[flesxruoyxllik]

had a problem with my water peramiters, and now my bullhead has ich. not sure what i should do. the bullhead speices is very hardy, but i see that most ich meds are super harmful to scaleless fish. i already plan on turning up the heat. any suggestions on meds and dose? i read on another forum that doing half doses is pointless,as it does more harm to the fish then the ich, is that true?

 

[50089]

Not sure on the half dose, but you should be able to treat the Ich with just heat. Raise it slowly to 86 F and do daily water changes with gravel vac to suck up the Ich spores. Leave the heat raised for a week after you see that the last of the spots are gone.

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

thanks for the reply, i was just looking at uv filters and it looks to me that they are just a black light? if thats true could add another shop light with 2 48 inch black lights?

 

[Gold Finger]

I believe there are a number of meds which are fine for scaleless fish, but am sorry I cant name them though I am sure google can. I use heat alone at 88-90 degrees and keep it up for weeks after the ich is "gone" and have a full cure every time. Again, I can't speak to the safety of this treatment with bulheads. Whatever people use, too many fail because they stop treating a week after its "gone" and have nasty recurrences worse than the first. Whatever you use keep the treatment up for a long time after you think it's all dead.

 

[m00se]

Kordon Ich Attack. It's not like other ich treatments. KORDON MAKE SEVERAL MEDS. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH ICH CURE YOU'RE BUYING. Go to their site and read up on them. Some pretty innovative stuff, mostly patented. UV filters are NOT black lights. Wrong spectrum. UV-A is germicidal, and lethal to your eyes. UV-B is black light

Hope this helps

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

thank you moose im looking at those meds now,
but if i do that thing with another shop light with uv-a bulbs would that be the same as having a uv sterilizer? or is it best to buy a uv sterilizer to prevent myself and the fish from going blind?

 

[m00se]

You can't buy UV-A bulbs that would fit a standard shop light fixture. I would discourage you from following this line of thinking because it can only lead to "not good things". If you want a UV sterilizer, buy a complete kit off e-bay or your local fish store and do it right the first time.

If you have ever looked into the arc while welding without an eye protective helmet for any length of time you might understand the type of retinal burns you're asking for. Not to mention a real nasty sunburn. It's really not where you want to go, I promise!


If your fish can tolerate the 85f temperatures, this will make the spore cysts drop off faster as the entire reproductive cycle is accelerated. This is the only time when the protozoa is vulnerable to treatment. It's thought that 86f for 2 days will completely kill the parasite. Salt in the water is another treatment that works, but SCALE-LESS CATFISH DON'T LIKE SALT!!! I'm sorry I capitalize but I worry it will get lost in the sauce.

Good luck!

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

good morning
ive decided to use kordon ich attack as a treatment. not going to buy a uv sterilizer it seems inefective for ich itself. im going to buy a 300w fluval heater, and slowly raise my temp. i plan on doseing daily with weekly water changes for atleast 2 months sound right?

 

[m00se]

You don't need to go 2 months.... With the temp at 85 it should be 4-5 days I imagine.

 

[50089]

Two months is too long, it should be gone by then. Probably within a week, then it's recommended to keep temp up for another week after spots are gone just to be sure. Also remember that higher temps deplete the oxygen in the tank, so either have an air stone running or make sure that water flow from the filter is disturbing the surface.

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

right 2 months is a too long so just a couple weeks. after i think its gone is it ok to take out the heater

 

[Diana]

UV sterilizer:
Works by sending a very thin sheet of water past the UV bulb. The very thin sheet of water makes sure the organisms in the water are properly exposed to the UV. The complete covering around the bulb makes sure that no eyes (human, fish or other pet) are exposed to the UV.
This is not a DIY project. This is not in any way the same as having a black light at the top of the tank.

Ich meds:
At www.loaches.com
they think highly of Rid Ich.
You can dose it this way:
Half dose in the AM.
Half dose in the PM.
This will still keep the medication in the therapeutic levels without the extreme peak that dosing once a day creates.
Do not use Amquel or Amquel Plus if you are using any dye based medication. (Read the label on the dechlor you are using).
Do not use UV with any medicine. UV can break down medicines.

I have seen only one post about the successful use or the organic Ich meds, and a lot of posts where these products seemed not to work. Lots of successful posts about Rid Ich.

Heat can kill Ich, if you can get the water hot enough. The trick is to get even the water at the bottom of the substrate (or at least as deep as the Ich organisms could fall into) that hot. The goal is to get the water over 86*F. To get the water in the substrate that hot you probably have to take the tank up to about 90*F. Many fish cannot take it that hot.
Water that hot holds less oxygen. If you try this make sure to increase the surface movement and circulation so the water is better oxygenated.

If you cannot get it that hot, then just keep the water at the upper end of the optimum range for the fish. Not too hot so the fish is still OK, not stressed from the heat. This will increase the fish metabolism so they can fight the Ich better, and increase the Ich metabolism so they go through their life cycle faster. Goal being the Ich die faster so you do not have to maintain the medicine in the tank any longer than you have to.
If you can maintain the temperature in the upper 70s then keep the medication in the tank for several days past the day you see the last Ich on the fish. A week is a good, safe time.

Vacuum the floor of the tank as much as you can as often as you can. Daily would be great. It does not have to be a large water change. You are removing the Ich that has fallen to the floor to breed, and improving the water parameters for the fish with every water change, even if it is just a small water change.

 

[m00se]

Rid Ich is great, as long as you understand that it dyes your silicone blue-green, and it kills invertebrates. Count me as +1 in the "Ich Attack works" column. People tend to forget that it needs to be shaken well before use.

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

the silicon on my tank is black will it be visible or should i only worry if it was clear

 

[m00se]

Yea it won't be noticeable on black silicone.

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

so it looks like i can afford a heater for a while. i picked up a 473ml bottle of ich attack and my calculations say i have enough for 13 days of doseing is that right and is that going to be a long enough treatment

 

[m00se]

Depends on your tank temp. Cooler = longer.

 

[flesxruoyxllik]

started second bottle today. glancing has stopped after couple first days, but i still see spots all over. temps been holding between 68-70

 

[m00se]

You've been treating over 2 weeks and you still see white spots? hmmm.... That's pretty unusual. The ich treatment should be making the spores die before they have an opportunity to find a host. The reason for the length of treatment time is to ensure that any spores are also killed when they get to the swimming stage, which is the only time the parasite is vulnerable. Are you half-dosing this stuff? If so I might give a call to Kordon and talk to the doctor there and see what he recommends. I don't think you ought to be seeing any sign of ich on the fish at this point.

No possibility of getting a heater in there? They're a lot cheaper on e-bay or Amazon than the fish store.

 

[GeToChKn]

Heat + salt in a QT tank has cured ich like 99.9% of the time for me without any meds or anything else needed.