kindghost

i have a 55 gl freshwater tank with 7 tiger barbs, 2 silver dollars, 1 redtail shark, and 1 pleco. i recently noticed what i'm pretty sure is ICH on my silver dollars and shark b/c my brother has had a reef tank set up for years and i've seen what ich looks like. i don't want to use any chemicals b/c i've never put one chemical in it in the 10 months that it has been set up. well what i've done is raise the temperature to 85 degrees. anyway the question at hand is will that 85 degree temperature be too hot for them? i only play to keep it up for about 4-5 days. any suggestions?

Lucy

Hi Welcome to FishLore!
I'm sorry you're having problems.
You'll need to keep the temp raised for at least 2 weeks to kill and stop the ich cycle.
Increase aeration to make up for less oxygen in the warmer water.
Do water changes and vac. the gravel to pick up any ich spores.
Good luck

kindghost

well my water has been around 85-87 degrees for about 5 days now and the ich seems to be getting worse. any advice?

Lucy

Can you post a pic? It takes 2 weeks in interupt the life cycle.
Not sure if it should be getting worse though.
If it's really bad, you might not have a choice but to medicate.

kindghost

well the 2 silver dollars were the first ones to show signs of it and a couple days after i raised the temp the ich went away on them and havnt showed up again. a few have popped up on my barbs but my shark is really bad off. he is the only one who seems to be getting worse by the day. but they all eat just like they regularly do and swim around just as if nothing was wrong. i don't want to medicate unless there is something i can use that doesn't stain my tank decorations and plants.

Lucy

Here's a good article to read up on ich, hope it helps.
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis

jprime84

Increasing the temperature will increase the lifecycle speed of the parasite. This will initially cause it to appear to get worse, however if you have the temperature at least at 86 degrees (verify with multiple thermometers at multiple locations in the tank) it should not be able to infect new fish at the start of a new lifecycle.

I did read about rare cases where there was a heat resistant strain of ich, so if you are sure your water temps are 86 or higher and its not killing it, you may need to try something else.

Lucy

I read that too. Scary thought when you want to treat without meds.

peacemaker92

Hi kindghost and Welcome To Fishlore!

Sorry you're facing this problem. Hope you're fish get well soon. Keep us posted. Good luck!