Parrot cichlid and others with Ich

Hello. I’ve had an outbreak of ich in my 30g tank with my parrot cichlid and tiger barbs and I’ve also treated with the heat method and aquarium salt. Unfortunately, the heater I’ve had has not been able to raise temp to high enough temp anymore and i was unable to get a higher quality heater until yesterday. I have the new one and another heater in tank right now and have the temp around 86.5 and trying to get to 87 to completely rid my fish of their current ich and suck them up and everything. Keeping the temperature stable has been the worst part and my poor parrot has quite a lot of spots on her, all very tiny. I am unsure how long the tank has had ich exactly but it’s been a few days. I started doing water changes and supplementing garlic pieces. Any other tips or suggestions? My parrot seems u happy but still has a large appetite

 

There's not much else to do. With the temp above 86F the Ich should stop reproducing now as long as it's not a heat resistant strain. It may take a few days before you notice any improvement, in fact it may appear initially to get worse because there may still be some in the water column that are yet to attach and some on the fish that have not become visible. A daily light vacuum over the top of the substrate might be worthwhile. Ensure that you have plenty of aeration.

 

There's not much else to do. With the temp above 86F the Ich should stop reproducing now as long as it's not a heat resistant strain. It may take a few days before you notice any improvement, in fact it may appear initially to get worse because there may still be some in the water column that are yet to attach and some on the fish that have not become visible. A daily light vacuum over the top of the substrate might be worthwhile. Ensure that you have plenty of aeration.

Thank you for the reply. I was able to finally raise my temp to 88 degrees in case it is more heat reisistant but mainly because I was unable to get sufficient heaters until few days ago. My fish seem to be okay in higher temp and I started light vaccumes and I’m hoping it’s not too late!

 

Hello. I’ve unfortunately been dealing with ich outbreak in my 30g parrot cichlid and community fish tank. Wasn’t able to properly heat treat tank until past few days. Fish seem to be okay for the most part with high 80s temp but I’m wondering what the ideal temp to rid ich and make them drop off fish is since I know some strains are more resistant to heat than others. In the past, 86 degrees has worked for me but this has been more drastic due to timing. My parrot seems to maybe have shed some of her ich but still has some small ones. The tanks at around 87-88 degrees for past 2-3 days. Been doing water changes and adding aquarium salt and garlic everyday.

 

87-88 should do it. If it doesn't I think it's safer to lower the temp and treat with meds rather than raise the temp even higher. The heat itself doesn't cause them to fall off the fish. They fall off the fish naturally after a few days when they stop feeding at the end of that life stage. Heat just stops them reproducing at that point when they fall off. That's why it can take several days before you start to see the effect of heat treatment.

 

87-88 should do it. If it doesn't I think it's safer to lower the temp and treat with meds rather than raise the temp even higher. The heat itself doesn't cause them to fall off the fish. They fall off the fish naturally after a few days when they stop feeding at the end of that life stage. Heat just stops them reproducing at that point when they fall off. That's why it can take several days before you start to see the effect of heat treatment.

Yes I’m aware the temp doesn’t kill the ich. Even though I wish it did! I personally want to stick with heat and water changes and salt because interrupting the heating method and jumping to meds can often cause more complications and stress. At least that’s what I have found in my own experience

 

I have read as low as 84 on some sites for treating ich. 85 and above seems to be the general consensus, though. Certainly more natural seeming that way. Both ways have their risks depending on the fish. But you can add extra aeration at least to help the fish deal with the heat.

 

Yes I’m aware the temp doesn’t kill the ich. Even though I wish it did! I personally want to stick with heat and water changes and salt because interrupting the heating method and jumping to meds can often cause more complications and stress. At least that’s what I have found in my own experience

Fair enough. My comment is influenced by my last encounter with Ich where I began with heat treatment and even 89F didn't work. It was obviously a heat resistant strain (common here nowadays) and I had to go back to meds. I only lost one fish but the whole process took nearly 6 weeks all up due to the change in treatment.

Hopefully that doesn't happen in your case and the heat will work.

 

I have read as low as 84 on some sites for treating ich. 85 and above seems to be the general consensus, though. Certainly more natural seeming that way. Both ways have their risks depending on the fish. But you can add extra aeration at least to help the fish deal with the heat.

Yes I have my 2 air stones and have tank water lower to create more waterfall from filter for more aeration too. I would’ve had normal mid 80s if my heaters were working when I first saw the ich. Had to get new ones etc last minute

Fair enough. My comment is influenced by my last encounter with Ich where I began with heat treatment and even 89F didn't work. It was obviously a heat resistant strain (common here nowadays) and I had to go back to meds. I only lost one fish but the whole process took nearly 6 weeks all up due to the change in treatment.

Hopefully that doesn't happen in your case and the heat will work.

That’s very unfortunate and it scares me to think of the horrible heat resistant strains. Just wondering, I’ve had fish get ich many times before but this outbreak has been scariest because of inability to act upon treatment sooner. How do you know it’s officially receding in terms of the ich? I personally believe my parrot has less ich spots from the other day but they’re still tiny, not swollen to the point where they would drop I think? It’s just difficult to know if it’s actually working

 

It is difficult to know you can only monitor them and consider the trend over at least several days which will cover most of the Ich life cycle at that temp.