Help, Emerald has Ich

She has ich and the temp isn't doing anything to kill it. What type of meds could I use to kill it? I am really worried because Emerald hadn't seemed to good since I changed the water and got rid of the blue-green algae.
Tom

 

What is the temp set at? How long has she had ICH? It usually takes 14 days for the ICH to completely die off. Natalie

 

The temp is at 83F and has been that way for a about a week and I noticed the ich last night and forgot about it(going to bed) until now.
Tom

 

Is she by herself? If she is you want to increase the temp slowly to 85. The 85 degree temp is the only thing that will kill the parasite off because they can't handle temps like that. It is important that you leave it at this temp for a full 14 days because if you don't the parasite can come back. You don't need meds to get rid of ICH unless the 85 degree temp isn't working. If she is in with other fish she needs to be isolated from them because it is highly contageous. Natalie

 

She is in a 5 gallon split with her sister Ruby. I will move her as soon as my homework is done.
Tom

 

From thekrib
***** HOW TO TREAT ICH (THE IMPORTANT STUFF) *****

1. Check your water quality!!!!!! 9 times out of 10, the fish can
do fine with a few Ichthyophthirius in the water, but when they are
stressed by anything, like questionable water quality, it makes it much
easier for the little buggers to set up shop in your fish's skin.

2. Do a 50% water change, just to be safe.

3. Add 3 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon to your tank. This
reduces the osmotic stress on the fish caused by the invading organisms,
and may adversely affect the organism as well.

4. Pick up an ich medication of your choice at the local fish
mart. Most of the ones that are sold are more or less effective. My personal
favorite is a malachite green/formaldehyde combination sold under the brand
name "Quick Cure". ("RidIch" has the same ingredients.) Note: Most people
recommend halving the dose of Malachite-containing medications if you are
treating small catfish, any scaleless catfish, or tetras.

***** 5. DISREGARD THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!! Use the DOSE
written on the bottle, but treat like this: Treat every 3 to 4 days for 4
treatments, changing 50% of the water before every treatment. Do NOT
treat once or twice, like the directions will tell you! You need to treat
over 12 to 16 days in order to get all the little guys when they are
vulnerable. (See life cycle diagram for explanation)

(Excuse the digression here, but this is my chance to vent my
frustration at the aquarium trade -- I think they purposefully give poor
medicating information so that the consumer will treat only partially,
and knock down the parasite burden only enough to temporarily cure the
fish! Because not all the organisms are dead, they will bounce back in a
few weeks or months, and the poor consumer has to run out and but more of
the ich medication! What a scam!!)

Other things which may help:

6. Raise the temperature in the tank above 85 degrees for 5-7
days. The tomites do very poorly at these temperatures, and it also
speeds up the life cycle so more organisms are vulnerable to killing at any
time.

7. You can use a diatomaceous earth filter to decrease the number
of infective tomites.

8. Move fish to a clean tank after 7 days. This reduces
reinfection by tomites left behind after the initial treatments.

 

You do not need medication. The best thing to do is just to do what I told you to do with the temp. The temp is the most important thing. I know you probably got this artive off somewhere, but I have never done any of that and I have had ICH before with one of my Bettas in the past abd I did was the temp and it was gone in 2 weeks. What ever you do DO NOT put aquarium salt in thetank. All the aquarium salt does is make the slime coat thicker and the ICH will just thrive more because it will act as a blanket for them. I promise you that if you just increase the temp to 85 Emerald will be fine and will get over in it the 2 weeks it takes to kill it off. Natalie

 

You can also use Parasite Clear by Jungle Labs. It's cheap and effective and also contains antibacterial meds to prevent infections sometimes caused by the parasites.

I wouldn't use the info you found. I've used Parasite Clear for gill flukes and it's always worked very quickly.

 

I moved her over to the spare 5 gallon that I have in another room. I am going to treat her in a separate tank.
Tom

 

Keep an eye on Ruby. Ich is very contagious. If one has it they probably both do. Parasite Clear can be used to treat the whole tank and prevent Ruby from getting sick too.

 

I'd keep them both in the tank at 85 for 2 weeks and use Ich-Attack (made by Kordon). It's an organic, herbal med and does good without dropping chemicals in. it won't harm the good bacteria and is safe for all fish.

 

Keep an eye on Ruby. Ich is very contagious. If one has it they probably both do. Parasite Clear can be used to treat the whole tank and prevent Ruby from getting sick too.

Well, Ruby passed away last night. Emerald seems to be doing better
though since I moved into her own 5 gallon. I am really sad though.
Tom

 

we're really sorry that you lost her.

 

I'm so sorry tp hear about Ruby. I'm glad that Emerald is doing better for you though.

 

I'm so sorry tp hear about Ruby. I'm glad that Emerald is doing better for you though.

Ya, she is starting to be more full of life.
Tom

 

we're glad to hear that emerald is getting better.

Ya, she is starting to be more full of life.
Tom