[Brussell996]

I have a 55 gallon planted tank and it was doing great until I added some plecos to control algae which obviously had ich. I normally quarantine my fish but I didn't with the plecos and I'm really kicking myself for it. I now have a tank with ich. The tank was at 75 degrees and the plants and fish were both doing great at that temp. I have raised the temp to 83 degrees to try to get rid of the ich. I used liquid and fizzing tablets that were supposed to get rid of ich but noticed that they were starting to hurt my plants so I have stopped using them and I don't know what to do. If I can avoid using more medicine that would be great. What should I do? I don't want to loose my fish because I absolutely love my tank. I have 4 black skirted tetras, 3 blue platties, 3 bumble bee platties, 2 panda platties, 2 spotted cory catfish, 2 snails, 1 algae eater, and 2 plecos. They all have ich except the cory catfish. Is there anything I can do? I'm going to put a picture of my tank and a picture of the tetras that have it the worst. (picture of the tetras isn't good cause they wouldn't stay still long enough to get a picture)

 

[Jaguar]

The typical treatments are usually either medication (malachite green, formalin, and copper are a few) or aquarium salt & high heat, the latter of which will hurt your plants. I've successfully used a combination of Kordon's Rid-Ich+ and raised temp (about 82) in my planted tank with little effect on the plants. It does stain things blue, though it looks like your silicone is already stained.

Most commercial medications will kill shrimp and snails, and some scaleless fish such as loaches and some tetras are really sensitive to it, and will need a half dose. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

Kordon also makes an all natural herbal medicine called Ich Attack, but I don't know how well it works.

 

[Studman0143]

I've used the Kordon natural Ich Attack in my 10G which has more plants in it that I see in yours and I saw no effect on the plants whatsoever. I think I dosed 5-7 days and didn't lose a single fish. So I would +1 Kordon products.

 

[TankZen]

Kordon natural Ich Attack... I second this is what I use as well....nice that it is a all natural product and not a carcinogen.

 

[cardgenius]

+1 for Kordon Herbal Ich Attack.

Im just finishing up my treatment for Ich. I started off by raising the heat to 86*. I added a UV sterilizer and was doing 50% water changes daily. I did this for about two weeks and it got most of it removed. Unfortunately I kept noticing just one or two spots on a certain fish that wouldnt go away, or if they did, a new spot would show up the next day. So thats why I went out and bought the Herbal medicine. Its been 4 days since I started dosing and havent seen any spots since. Ill be done with my treatment in a day or two as long as no spots come back.

My tank is planted and I havent seen any bad effects from the Ich Attack.

I didnt go with salt or Rid-Ich because I hear its hard on plants and sensitive fish.

 

[JasonG75]

While you're add it you might want to remove these.

 

[beardedcharmer]

yeah that is not a planted tank just treat as normal with high heat, salt or formalin/MG

 

[Kisa]

Good luck! Hope you can eradicate it. Glad I found this thread because my cardinals seem to have ich so I'll try this natural remedy.

 

[GeToChKn]

I usually rather take out the fish and treat in a small container. Less meds to use and doesn't leave anything in the tank or effect anything else in the tank. I find aquarium salt does it 95% of the time too. My roomies last batch of LFS had ich and started to spread it. Took out all the infected fish, treated for 2 days with salt, done. Before that, he had it in a different tank and I tried 2 different ich meds for like a week, blue-green water, kept coming back, removed and salted for a few days, done.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I'm glad I found this thread. My brand new Discus have ick so I, thinking I'm going to treat them for a couple days with salt in a separate tank since mine has a LOT of plants. But one question:

How much salt should I use?

 

[eat2muchrice]

I treat Ich with heat only, by raising the temp to 86+degree’s, increase irrigation as heat lowers oxygen. In about 2+ weeks search for signs of white spots. When all is cleared kept the temperature raised for another 4-5 days to ensure hatching eggs are killed off eliminating the full life cycle. Depending on the plants and fish you might lose one or two as a casualty of war. From my research heat ,salt and/or meds will work faster, I personally try not to use meds unless it’s an emergency and salt can be hard on some fish/plants.

 

[g4search]

If I had ich in my planted tank, the first thing I would do is to take all fish out of the tank and treat them in a hospital tank, similar to what GeToChKn did. (I know it may be difficult at times and stress the fish, but I would do it anyway).

The advantage that I see tough is that I wouldn't have to treat my plants (and snails) at all, since they are NOT susceptible to ich. Ich needs fish or frogs to propagate and does not go through a resting or hybernating stage. Therefore, the planted tank will be free of ich in about 2 weeks. However, just to be on the save side, I would re-introduce my fish after 4 weeks. Of course during that time I would maintain my planted tank with the usual routine.

 

[KatherineL]

I dislike staining with meds. Also the heat-salt method never worked for me and killed half my plants. I like using fenbendazole powder at 84-86 deg, the safeguard for dogs at petco. Took away the spots overnight but I treat for two weeks just in case. No casualties including plants, otos and dwarf cories.

Dissolve 1 packet into 200ml water.
shake water in tupperware or bottle
Treat 1 ml per gal

 

[caique]

http://www.petco.com/product/105336/8-in-1-safe-guard-4-Canine-Dewormer.aspx

Same idea as KatherineL above post says, but I would only dose 1/10 of a gram per 10 gallons a packet holds 1 gram so about half of packet for a 55. I would stick recommended dose in cup grind with a Mortar and Pestle
then add water into cup then pour into tank.

This is what I use 1/10 of a gram per ten gallons, based on water volume not tank size, if ich isn't gone in one day go ahead and treat again, I would do a 30 to 40% water change after second treatment and treat again if necessary. I used this one time and ich was gone after one dose, haven't seen it since. The active ingredient is fenbendazole. It is safe for Invertebrates, fish, and plants.I learned this trick from Aqua Forest in San Francisco.

This stuff works for planaria or flatworms also. For planaria I have dosed 1/20th of a gram for 10 gallons and have had success.

 

[Oceangirl]

While you're add it you might want to remove these.

+ A million! Those are going to rot in your tank, they are not aquatic. You can only have the roots in the water the rest must be above water.

Also I used Paraguard by Seachem to treat for ich. I had plants, Shrimp, Corys, Celestial pearl Danios. They were just fine, didn't stain the tank and I raised the temp to 85 degrees. Everyone was fine in 4 weeks.

 

[BMueller777]

http://www.petco.com/product/105336/8-in-1-safe-guard-4-Canine-Dewormer.aspx

Same idea as KatherineL above post says, but I would only dose 1/10 of a gram per 10 gallons a packet holds 1 gram so about half of packet for a 55. I would stick recommended dose in cup grind with a Mortar and Pestle
then add water into cup then pour into tank.

This is what I use 1/10 of a gram per ten gallons, based on water volume not tank size, if ich isn't gone in one day go ahead and treat again, I would do a 30 to 40% water change after second treatment and treat again if necessary. I used this one time and ich was gone after one dose, haven't seen it since. The active ingredient is fenbendazole. It is safe for Invertebrates, fish, and plants.I learned this trick from Aqua Forest in San Francisco.

This stuff works for planaria or flatworms also. For planaria I have dosed 1/20th of a gram for 10 gallons and have had success.

Hey guys,

Bringing a thread back from the beyond but I have two tanks with ich now long story but I found this thread and I'm wondering if this treatment works still. I clicked on the link above and I saw the 10lb dog version is like 10$.

So .1 grams per 10 gallons of water. I'm guessing this is in pill form so it'll need to be grinded up some how and then dissolved into a cup of water, 8oz. or so and then just added right to the tank?

Raise the tank temp any? It's 79-80*F now.

Thank you

 

[jeepguy]

Paragaurd, while a expensive compared to the heat and salt method has zero risks. It is safe with inverts, scaleless fish, safe for plants. You don't need to worry about oxygen levels from high temps, you don't have to worry about salt percentages. Dose every day until you see no more spots, then continue dosing for a few more days.

 

[Oceangirl]

I second the paraguard. I have like a 1/2 a gallon of the stuff, it works great!! I use it for everything! I have used it for Ick in my planted tank with shrimp, Cories, and plants. Nothing melted, turned a funny colors or died. I highly suggest this for any medicine cabinet. Also treats fungus/cloudy body in Shrimp.

 

[Culprit]

I`ve used paraguard successfully also has the benefit of killing ur algae too.
I prefer heat at about 86 degrees though, works like a charm !

 

[Tokemoke]

I treat Ich with heat only, by raising the temp to 86+degree’s, increase irrigation as heat lowers oxygen. In about 2+ weeks search for signs of white spots. When all is cleared kept the temperature raised for another 4-5 days to ensure hatching eggs are killed off eliminating the full life cycle. Depending on the plants and fish you might lose one or two as a casualty of war. From my research heat ,salt and/or meds will work faster, I personally try not to use meds unless it’s an emergency and salt can be hard on some fish/plants.

Same here. Heat takes a while but has always worked for me. Doing so right now actually. Going on week three and I see a tetra scrape against a leaf,STUPID ITCHY TETRA. I'm starting to wonder if I have some cold spots where the Ich is finding sanctuary. Two heaters on top read 88ish...

Always remember to keep up with those water changes a few times a week.