# Uncureable Ich



## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

It is unfortunate that my first post post has to be about a problem I have but I thought someone out there could tell me something that I am doing wrong. 

A few weeks ago Ich infected my tanking killing 6 fish in my 55gallon. I bought some ich cure tablets and thought that it was killed until this weekend I noticed a few white dots on the tail of one of my fish and that another one was repeatedly scratching itself on the gravel. So since Saturday I have been adding 50 drops of quickcure per day to the tank and changing about 25% percent of the water every 2 days. The current tank temp is about 82 degrees, my heater cannot raise the temp anymore, it is almost constantly on. Is there anything else I can do or something that i should not be doing?

Thank you


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would keep adding the meds and follow the instructions. Keep treating. If your heater can't heat your tank up more than that and it's not as cold as it was, then I would say that your heater is either not working correctly or it is under rated for the tank. If you haven't seen a change in 7-10 days the med probably isn't going to work and heat/salt mat be the only way to cure, IMO. 

If you start treatment with a med and you stop and it is not gone, chances are you just potentially created a resistent strain of ich. The reason why a lot of places you read are against using meds altogether. 

Can you post a pic?


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

Here are the best two shots I could get of the fish with the white dots. If you look hard you can seem them on the tail
















My red tail shark seems to be the only fish scratching itself but it has no white dots on it.

Here is a full tank shot since i never introduced myself and showed a picture


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Get another heater and get the temp up to 89-90 and let it stay until you see it disappear.


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## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

Great advise as usual Jrman. Here's a bit more that should help.

If you use the high temp method continue treating 3-5 days after the last sign of the disease. This rule should be followed for any method used for ich.

Also warmer water=less dissolved oxygen. Levels of dissolved O2 less than 3ppm are especially dangerous to fish who may have compromised O2 uptake do to damaged gills caused by ich.

Drop the level of your water so your filter splashes it's water in the tank to help increase O2 content. If you don't have any, add an air pump with some air stones to further increase O2.

Do not use any medications while using the heat method. Many medications reduce dissolved O2 on their own. The combination of these meds with high temp might harm all your fish.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Powerhead can work/help also.


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks a lot. I think I will get another heater then and lower the water level a few inches even though I have an air stone.


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

Well it has been 4 days with the tank at 89 degrees and my black skirt tetra still has the white spots on its tail. My red tail shark is no longer scratching itself because it was half eaten laying in my plant when I got home from work today(he had been staying in the same spot ever since I turned up the heat). Is is possible that the ich is dead yet and the white spots on the black skirt tetra will not go away?


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

Still have the heater set at 89. No improvement to the white dots, no fish seem to be scratching themselves. Any ideas on what to do?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, hold it there. If the fish seem to be doing fine, keep the temp where it is. You may just have some of the more rare cases of ich that is very difficult to get rid of.


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

It has now been 9 days at 89 degrees. Have lost 2 more fish since last week. My swordtail is just laying on the bottom when it is not scratching itself. The fish with white dots on its tail has a few more then it did a week ago. Any ideas?


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## SC6988 (Apr 17, 2011)

Still no improvement in conditions. Why is this lasting so long? I want to get more fish to replace all the ones that have died. What else can I do?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would go here: Fish Disease, Diseases of Fish, Medications & Fish Health Treatments

Look through the skin disorder stuff and see what you find. Buy what is recommended and treat. As a last resort, euthanize what you have, break down, sterilyze, and start over.


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