acolli51

Hello, I am sad to report that 2 of my fish seem to have ICH (I'm 98% sure but I have never seen it before). My rubber-lip pleco and my HRP both appear to have tiny white spots developing, the pleco looks quite infested. This happened almost over night it seems. I am slowly turning up the temp and will buy an air stone tomorrow if I can. I am mainly curious as to if my fish will be ok at 84-85F. They are a severum, honduran red point, krib and the RL pleco. I guess I have no other option so I'll just take my chances but I don't want the temp to do them in. Oh yeah, and is 84 the minimum temp that will kill ICH? My tank was at 78 but I'm slowly raising it. Thanks for any comments.

Shawnie

anytime we have to raise the temp, its hard on them..but so is the ich.,,,adding extra oxygen is best as well as the 2 gravel vacs a week ..keeping the 84F steady for 2 weeks is priority..dont let the temps change when you do gravel vacs.......good luck!

acolli51

Thanks Shawnie, I figured the high temp was the lesser of two evils. Also, does salt help? It seems to be a highly debated topic but I have heard that at least a little salt will help kill the ich as well.

Meenu

Many people think salt isn't necessary. what it does is irritate the fish, forcing them to over-produce slime coat because they are stressed. I think you should try without it, personally.

Salt used to be widely recommended, but isn't as much anymore. Also, your pleco would prefer his water unsalted.

acolli51

Ok thanks, I'll try without the salt then.

harpua2002

They're stressed regardless from the ich parasite. Salt does help kill ich IME; it's worked for me many times when I was working at a LFS (you'd be surprised how often fish arrive to a store covered in ich). Also, I've treated several cases of ich where the temp had to go to 87-89 just to kill it. Sometimes, 84-85 won't do it so I bump it up higher- most fish tolerate high temps just fine for a couple weeks.

I would never recommend using aquarium salt except for treating a case of ich.

Meenu

True, true... Harpua, what about the pleco? I thought they really do poorly with salt?

harpua2002

They do. I'd cut the dose in half. I wouldn't treat a pleco or any other fish with salt for any reason other than ich, but if the temp alone can't kill the ich it is more dangerous to the fish than a half dose of salt.

acolli51

Good point harpua, the ich may be more dangerous than the salt. I think I will pick some up just to have and may end up using a small amount. How much do you recommend using and would sea salt or salt with no iodine be ok to use or should I buy the aquarium salt from a fish store? Thanks for the help, this forum really is a lifesaver.

aquarist48

Hello Acolli. Sorry to hear that you're dealing with ICH. The salt you would be looking for is "fresh water aquarium salt" that you can purchase at your local fish store (LFS). You don't want to add marine, cichlid or any type of table salt.

Using salt is widely debated. Do what you feel is best for your fish. We can only give advice, opinions and make suggestions but the final decision is yours of course Remember we all only want what is best for your fish.

Here is a link to the salt that some folks use in freshwater tanks:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4982
Best wishes.
Ken

acolli51

Ok thanks, I picked up some of the API salt in the link from my lfs along with an air pump and air stone. The tank is at 84-85F now and treatment is under way. I am using about 1/2 the recommended dose of salt (about 1 tablespoon per 10 gal instead of per 5 gal). I am going to very slowly add the salt over 2 days or so. I'll keep everyone updated on how it works out and thanks so much for the advice and opinions. So far the only fish that seems stressed is the pleco but he seemed rather stressed before the temp increase and salt.

acolli51

Well I lost the HRP a couple of days ago . Nothing is out of the ordinary as far as water chem goes. The temp has been at 84-85 since the 16th and I put in about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of API aquarium salt per day since then (about 8 tblspn worth are in now). All the other fish seem to be doing fine and do not show visible signs anymore. They are active and eating very well. Hopefully the rest will make it through until the 30th or so. On the upside I think I will be getting a pair of the Australoheros Oblongum instead to put in with my others after the tank is back to stable and clean conditions.

Meenu

I'm sorry you lost him.