# API General Cure to Treat Ich?



## MissPisces

I probably should have asked this on one of my other threads, but this is sort of unrelated to the other topics...

I have a 5 gallon tank with one male betta and two female platies. The platies were brought home just three days ago. The day after I brought them home, I noticed that one of them had a white spot on her fin. Just an hour later, two more showed up. It looked like a typical case of ich, so I researched ich medications and asked my husband to bring home some General Cure from API. It was the only medicine I could find that had not only all good customer reviews, but that didn't have malachite green or formalin in it. I REALLY want to avoid both ingredients... I'm a medical student, and reading those names on the product descriptions raised immediate red flags because I'd read a lot about them in my toxicology books... I do not want my poor fish to have to consume something so terribly toxic! Besides, customer reviews for those products said that they made fish sick in the process of killing the ich. 

I used the first dose of medicine two days ago, and the second dose is scheduled for this evening. The spots disappeared yesterday, but now one of the platies has a couple of tiny white patches and all three fish are scratching occasionally. (I'm thinking that may be one reason why my betta was antagonizing the platies; he was fine with them at first, but when they started showing signs of ich he started chasing them). 

Here are my main questions: The temperature in my tank sits at about 76 degress, as I have a heater that automatically adjusts. I always use aquarium salt, but I'm thinking that I should add a bit more. How much is safe for them, and should I get an adjustible heater to raise the temperature? Has anyone else used general cure? What was your experience with it? If it doesn't work, should I use another dose? Also, are the white patches normal after the first treatment? Will the second dose kill the parasite at this stage? I know it can only be killed at certain stages, I've done all the research. I just need to know if it's bad or normal that she has white patches at this stage in treatment...


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## susankat

The water needs to be between 82 to 85 while treating ich. It usually takes about 7 to 10 days to destroy all signs of ich. After treatment the temp needs to stay around 78 to 80 to be more beneficial to the inhabitants.

On adding salt, I don't add salt to my tanks as any diseases will develope an immunity to salt and that is the only medication I have bought in 30 years of keeping fish.


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## MissPisces

susankat said:


> The water needs to be between 82 to 85 while treating ich. It usually takes about 7 to 10 days to destroy all signs of ich. After treatment the temp needs to stay around 78 to 80 to be more beneficial to the inhabitants.
> 
> On adding salt, I don't add salt to my tanks as any diseases will develope an immunity to salt and that is the only medication I have bought in 30 years of keeping fish.


Thanks! I'm going to pick up an adjustible heater today. I got the non-adjustible heater because I had read a lot of horror stories of the adjustible ones overheating tanks, but I'll just monitor the temperature carefully.


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## DocPoppi

Here is a link that'll tell you all about it.
Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

Typically there is nothing that will kill the Trophozite (and not the fish) at the visible stage (white spots) these are virtually impenetrable cocoons, but the salt seems to work in high enough salinity due to osmosis it will do the job. Temp does the rest, and kills the free swimming cycle. That's why you need it after the spots are gone, cause as they drop, the cycle continues.
Like Susan I don't keep salt in my tanks, (I have treated some tanks with salt, then removed through water changes.) I go with the salt bath in a separate container.
I keep the temp up a tad higher during treatment, and do a post 2 weeks of heat.
Remember to bring up temp slowly.


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## MissPisces

DocPoppi said:


> Here is a link that'll tell you all about it.
> Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish
> 
> Typically there is nothing that will kill the Trophozite (and not the fish) at the visible stage (white spots) these are virtually impenetrable cocoons, but the salt seems to work in high enough salinity due to osmosis it will do the job. Temp does the rest, and kills the free swimming cycle. That's why you need it after the spots are gone, cause as they drop, the cycle continues.
> Like Susan I don't keep salt in my tanks, (I have treated some tanks with salt, then removed through water changes.) I go with the salt bath in a separate container.
> I keep the temp up a tad higher during treatment, and do a post 2 weeks of heat.
> Remember to bring up temp slowly.


OK, thanks! I have an adjustible heater now, so I'll start raising the temperature. Is one degree every half hour too fast?


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## MissPisces

I've coaxed the temperature up to 82 F, but now my fish are sitting around listlessly. My betta's up on his leaf hammock near the surface, and the platies are near the bottom. They all appear to be sleeping. When I come near the tank or open the lid, they all wake up and swim around for a bit, but I wonder if the heat is bothering them and if I should keep it as is without pushing it to 86. 

Could it be the heat? Or maybe it's the ich. They're not showing signs of being itchy except for one of the platies occasinally bouncing on a rock. I think there might be some white film on her side, but it's too dull to be sure. 

Or maybe it's that they're sleepy... I was worried about the heater last night, so I got up every hour to check it. They might have been bothered by that, though I tried not to disturb them...


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## Totem44

With warmer water there is less oxygen, so you will want to get more air into the water either by using an air stone or lowering your water level so your filter makes more of a water fall. Also keep your lid open and turn off the light


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## MissPisces

Totem44 said:


> With warmer water there is less oxygen, so you will want to get more air into the water either by using an air stone or lowering your water level so your filter makes more of a water fall. Also keep your lid open and turn off the light


I have an airstone, but I did remove the sponge that covers the filter outflow (it had been covered because of the betta's delicate fins). Thanks for the suggestions!


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