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Oh my, i have just recently found out that my tank has officially gotten ich(How do you spell it? Ick or Ich?). Everybody has it now, and i need to treat the whole tank! What meds can i use that wont disrupt the plants? Will salt work? If so, how much should i put in? I am currently using 99.20% Formaldehyde-.75%Malachite green. This is in my 20 gallon, with my stocking list on my profile. My nitrates are 15ppm, and my other parameters are A-OK. My greatest concern, though, is my plants. I am quickly running out of meds, and i need to know if salt will work. I will get more meds on thursday, perhaps(tomorrow). What can i do to relieve the ick, and cleanse the tank? ANy better meds? What are the most common brands for protozin? Sorry for asking so many questions, but i havent had ick in about a month, and only 2 fish had it. Now all 7 of them have it, and i think it is just starting. I know i couldve prevented it, but i couldnt find the original fish that was infected. I now am using 20 drops out A DAY! I removed the carbon from my filter, and now its running at reak efficency! I dont have to worry about it cycling as much as before. I just hope that somebody here has any advice on the salt treatment. THanks again!


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The plants should be fine. My biggest concern is the rainbow shark. These fish are highly sensitive to meds like malachite and formaldehyde. I wouldnt treat them with that or salt.
Kents Marine RX-P is the only thing I will treat scaleless fish with ich with.
Use extreme caution using those meds with the shark and pleco. Any sign of scratching, flicking off things, or color loss and start doing the water changes immediately.
Do NOT Overdose the tank.
Ich takes about 13 days of treatment to ensure its gone.
Good luck.



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Just a thought....can you under dose a tank? I dont want to overdose it and am now putting in 1/2 of the original ratio. I am doing this because of the sensitivity of the fish, and the decreasing funds+meds.

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Hi,
Actually, NO, you cannot "under dose."
That's the same as having your Dr. prescribe a medication
and you break the pills in half to make them last.
You would not be killing off whatever was ailing you and
you could be doing your part in creating a super bug that
was immune to that medication.

This is not an inexpensive hobby. You can, sometimes, see
a Vet, describe the problem, and show him/her various
articles about a specific disease and its treatment. Then
they will write you a prescription for that drug and you
can fill it at a regular pharmacy. In most cases it is
far less expensive than purchasing it at a LFS.

Read the container, and follow the instructions. That will
kill off whatever you are trying to control, and not affect
your fish, plants, or the bacteria in your filter. If the
instructions mention a specific fish or invertebrate it
will tell you what to do if you have that critter.
Remember, if it says when treating say, 25 gallons, and
your 25G tank has say, 3-4 inches of substrate in it, then
if you treat it as 25 gallons of water, then you are over
dosing the tank, there is not 25 gallons of water in the
tank.

It is always best to measure how much water is actually in
the tank when filling it for the first time and then
writing it down somewhere for future reference.

Frank

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Thanks Frank! I have now bought the new meds. I havent the slightest clue as to what happened?........I came home from school just to find that all but my pleco are rid of the disease.

I know the plecs+Meds+smallish tank=TROUBLE, but i cant find a place to put them in......Planning on a pond though.......An out door with water lettuce and hornwort and cabomba. That will deal with that...........

ANYWAY, I think that the disease ick is almost gone, and i underdosed for I know i have less than 20gal., and I think 20 drops was too much, so i put in less, and the ick is gone. I will still treat the tank though, for any stragglers left. But my first concern, i just want to know if the plants are fine with the meds. I cant seem to find the vet near us........odd...... I cant get the perscription though, and it seems so difficult to do. For now i will just stick with the malachite green.

Im worrying too much right?

-----Stuck Between Sick Fish!

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The plants will invariably survive treatment, they usually do. Make sure you complete the recommended course of meds. Ive used stuff with formaldehyde and all sorts of nasties in over the years, the fish were always the primary concern. I know its a shame to lose plants and all that, but they are very replaceable, whereas the fish are a more sentient being altogether. Worry about them first, and the plants after.

True...........The fish are the more problem, but i just needed to know if i should take out the plants or not. I am sure that the fish can survive the ick, as i used it on them before with no problems. Poor fish..........they are so stressed with this.....

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Hi there,

I've had Ich a couple of times in the past and have 2 community tanks with a wide variety of fish, including a plec, a black ghost, pictus cats.

Both times I used a remedy Gary gave me of turning the temp slowly up to 30*C and aerating the water for 3 days and also added 1 teaspoon natural salt per day for the 3 days. On the 3rd day I did a 75% water change and maintained the aeration and 30* temp for another 10 days.

No fish died and neither did any of the plants show any problem other than the spatterdock, but it recovered very quickly once I pruned off the wilting leaves.

Ich needs to be treated for a good time to ensure that the eggs in the substrate are treated as they hatch (a lot like human lice - kill the louse as they hatch or you wont get rid of the problem). I think you will often find too that once the fish survive an Ich attack, they will be less likely to develop it again, kind of like they build up a certain immunity to it.

Hope all goes well.
Deb
# Oops, sorry (my tank mentioned above holds 310 litres

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