have a Tetra Whisper calentador heater. It's only a month old. Its submersable. I did a large water change this morning and added 80 degree water. I tried to raise the temp to 82, but when I came home from work for lunch it was still on 80. I am afraid to turn it all the way up in case it decides to kick in and then get too hot. It is nearly as high as it will go. The heater is the right size for my tank so that is not the problem.
I think I am fianally seeing the end of the ich. I have two small Tetras that have spots but the black Tetra are all better. Only lost one of them. I was really surprised that one of them made it. His tail fins were getting really bad, but he is already looking 100% better. The two little red Tetras may not make it but they are still hanging in there.
I dispose of dead fish in the trash also. I am going to wait untill I am sure my tank is cycled, and free of diesase before I add anymore fish.

cmoreland

hehe toilet water turns into raw sewage, which is very contaminated fish or no fish.

sirdarksol

The concern with sick fish down the toilet is that there is a possibility (though very, very slim) that an exotic disease will get introduced into the water supply and wreak havoc among native fishes.