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today i have noticed 2-4 white specs on 3 of my fish, which im guessing is ich. this is the first time i have ever gotten ich, so i am going to need some advice on how to deal with it. as of now, the three infected fish are my 2 striped rasboras and my clown barb. besides the white spots, they arent showing any other symptoms such as rubbing on objects or holding their fins close to their body. what i need is a medication that is loach-safe and effective, so suggestions would be greatly appreciated. my water parameters are as shown:

ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-40 (doing a water change within the next couple of minutes)
ph-7.4

thanks

Do the water change to lower the nitrates. Take any carbon out of the filter. Slowly raise the temperature to about 80-82F.

The best medication I have found for ich is Kent's Marine RX-P. It is totally safe for freshwater fish, including loaches and cories. I have used it with my yoyos and cories and they were fine. If you can find it, I would get that. It would probably be easier to find in a LFS that also sells salt water fish...that's where I found mine.

If you can't find the RX-P, I suggest Kordon's Ich Attack. It is totally organic and can be used at full strenth as well. It doesn't contain methylene blue or anything that is not safe for scaleless fish. It didn't work as fast as the RX-P, but it did work and its easier to find.

Kordon makes another type of ich med, Rid Ich, and people have suggested it to me before, but I read the ingredients and it does contain methylene blue and malachite green...so stay away from that.

The RX-P has been used on Discus fry before and was totally safe. I learned that from So_Very_Sneaky, who suggested this med to me.

*Kristin*

Hi there,
as Girlie mentioned above, she has given you
excellent instructions.
I too would recommend Kent Marine RX-P,
its safe for all fish and most inverts,
including sensitive Discus Fry.
I have used with polka dot and queen botias
as well as weather loaches, and discus.
It works fabulously and is all natural.
Make sure you wash your hands after using it,
dont touch your eyes or nose or youll be burning
for a long time (yep silly me not thinking LOL).
Follow Girlies instructions, raise the temp,
do a large water change prior, and then follow
the instructions on the RX-P bottle.
Total course of treatment is about 13-14 days.
Follow with a series of small water changes over 5-6
days to remove meds after, or use activated carbon if you
wish.


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Thanks for the useful advice and suggestions

Well, the small case of ich has now turned into a rather large case of ich, but i managed to get to my LFS today. They didnt have the RX-P or Ich Attach (or any loach-safe meds for that matter), so i was left with buying API Super Ick Cure and using a 1/2 dosage.

So far so good As of now there are only two fish left with ich, but one i am afraid wont live much longer It is a black phantom tetra who doesnt seem to be able to get rid of the ich, and now continuously gasping and not accepting food. The other fish, a lone clown barb, still has a very bad case of ich (at least 25 spots), but she is still eating and showing good colors, so im guessing she will make it through.