cmoreland

I wanted to share a log I've been keeping regarding my tanks' recent ICH breakout. I read a lot about using heat and salt to treat the disease and I figured that was worth a try before having to resort to chemicals. I understand this may not work for everyone as there are different and more resilient strains of this parasite but here is my record:

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Day 1 - 3/21/09
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Noticed after adding fluorescent bulbs that several of my fish had little white specks. After doing some research, I believe these white specks in addition to the fish occasionally scratching themselves on the decor attribute to the notorious 'Ich' desease which is apparently common but a nuisance and can eventually kill the fish if left untreated.

I am raising the water temp to about 85F over the rest of the afternoon and evening to speed up the cycle here and hopefully reduce or prevent the tomonts from multiplying. Also adding 2 tbsp of salt over the next 24 hours to kill off the thermonts if any do reproduce. 1st tbsp was added after a 50% water change earlier today. Tetra's are becoming very listless.


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Day 3 - 3/24/09
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Maintaining temperature at 85F (highest heater will heat the water). Have done 2 water changes except for yesterday, added 1tbsp salt this evening. The Molly and the Platy seem to have lost a few of their 'cysts' however one neon tetra seems to have gained quite a few. 2 or 3 Neon Tetra's have noticeable spots. Hopefully should see some of these disappear by Thursday or Friday. If not I will medicate the tank as much as I loathe putting chemicals in the tank.

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Day 5 - 3/26/09
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Did a 25% water change last night, added more salt (about half a tabelespoon). Today I Noticed that none of the other fish have the little white specks on them except for the two Tetra's that were bad this whole time, and even they seem to be losing some of the specks. The Molly has not been scratching herself today either that I've noticed. Not getting hopes up yet because the little suckers may just be hiding out reproducing and waiting for a host to swim by...we shall see.


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Day 8 - 3/29/09
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Another couple of 25% water changes the past 2 days, virtually all traces of ICH gone. No spots on any of the fish all day yesterday and all day today. Will maintain treatment for another 2-3 days to finish off any other thermonts that may still be alive.

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Day 10 - 3/31/09
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Checked today and still no traces of ICH, going to gradually bring temp down to 78 or 79F over the next 24 hours and then do another water change and not add any salt. Hopefully after 4 days without the spots they won't come back, but you never know. Regardless, I feel my Tetras have had enough of this salt and heat this month. Here's hoping it's gone for good!

cmoreland

Another thing I should mention is that I've been vacuuming the gravel during every water change, this I'm assuming helped out although it would impossible to get them all by doing this...

agabr123

congrats! i'm glad everyone pulled through!

sirdarksol

Congratulations!

aquarist48

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! Always nice to hear it's been defeated with the use of chemicals.

Beth1965

Cmoreland: Could you kindly give us an update with this? I have been trying to educate myself with the dreaded ich, better to know about it before it happens to my fish. Thanks
Beth

caymansarah

Thanks so much for the diary and amounts of salt added - this is really useful...We don't have ich now but in the future this is great to know...

Lucy

This thread is an excellent example of how ich can be cured without meds.

The one thing I'd like to point out is not all fish tolerate salt.
So, just do some research on your fish before adding it.

Moe Jacob

Glad to hear you had success ... pasted into a word document "just in case" ... I appreciate the diary.

Moe Jacob

So I look in my 5 gallon today and see my small goldfish with ICH! ... I have added 1 tsp after a water change and will add another tsp in the morning ... keep your fingers crossed!

ray_sj

I also just finished ich treatment with my neons. In my case, I used only high temperature to treat them. I caught the ich early when there were just a few spots. I ramped the temp up to 87F over the course of a few days and held it there for 3 weeks, just to be sure. I did a thorough gravel vac every other day or so. It seems to have worked well, as I haven't seen any signs of ich for more than a week now. The neons didn't appear to even notice the high temp.

Raevyna

We were also able to cure ICH in our freshwater tanks without medication. We didn't even need to raise our water temperature- just the salt and frequent water changes did the trick. The best thing to do is to catch it right away while the fish only has a very small spot or two. It's actually been beneficial to throw in a little bit of salt here and there, even when there is no sign of ICH. The salt seems to help keep the fish healthy.

I would also like to mention that I don't like to raise my water temperature because I always seem to have increased algae growth when I do. So I'm glad we didn't need to do it for the ICH.

sirdarksol

Most folks around here don't add salt to their tanks. Salt generally stresses fish out. It messes with the osmosis in their cells.
The original reason salt worked for so many aquarists is because it raises the mineral content of soft water, easing osmotic stress in fish that are typically used to hard water (the flip of this is that adding salt to a tank that contains fish that prefer soft water is actually making things more difficult for the fish). It also irritates the fishes' skin, causing them to create more slime coat in response. The extra slime coat helps protect against parasites and diseases that run rampant in poorly-kept tanks (which included most tanks kept several decades ago, when salt was popular).
We now know that there are better ways to both reduce osmotic stress (mineral additives that mimic a fishes' natural habitat) and to improve slime coat (mixes that often include aloe, which soothes the fish as it adds slime).