# Medication-resistant strain of Ich



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

My fish have come down with a case of Ich which I believe has become medication resistant. The Ich was partially treated in the PetsMart tanks I bought them from (my first mistake), then I attempted to treat with aquarium salt, a UV sterilizer, and API Melafix. Treated for ten days, the Ich diminished but did not disappear. In the interest of not killing my 10 cardinal tetras (which were looking very emaciated but still eating) I broke off the regime, did a 50% PWC and put fresh carbon in. 3 days later, the Ich was returning, and by then my girlfriend and I purchased a single male guppy (no signs of Ich). Went and purchased API Super Ich Cure and started dosing that, elevated temps to 84 degrees, added aquarium salt, continued with UV sterilizer.

The Ich has been disappearing, but painfully slow. Day 4 of treatment (when the bottle of Super Ich Cure only recommends 48 hrs of treatment), and our guppy is suffering from the elevated temperature.

What should I do? Should I continue the medication regimen until all traces are gone, or should I back off on the temp and give the guppy a break?

Signs of stress: The guppy is breathing heavily and skimming the surface, hiding behind the filter, and spazzing out whenever me, my gf, or her cat go by the fish tank. None of the cardinal tetras are acting out of order, and all 11 fish are eating plentifully.

Thanks for your advice!

Edit: Plz move to emergency & disease forum. Forgot which one I was in. Thanks!


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Hello Giz...

Using chemicals to kill "Ich" is a poor idea. Harsh chemicals will further stress your fish and damage sensative plants. If you're sure your tank has been infected you'll see tiny white spots scattered over the fish. The fish skin will look slimy and covered with a mucus layer. The fish rub against ornaments and don't eat, so stop feeding them. Aquarium fish can go up to a couple of weeks without food, with no trouble.

Raise the temp in the tank to around 86 degrees over a day or so and get an extra filter on the tank to get more oxygen into the water. Start changing half the water in the tank two to three times a week and do a good job of vacuuming the gravel. Get a little standard aquarium salt into the replacement water, but not too much. A heaping teaspoon for every 5 gallons of replacement water should be enough. You don't want to damage your plants. 

Keep the lights off in the tank and in the room too. The parasites find a host by seeing it.

Heat, salt and darkness do a better job, naturally. These suggetions should be enough to cause the parasites to grow quickly and die off.

B


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## Manafel (Sep 4, 2011)

are you for sure positive that it's ich?


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## jccaclimber2 (May 6, 2012)

Chemicals won't work, and your tetras really won't like the salt. Set the temp to between 86 and 90 (the tetras will be fine at either) for 2 weeks, then bring it back down. Water changes more often shouldn't be required, but if you do do them be sure to match the temperature of the water before you add the clean water. If you do want to medicate it, be aware the meds will tend to be hard on the tetras, worse on any plecos or loaches, and may kill all snails and shrimp.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

After hearing all of your advice plus Susan's, I've done the following:

Did a 50% PWC last night, redosed the meds, aquarium salt, and added a bubbler to re-oxygenate the water. Will continue medication for 6 more days, with 3 50% PWC's interspersed every 48 hrs, maintaining salinity and temp (84 degrees).

The guppy is doing better with the new water and bubbler. Still skimming the surface, but is breathing easier and not spazzing out. It must have been low O2 in the water, as Susan stated.

@BBradbury - I see your point with the PWC's, the lights, and the salt (which I am doing), however I also think meds are needed, if only to use up the bottle I've already bought. I would rather medicate when not needed, than not medicate when needed, if that makes any sense.

@Kayla - I've seen Ich before  looks like the fish has salt crystals sprinkled all over them. I'm only seeing 1-2 spots on one fish anymore, and some fin damage on another from old spots, but I'm going to continue the regimen until I know it's well and dead.

Thanks for your input all! I'll keep you posted on how it goes, and any additional comments are appreciated *w2


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Well, the guppy is MIA. Either dead & decayed, jumped, caught by cats, or jumped & eaten by cats or dog.

The cardinals aren't showing any signs of Ich anymore. Very active, great color, eating like piggies.

Going to continue meds through the weekend, then PWC and carbon.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

One of the greatest myths of fishkeeping is that salt is not a chemical. It just doesn't hold up, if you think about it. 
Salt to an Amazon fish may as well be a substance from another planet - it is probably more harmful to them than a dye based med or formalin, the active ingredients in Rid-Ich. I find the chemicals have always worked here - quickly, while minimizing losses. They are so much easier to remove than salt, which stays around affecting water hardness for a long time.
Heat is good if the fish can stand those high temperatures, but remember that it accelerates decay and reduces oxygen saturation in the water. I always use heat against Ich (with meds), but am careful with heavier stocking or fish that need high levels of oxygen.

Melafix and Pimafix are not Ich meds. If you research their active ingredients, you'll see anti-bacterial properties, but then, if you research how concentrated the ingredients have to be to work effectively, and then how concentrated they are in the bottle, you may have the same questions I do about them. 
I don't think it is a resistant form as much as one that was given ten days (while seriously under attack by you) to survive before the right treatment was tried. You'll get rid of it now.


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## jccaclimber2 (May 6, 2012)

84* degrees makes ick grow faster, 85* prevents ich from reproducing, these are two very different things. 86* is a commonly recommended number because it accounts for some error in your heater/thermometer.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks everybody! Didn't know about the elevated temps - the heater is set at 86 right now, but it's holding 84 (MarineLand Stealth 50W) on the thermometer.


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