Raising The Temperature For Ich

One of my fish died yesterday, so I took a close look at the other fish and noticed that my fish seem to be suffering from ich. I bought some Quick Cure and and put that in the tank, but I've also read in various places that raising the temperature of the aquarium can help fix ich. I've never adjusted the temperature of my tank (it's about 76 degrees F), so I'm nervous about making it too hot for my fish. I have marble angels, tetras, barbs, and a pleco. Any advice on what a safe temperature raise would be, if one at all? Thanks in advance.

 

And, of course, I post this in the wrong forum. *sigh* My apologies.

 

Looking it up - Angels can go to 82, Tetras to 82, Barbs to 78 & Plecos to 84 so you probably could safely raise it to 82-84 for a while. I believe fish can tolerate higher temps for a shorter time, just not long term and the only ones out of their 'comfort' range at that temp would be the Barbs. We're new to the fish world, but you can check and see if more experienced members agree. A post on the Barbs forum might help get confirmation on them being ok at 82-84 for a while.

 

Thank you so much for your reply (and thanks to whoever moved this to the right forum).  I think I'm gonna nudge the temp up when I get home.  I had been more worried about the angels because I read somewhere that they should be in water no warmer than 70 degrees...which kind of freaked me out and confused me, since I've had the tank at 76 degrees.  I got my tank going back in January, and besides one seemingly random death, I hadn't had any problems yet, so I'm pretty upset.   :'(

 

Thank you so much for your reply (and thanks to whoever moved this to the right forum). I think I'm gonna nudge the temp up when I get home. I had been more worried about the angels because I read somewhere that they should be in water no warmer than 70 degrees...which kind of freaked me out and confused me, since I've had the tank at 76 degrees. I got my tank going back in January, and besides one seemingly random death, I hadn't had any problems yet, so I'm pretty upset. :'(

There is so much conflicting information around the web.. even here you'll find different opinions at times, but I find the best advice here in the forums from people who've been at this for years.. and way better advice than I get from the pet store people who don't seem to know or care about the fish. I hope the rest of your fish do well and with a temp. increase you'll probably see the ick clear up within a couple weeks.. 78 seems to be a pretty safe temp for most tropical freshwater fish, give or take 4 degrees. Good luck with all your fish & welcome to Fishlore.

 

When I got home last night, I checked the temperature of the tank. Even though I still had it set at 76, the thermometer was reading 80, so I was hesitant to crank the temp too much...I just nudged it up a little for now. I also vacuumed the gravel and did about a 20% water change.

On the positive side, all of my fish are still behaving normally. They are swimming and eating as usual.

 

When I got home last night, I checked the temperature of the tank. Even though I still had it set at 76, the thermometer was reading 80, so I was hesitant to crank the temp too much...I just nudged it up a little for now. I also vacuumed the gravel and did about a 20% water change.

On the positive side, all of my fish are still behaving normally. They are swimming and eating as usual.

what's the thermostat for the house say the temp is? In the room our tanks are in, it will be 3-4 degrees warmer than whatever the air temp is OR the heater temp, whichever is higher. I'm glad their behavior is normal - sounds like a good sign.

 

Our thermostat is set at 65, but Michigan really warmed up yesterday (it was 81 degrees outside!), so the house was a lot warmer than usual.

 

Our thermostat is set at 65, but Michigan really warmed up yesterday (it was 81 degrees outside!), so the house was a lot warmer than usual.

Lately here, the house has been around 74-79 inside depending on the time of day, so the tanks have been going from 78-82.. the heaters are set to kick in around 76-78, so they've not had to go on in a while.. probably won't have them go on again until late oct. or nov.

 

Taylor (lemon tetra) died yesterday. He was stuck to the filter when I got home from work. I unplugged the filter as fast as I could, but he was already gone. :'( He was the sickest one, so I guess I'm not surprised he passed, but I'd just been very hopeful that he'd get better.

 

Taylor (lemon tetra) died yesterday. He was stuck to the filter when I got home from work. I unplugged the filter as fast as I could, but he was already gone. :'( He was the sickest one, so I guess I'm not surprised he passed, but I'd just been very hopeful that he'd get better.

i'm sorry to hear that.. hard to lose the little guys. You did what you could & i'm sure he was gone before he stuck to the filter. how is the tank temp now? how are the rest of your fish looking?

 

When I left the house this morning, the tank was at 82. I'm mostly concerned about my marble angel Fitzgerald now. He's got a bit of ich on his sides, although not as bad as Taylor's was, and his fins are looking a little rough. He also hid inside the pirate ship last night, which he'd never done before. We didn't even think he could fit through the opening to get in! I was nervous he wouldn't be able to figure out how to get out...but he came out for food this morning...and then went back in. He popped out before I left though. It's kind of cute because my other marble angel Jasper (aka Mini-Fitz) is his little buddy, and while Fitz is in the ship, Jasper sticks close to one of the openings to be by him.

I feel better that I am at least trying to help, so I really appreciate all of the advice! I really hope Fitzgerald will be okay. He was the first fish I got for this tank, and he's my favorite. :'(

 

When I left the house this morning, the tank was at 82. I'm mostly concerned about my marble angel Fitzgerald now. He's got a bit of ich on his sides, although not as bad as Taylor's was, and his fins are looking a little rough. He also hid inside the pirate ship last night, which he'd never done before. We didn't even think he could fit through the opening to get in! I was nervous he wouldn't be able to figure out how to get out...but he came out for food this morning...and then went back in. He popped out before I left though. It's kind of cute because my other marble angel Jasper (aka Mini-Fitz) is his little buddy, and while Fitz is in the ship, Jasper sticks close to one of the openings to be by him.

I feel better that I am at least trying to help, so I really appreciate all of the advice! I really hope Fitzgerald will be okay. He was the first fish I got for this tank, and he's my favorite. :'(

That is cute how they're buddies and Fitz has found a new spot to hang out in. I hope the heat increase will show you some improvement within a week.. If you can, you might want to pick up a med for clearing ich.. better to not need it & have it than need it & not have it.. kind of why we got some trisulfa today & novaqua+. I don't know for sure if it would help, but NovAqua+ is a water conditioner that's supposed to enhance the slime coating and may help them get over the ich but I'm not really sure.. Just some ideas is all really.. right now, it's that fun waiting-to-see stage and the best thing to do is check each day on the amount of ich that you see.. when you see it decreasing, you're on the way.

 

Just a quick update...

Fitzgerald seems like he's doing a LITTLE better...but not a whole lot.  Plus, some of the other fish have been chasing him, so that's not helping.  It's kind of cute because Jasper has been swimming along side of him at times, and when one of the other fish (usually the rosy barb Conor) would try to come up to Fitz and bug him, Jasper would chase him away.     While we were out tonight though, we stopped and got a little 2 gallon tank kit so that we'll have a hospital tank.  I know it's pretty small, but I really shouldn't have spent any money at all, and we still had to buy a heater, a thermometer, gravel and a plant, so I spent about $52 as it is.   We got it set up and let it go for about a couple hours to get the temperature stabilized.  I put Fitzgerald in before bed.  I cried because I felt so bad to rip him from his nice big tank and put him in there...but it's just because I'm trying to do what's best for him!   :'(  I actually got out of bed and wandered online because I can't sleep. :-\

 

Just a quick update...

Fitzgerald seems like he's doing a LITTLE better...but not a whole lot. Plus, some of the other fish have been chasing him, so that's not helping. It's kind of cute because Jasper has been swimming along side of him at times, and when one of the other fish (usually the rosy barb Conor) would try to come up to Fitz and bug him, Jasper would chase him away. While we were out tonight though, we stopped and got a little 2 gallon tank kit so that we'll have a hospital tank. I know it's pretty small, but I really shouldn't have spent any money at all, and we still had to buy a heater, a thermometer, gravel and a plant, so I spent about $52 as it is. We got it set up and let it go for about a couple hours to get the temperature stabilized. I put Fitzgerald in before bed. I cried because I felt so bad to rip him from his nice big tank and put him in there...but it's just because I'm trying to do what's best for him! :'( I actually got out of bed and wandered online because I can't sleep. :-\

A 2-gallon will make a fine hospital tank and you certainly did it up nice for him. He might fuss a little at first, but I think he's happy just to get the attention he needs and he'll adjust for the time it takes to get him healthy and it'll be much less stressful than fighting ich and other fish. Maybe he'll even like having you to himself (in his eyes) Hope you're sleeping now because you're taking good care of your little guy.

 

He seems to be doing all right in the tank. When I put food in this morning, he ignored it, which worried me. But about five minutes later, he started eating. Looked like he got a few flakes. ;D

 

Here's a pic!   ;D

 

He seems to be doing all right in the tank. When I put food in this morning, he ignored it, which worried me. But about five minutes later, he started eating. Looked like he got a few flakes. ;D

Sounds like he might have been pouting at you or just still getting 'settled in' to his new environment. Tank looks great.

 

He's eating plenty now! He's figured out a way to let me know if he wants more food. The notch that my boyfriend cut in the lid of the tank so that it would fit around the heater has a small bit of extra space around it where I can drop in food flakes .I just have to be careful that they don't get stuck to the side of the heater before they hit the water. Well, after I put in some flakes for Fitz this morning, he ate those and then stayed right by that spot until I put another flake in. He did that a couple more times, and then he left...so he must have been satisfied.

 

He's eating plenty now! He's figured out a way to let me know if he wants more food. The notch that my boyfriend cut in the lid of the tank so that it would fit around the heater has a small bit of extra space around it where I can drop in food flakes .I just have to be careful that they don't get stuck to the side of the heater before they hit the water. Well, after I put in some flakes for Fitz this morning, he ate those and then stayed right by that spot until I put another flake in. He did that a couple more times, and then he left...so he must have been satisfied.

LOL.. I love that! You've got a bit of a character there, huh? Glad to hear he's doing well and eating as much as he wants.

 

He died last night. Totally unexpected. He'd been doing so well, we figured he'd go back in the regular tank this weekend. I'm heartbroken. :'(

 

He died last night. Totally unexpected. He'd been doing so well, we figured he'd go back in the regular tank this weekend. I'm heartbroken. :'(

Aww. :'( REALLY sorry to hear that, it's a total surprise as he seemed to be on the way back. We're very sorry for your loss, he was a great little fish and you took the best care of him. He had a very good fish life and sounds like he was happy right up to the end. It's hard when you lose the special ones, but you're going to always have the good memories of him. *hugs* from your fellow fish parents.

 

All you have to do is put in the quick cure you got and don't adjust anything that is what I do and I have no problems the ich disappears