Noticed a few little crystals, that almost look like small air bubbles, on the fins of one of my cichlids today. Upon closer inspection I noticed all but two have these on them right now. I did a little research and apparently I have my first ick infection. All of my fish are acting normally, and there are no spots on the gills yet, so I guess it hasn't progressed too far yet.
I have raised the temp two degrees, and I plan on raising it tomorrow another two degrees to 82 F. I pulled all my filter cartridges with carbon out, I bagged them in some old pantyhose and dropped them in another tank for now, and replaced them with fresh, carbon free filter material. I used the proper dosage of ick treatment in little fizzy tablet form, and I also added some more aquarium salt.
What else can I do to keep this from getting any worse? Do the spots go away after treatment, or are there long-term effects, or scarring of any kind? Will the green tint of the medicine fade after I re-introduce carbon to the filters, or will it dilute with my weekly water changes?
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
55 gallon, 3 months old, properly cycled and 25% water changes/gravel vacuum done every Sunday. One feeding a day of varied foods dried and frozen, except for one day a week when they fast.
I do not have cichlids , I have goldfish, so there may be a few differences, though I cannot imagine they would be too big. From my own experience:
Ick occurs when you introduce fish into a new tank, or a new plant or fish into an existing tank. It can kill the fish if left un-treated but it sounds like you have already done that.
I don't know if water temperature will change anything, but you have salt water fish, and I have coldwater fish so it may vary ..
Spots will not appear on their gills as far as I know. I'm pretty sure that only happens when male fish are mature, not when they are infected ...
You did the right thing by taking the Carbon out of the filter, I think that de-activates the medicine.
Yes, the spots go away after treatment, and they leave no scarring, nor any long term effects that I am aware of.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Yes, the green tint of the medicine will fade either from the carbon or water changes.
So long as you keep your tank clean and follow the intructions on the medicine packet, your fish should be fine, and although contagious, ick should not cause any drama unless left untreated. :-)
I actually remember my first ick infection . I had two african cicklids, one jack dempsey, and one regular oscar, and one albino oscar. I noticed the ick quickly and put some of the ick cure in. I myself would have gone with the liquid ick cure, but im sure it doesent matter.
From here on time will be the cure, you did everything correctly, and try not going over 84 degrees, for it may be an irritation to the fishes coat.
Here is a link to a very informative article on freshwater ich.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum ... pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Good luck!
1.The first thing you need to do is slowly raise the temperature of your tank to around 85 degrees. Ich can not survive at this temperature and will die off.
2.Leave the tank at this temperature for 14 days (2 weeks) even if it looks like the ich is gone from your tank. This is because the ich has a lifecycle, the only time the ich pests are visible as white spots on your fish is when it is in the parasitic stage. Otherwise the little buggers will live in your fish tank gravel or substrate or even be free swimming. Leave the tank at 85 degrees for 2 whole weeks (14 days) at a minimum. For hardier strains , you can even leave the tank at that temperature for up to 20 days.
3.Some websites suggest adding salt to the fish tank, this is not necessary. Salt is actually very bad for some types of fish and crustaceans. Frogs, snails, scaleless fish, shrimp and others do NOT survive a dose of salt, plus it is unnecessary when the heat will do the trick.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
4.If you ask a fish store employee, they may try to sell you an expensive medication to treat white spot, this is also not necessary. Additionally, many of these medicines will stain your fish tank and kill off weaker fish (see the salt list above). Don't waste your money.
