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Hi all - My fishies got Ick while I was on vacation. I've been treating them with QuickCure using the 1/2 dose instructions as I have Tetras. I've also turned off the lights and wrapped the tank in a dark sheet and I've raised the temp to 85.

What worries me is that it's been 11 days and I'm still seeing new spots on the fish. I lost most of my fish and it's been a few days since any more have died, but there are new spots turning up every day. I'm getting worried aobut this because my plants are dying from lack of light and the fish are not getting any better.

Any ideas what else I could do?

It's not necessary to turn off the lights to cure ich. You should be able to dose, raise temp and the medicine should kill the ich when it falls off the fish.

Are you running co2 into the tank. If yes, you should stop co2 if lights are off. I've always used coppersafe at 1/2 strength for tetras. I simply raised temp to about 82 and within 10 days it was gone.


My Scapes

Hmm, I've read numerous places both on this forum and elsewhere that sugest turning off the lights. Something to do with the ick meds being sensitive to light.

ive never turned off the lights when my fish got ick i just used melafix and the same stuff that u are using but with tetras i would think it would be a lil diffrent. like u said you did half doses not the full treatment.

You have raised the temperature of the tank to speed up the life cycle of this protozoa. At 70F the three phase cycle takes 4 weeks at 80F it takes 5 days and you must generally go through two or more cycles to eliminate the disease while dosing.

You are using half doses of the medication as a daily full dose treatment without a water chnage may be hazardous to your fish. Typically:

DAY 1
o Raise water temperaure to 85F or more,
o Do 50% water change with thorough vacuum of substrate,
o Remove charcoal from filter as well as an chemical filtration,
o Dose at 50% strength,
Day 2
o Dose at 50% strength,
Day 3
o Do 50% water change,
o Dose at 50% strength,
Day 4
o Dose at 50% strength,
Day 5
o Do 50% water change,
o Dose at 50% strength

The water changes ensure good water conditions and prevent a toxic build-up of the medication (poison) in the aquarium. The need for water changes may dictate a need for a hospital tank with the note that the protozoa still exists in the main tank. The protozoa is susceptible to treatment ONLY during the free swimming stage.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 12-Jan-2006 13:27

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Turning the lights out is used to reduce stress...not help cure the ich. You don't have to make it totally dark though(the sheet).
If your meds are not working then i suggest using Kent Marine RX-P...its safe for FW and cories and loaches. You dose every other day for 7 doses. It worked great for me.

Also, it usually takes about 2 weeks for the ich to be gone...sometimes longer. And remember to treat the tank for atleast a week after the last spot is gone...to make sure you don't get it again.

Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 13-Jan-2006 16:54

*Kristin*

Unknowingly I introduced a pearl gourami and a gold gourami to my 46 gal bowfront tank that had ich. I started using Kordon Prevent Ich every day as recommended. It says 20% water change after 1 week. My powder blue dwarf gourami is now showing signs of it and is looking lumpy and listless. Should I do water change earlier?

Bob - I was doing basically what you said, it just took a couple of weeks for the ich to go away, despite the high temp.

Anyway, it's gone now! The fish are all clear as of Thursday, but I'm going to treat them for a while longer to make sure it's gone gone gone.

A few of my plants didn't make it, but for the most part they survived.

Thanks for the help everyone.