# HELP needed ASAP--Ich!



## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

I am a newbie, and have a 20 gal. tank that isn't quite cycled yet, but almost there. Been set up almost 2 weeks. Have had a female betta and a Mystery snail in there until about a week ago. At that time I added 3 Kuhli Loaches, and just three days ago, added 4 Otos. Everything has been fine until this morning. One Oto has white specks all over him. He's a youngster and only 1.5" long and probably has 20+ spots. No one else has any spots except for the largest of the Otos, and he only has a couple. All fish are eating and active except the one with a lot of spots. He's breathing with a lot of effort and is staying in one spot for long periods. I've not seen him eat today either. 

I know there are several remedies for Ich, but don't know how to go about this without knowing how it will affect everyone. I'd like to do it with just temperature elevation and salt, but I hear loaches and Otos are sensitive to salt. Also, do I need to get the sick one out of the tank and into something by himself? I have a 1 gallon cube I can use, but no filter or heater for it. I'm assuming it'll spread now, even if I get him out of there? This is only the third day he's been in the tank. My betta is the most precious to me (although I love them all) and certainly don't want to harm her. What should I do?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Well it would be useless to move the one fish as now the entire tank is infected. Your problem is your stocking your tank to fast and is causing the fish to stress, not only from stocking to fast but in an uncycled tank.
A tank can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a couple months to go through the entire cycle and adding that many fish at once isn't helping that as the ammonia and nitrites are probably rising to dangerous levels

You need to raise the temp to 84 at least and use half dosage of salt to get rid of ich and that will take about 10 days to fully get rid of them.

BUT you are also going to have to treat longer because in order for your fish to survive the cycle you need to be testing everyday and doing a water change anytime it raises above 50 which your going to have to do every other day or everyday. Add salt back to water your replacing.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Ammonia in the tank this morning was .25, as was nitrites. So its not as if the levels are in the danger zone. Since I have had this 20 gal. set up, the ammonia and nitrites have never been above .25 except once, and that was a nitrite reading of .5, and that was before I got the Otos. And yes, I've been testing this tank daily with an API Master kit. This tank is cycling quickly as I added substrate from my cycled tank, plus debris from the bottom of the cycled tank, and a little of the media in my filter of the cycled tank.

Since I posted, I was panicky, so I have already moved the Oto to a 7 gallon container with a heater that I will set at about 84. I'm hoping the other fish are strong enough to fight the ich off themselves. If not, then I'll treat the whole tank. I did read that ich is in a lot of tanks but the fish never get infected unless their immunity is down. This one's immunity was certainly down from being captured, taken to fish store, and then home to me. Its usually one teaspoon of salt per gallon, right? so this would mean 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for the container the sick Oto is in?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

ANY level of ammonia or nitrite is a danger to your fish, especially sensitive fish like Otos.

Ich is in the tank. You still need to treat it. I have used temp/salt method but have the better luck with Quick Cure. Although I treat for at least 4-5 days beyond seeing the last spots, they are usually gone by day 4.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

This sounds like good news to me. I had no idea it could be gotten rid of that quick. I have lost two Otos now, and its only been a few hours. There are only two left. Boy, have I learned a lesson!


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

One common cause of ICH is a sudden temperature change. Did you have any? An old treatment for ICH is salt and elevated temperature, it is probably as good as any. Raise the temp to 80F and add 1 teaspoon of salt/1G. Your plants and snails may not survive the teatment. Corys don't like salt so for them you may need to use a commercial ICH remedy. When my fish have ICH I don't treat but just elevate the temp a little, keep conditions stable and do a 10-20% water change every few days. I also try to maintain good filtration and ariation.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

Also, if you decide to use some type of medication on them be sure to read the fine print on the label. Some Ick meds are not recommened for small or scaleless fish. This would put your cats in a worse predicament.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

CrazyMFFM said:


> Also, if you decide to use some type of medication on them be sure to read the fine print on the label. Some Ick meds are not recommened for small or scaleless fish. This would put your cats in a worse predicament.


The remedy in this case is to use half doses for twice the recommended period.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

I don't have any Corys in that tank, Neon. And yes, the Otos had a temp change. I put them in the quarantine tank and didn't get the temp exactly the same as the tank they came out of. I realized it when I felt it with my hand and it was noticeably warmer than the tank water. So I think that is why I lost them both so quickly (both within two hours) and not from the ich. I feel terrible about it. I've decided to watch my guys and if any more spots develop (there are just a few on the one Oto and none on the other) then I will go ahead and raise the temp and use salt. I would prefer NOT to use any commercial treatment if I don't have to. Thanks so much--I think things will turn out ok. I will move my snails into the other tank that doesn't have ich. Wait. . . will the snails transfer the ich? If so, they'll have to stay where they are and sweat it out.


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## Rufus' Mom (Jan 2, 2012)

I had great success treating ich by just raising the temperature to 84 degree for 10 days. No added salt, no meds. The spots were all gone within 2 days, but you have to keep the temp up to make sure you kill all the ich in all it's various stages of the life cycle. Only one fish was showing spots, but by treating this way it was gone before anyone else showed signs of infection.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Ive tried both the salt and higher temp method and the quick cure method. Both worked, and saved my fish.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

So there is hope after all! So I will just raise the temp and see if that takes care of it, since only one Oto shows only a couple of spots. I'll only have to raise the temp 4 degrees since its already at 80. Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I was afraid ich meant a death sentence, so I feel so much better now! I can't thank you guys enough.


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## Afk93576 (Mar 27, 2012)

I have a hang on UV filter I use. It's mobile so if I see a spot I can place it in the tank and run it a week and cure it. I find it's easier and safer than meds and no salt to worry about. Just my two cents.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have raised the temp, and all seem to be fine. The betta is even more active than usual, so I think she actually likes it! The spots are gone. 7 more days to go, and hopefully its goodbye to ich!


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

With it being a Betta the cooler temps may have been what stressed her out enough to catch Ick. Granted they are far from betta's but my oscars become prone to Ick when they get too cold. Maybe someone with more experiance with bettas will chime in.


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