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I have 2 small females bettas and a tiny rubbernose plec in a planted 6g. Water params are fine. But today I noticed both girls have a few spots on them which I'm sure are ick

I've successfully treated ick in the past with malachite green and by raising tank temps. This tank is unheated but maintains a steady 79-80

Is malachite green safe with the plec? If not what are my other options? Is 80 warm enough to kill the ick or should I add a heater (I do have a small one available)?

Does salt have an effect on ick, is it safe to use with a plec in the tank or not?

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

To use heat to actually kill the ich the temperature needs to be raised above 90F, I've seen above 95F mentioned to actually kill it. Lower than that will speed the life cycle, which is effective when used with medications. However raised temp combined with medications will lead to less oxygen in the water so increased surface agitation is a must.

Ich cannot tolerate salt, however many fish have trouble with it as well. Salt as we all know is one of those well debated topics. I personally wouldn't use it as I've had sucess treating with maracide and increased temps.

The most important thing with treating ich is to continue treatment even after the spots have "fallen off" as thats when ich is actually vulnerable to treatment.
HTH a bit
^_^


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The high temp treatment, which is 95 degrees for one week, no meds, is not recommended for small tanks...

There's just not enough water volume to allow a proper amount of dissolved oxygen, something that is depleted rather quickly at that high a temp.

Surface area of small tanks is just not large enough to create a proper gas exchange.

--garyroland.

Speed up the life cycle was what I meant, sorry I was writing too fast

So leave the temp as is. What about malachite green or another med with the plec? He's really the one I'm worried about hurting with treatment.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

You should be concerned...

RidIch Plus, a mild treatment for ich, would be your best bet.

The dyes, like Malachite Green and Methylene Blue have been used for centuries before the new concoctions were available.

Someone is going to ask if I was around then. Don't ask.

The dyes may have served their purpose then, to some extent, and I still use the dyes to prevent fish eggs from fungus, but you'll have better results from the med I mentioned.

--garyroland.


[span class="edited"][Edited by garyroland 2004-07-06 15:01][/span]

Thanks, that's what I'm going to use.

I've treated for ick before in larger tanks. The plec and size of this tank both concern me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Small tanks can be a problem when treating for just about anything...

Go slow with the med, perhaps a half dose at first unless it safely calls for more on the product.

--garyroland.