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it might be ich , but my tank seems to have once again an ich problem. i just did a water change and added salt. is this good enough. my clown loaches seem to have it the most.

Salt is very bad for clown loaches. You'll need to do a water change to remove the salt. Make sure you match the temp exact. Technically you'd need to do a 100% change to remove all the salt. However this is not likely possible. Do a 20-50% change now. Again it's very important to match the water temp.

Tanks with clowns need special medical treatment when it comes to ich. One medication that I know of that has been mentioned as loach safe is Rid Ich plus.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"There’s an emptiness inside her. And she’d do anything to fill it in.
And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now. It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows. And setting fire to this life."

Also bettachris, get ahold of Whetu, she had ich problems with her clownloaches earlier this year, and Gary was able to help her at the time, so she knows what to do...hml

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

bettachris..

If you are having repeated bouts of Ich you need to find the cause before you do anything and work to correct that.

Salt can be used with Clowns safely, you just have to monitor the amount you use and be cautious how you add it. No, it won't be enough but it can assist in the healing by introducing electrolytes to your water. You need to treat with meds. What other fish do you have in the tank and are there any Invertebrates or live plants?

Gary advised Whetu to use the heat method which can be very risky. You can do more harm than good trying to do it this way.

I've heard good things about the Rid Ich Plus that Babel mentioned. I personnally am a big fan of Coppersafe. Alot depends on the particulars of the tank itself though.

Bettachris, do you use any water conditioners that say "neutralizes heavy metals" to treat your water?

Last edited by Tammy at 04-Mar-2005 07:13

Ick Guard II was my salvation with the clown loaches. Mine fought ick for three weeks + and finally came through once I used the Ick Guard II.

Do not change treatments if you have already added copper to the water. You must remove every trace of copper before mixing something else into the water.

Also, I believe Tammy asked if you are using water conditioners. Beware: if they "neutralize heavy metals" and you are using copper, the water conditioner may render the copper ineffective.

Good luck