JMullen

Hi everyone. Im new to fishlore however I have been reading your forums for a while. The aquarium I am having problems with is 47 gallons and has been up and running since January 1st 2009. Over the past few days I have been noticing a few of my rosy barbs with what looks like a salty looking substance on their fins. Today I have noticed that a few of the rosy barbs are trying to rub their fins and bodies on the gravel. I researched things on the internet and what I have seen on them appears to be ICH. How do I treat them? Can I treat all of the fish in the tank at the same time?
In my aquarium right now I have the following fish
1 Angelfish
1 Black swordtail
1 Blue gourami
5 Rosy barbs
4 Black Tetras
4 Dwarf rainbow fish
3 assorted cories
1 bristlenosed pleco.
I have two Marine Land filters running and the temp has been between 78 and 82. I have tested and the only area that has been showing up is nitrates but I believe it is low under 40 PPM. I read on fishlore that most people do a 50 percent water change then add medicine.What is the best way to treat my fish so they can get better?

peacemaker92

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

Most of the members here recommend anyone having ich problems to raise your tank temperature to kill the living spores. Do regular gravel vacuums and cleaning and also keep up with your water changes. Don't use any meds unless it gets too severe. Keep the temperature at 84 for 2 weeks. Keep us updated. Good luck and hope you enjoy your stay here in FL!

EDIT: Oh nearly forgot, it would be safe to have your nitrates between the section of 10 to 20. How often do you do water changes?

JMullen

We have been doing 25 % water changes once per week. I have vacuumed the gravel 1 time a week as well. What is too severe for the fish the rosy barbs appear to be the most unhappy trying to rub themselves on the gravel. One of the rosy barbs has it more severe than the others. Most of the other fish seem ok. How long should I wait after doing water changes and vacuuming the gravel before I should see an improvement in my fish? If I wait will I be able to treat all of them or not?

peacemaker92

Continue what you've been doing and leave the temperature at the controlled level for 2 weeks. You should see improvement after that, if not, then meds would be the last thing to do. I've never experienced any fish with rubbing themselves on the gravel so I'm sure a more experienced member on that can come along soon.

aquarist48

Good morning Jmullen and Welcome to Fish Lore.

Sorry to hear that your fish are dealing with ICH. As stated above, raise your temperature to 84/85 degrees and leave it there for two weeks. Do two gravel vacuums each week to remove the spores that fall off the fish and into the substrate. Make sure your new water is the same temperature as your tank water. Warmer water requires more oxygen so an air stone should be added if you aren't currently using one. ICH may get worse before it gets better. ICH cannot reproduce in temperatures over 82 degrees so they begin to die off during these two weeks. Even if the fish appear to be free of the parasite after a few days do not reduce your temperature until after the 2 weeks is up.

The fish are rubbing on the gravel trying to remove the parasite. It's also called "flashing" or "glancing".

Here is a link on ICH you may find helpful and interesting. Please note: we no longer recommend using salt for treatment as stated in the link. Salt could do more harm than good, causing the fish to produce too much body slime stressing the fish even more.
Ich: An Old Cure for an Old Disease

I agree with the statement only medicate as a last resort. A lot of medicines can destroy your cycle causing even more problems.

Best wishes for a full speedy recovery!
Ken

peacemaker92

Great explanation from Ken. Thanks! haha

Good luck and best wishes to your fishies.