platyfish

The dreaded Ick has struck my tank!! Good thing i caught it in its earliest stage... I have one platy with one whitespot so far. I put him in a little breeder for ten minutes and dissolved 1/4 of a ick treatment tablet, which I hope will cure the issue. I know that they multiply very rapidly! I have already raised the temperature from 79 to 81 slowly and will keep it there for a week or two because I have read that higher temperatures will help them die.

Any other suggestions? I don't want to add much salt because my plecos won't enjoy that. I add one teaspoon per 5 gallon bucket when i do water changes, and they seem to like that.

Thanks!! and Happy New Year!

And i forgot to say the one whitespot is on his nose!!

Shawnie

the temps have to be 84-85F ...81 wont do anything and since you can visually see the ICH, the entire tank is infected now so do this to the main tank for 2 weeks even if the spots go away...add extra airation as warmer temps have less oxygen..do 2 gravel vacs a week to get up the ich spores..plecs do not care for salt at all and it will just stress them out more...and make fish overproduce slime coat...its more of an old school way and much easier methods to use now a days...but make sure its ich and not something from banging herself on something in the tank or someone picking on her...is the tank cycled? is the platy new to the tank? something has stressed her out to cause the ich unless shes new to you...good luck!

platyfish

Wow 84-85 F!!! I am sending these fish to a Caribbean vacation in these warm temperatures!! lol Well I do have multiple pregnant platies so that would make the process quicker... I will wait until tmrw evening to make sure it is ICH and not just a little skin irritation from bumping into something, anyways i already raised the temperature so I don't want to shock them with heat. I can add more aeration, a couple extra airstones and another pump will do the trick. I usually do 2-3 gravel vacs a week in my routine. What are the much easier methods to use now a days instead of salt? And yes, the tank has been cycled about 3 years ago. This particular platy has been with me since day 1!! Is it true that the ICH is always in the aquarium, its just the fish are healthy enough to defend themselves?

Thanks!!

Shawnie

ich is identical to the human cold virus.its always there, but you dont always get a cold...and yes all fish carry it but never get it unless stressed, bad diet, bad tank parimeters, or their immune systems are down...

salt can be replaced with stress coat+ or better diet like garlic in their food to help their immune system ...

platyfish

Thanks! Is the garlic they like, the minced garlic in the little glass jar that is stored in the fridge?

Shawnie

thats what I use! i soak all my fish babies pellets and fresh meat in it for a bit.,,certainly flakes wont work with it LOL (been there made a mess)..and i even feed small bits of that to them once a week...

platyfish

I just dropped in a couple of small pieces of garlic, and they sunk like rocks!

platyfish

Shawnie, will the increased temperature stress the fish? I have platies, tiger babs and a pleco in 75 gallon tank.

Shawnie

takes fish time to realize its food lol ..its like giving you vitamins/veggies as a kid ..you didnt realize they were good for you at first

platyfish

Haha im only 15!

EDIT: THE GARLIC MAKES MY ENTIRE FISH TANK STINK!!!!!

My parents walked around the living room, where my tank is located, and were looking for a puddle of pie from my dog, lol i knew it was the fish tank but didn't say anything..

Shawnie

do you eat your veggies?

platyfish

I am a lacto-vegetarian, for real... Hows your palm btw..

Shawnie

much better thanks to the toothpaste!!!!!
hopefully i can work tomorrow lol..thanks for asking
EDIT: whats a lacto-vegetarian LOL

platyfish

Its vegetarian + dairy products (cheese, milk... all the good stuff haha)

Will the higher temperatures stress my fish? I have platies, tiger babrs, black skirts and a pleco? Like 84-85 degrees? Just in case i do have to raise the temperatures tmrw night..

Shawnie

ahhhh i c.....i couldnt live without meat....no way !!

the warmer temps should be ok for 2 weeks if you have the extra air ...and they must be stressed now if you have ich and the salt will do more stress than the higher temps..but really make sure thats what it is first...it could be just a boo boo....

platyfish

Ok, well i did a water change this morning, i will do a mini-change like 5 gallons/75 gallons just to get the parasites out of the gravel, IF THATS WHAT IT IS..... I hope not!! I really do think its just a boo boo because its more of a strand attached from his nose than a "spot' . Does your tank stink like garlic after you put it in? Its unbearable!

Shawnie

LOL i dont put that much garlic in where it stinks...how much did you add?
the water changes arent as important as the good gravel vacs...if its ich, the spores can fall off the fish and go in the subtrate....by tomorrow you should know better...if its ich, she will have more spots...and it looks like grains of salt...good luck!

platyfish

I added like 8 little "pieces" Getting that out will be priority in tmrw's water change lol.

Shawnie

remember, a fishies belly is as big as their eyes so dont overfeed even if they beg...

platyfish

Haha i think i forgot about that!!

platyfish

The platy's mysterious "whitespot" has disappeared, and none of my fish have any whitespots, so I guess he must have swam into a rock or something!