# How to treat ich??



## artemisblossom (May 22, 2008)

Hi

I have read many posts on several different forums and I am confused as to how to properly treat for ick. The amount of salt seems to vary from thread to thread. A couple of days ago one of my platies seemed to be staying by herself and not as active as the others. Today I seen little white spots on her tail and on her body. I didn't have a quarantine tank so I went out and bought a very smaill 2.5 gallon tank and a small heater. I moved the platie to the new tank and used the water from the old tank. I added a half tablespoon of salt to he 2.5 gallons of water and turned the temp up to 80 degees. I don't have another filter so I was planning on changing half the water every day, is this the proper way to treat ick?? should I be adding salt every day with the water change?? If so how much? I really don't want to treat the 55 gal tank if I don't have to because I have mystery snails in there and the tank is still cycling so I don't want to touch the filter


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

You don't need to add anymore salt.

To be honest, I've treated ich by solely changing the temperature.

There are some very effective treatments you can use too. Read over the forums here.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

wow, that's a lot of salt for 2.5g. Good thing you're treating platies.

ass some aeration or current to the 2.5g, and add a plastic plant or something for the fish to hide in. The aeration or current will add oxygen to the water (which has less dissolved oxygen as it is warmer), and the ornament will give the fish cover and make it feel less stressed out.

Just give it a few days and see if that clears it up. When doing water changes don't forget to add the equivalent amounts of salt back in. And when you re introduce the fish, remember to do a slow acclimation, as a sudden change in salinity can undo all the hard work you've gone through in treating the critter (by killing it).

good luck with your first disease treatment!


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## artemisblossom (May 22, 2008)

thanks for the quick replies. So I did put in too much salt?? I thought it was a tablespooon per 5 gallons........ I do have gravel and a plastic plant and a heater in there but I don;t have a filter or an airpump. I will try and pick up an airpump after work tonight if I get off in time. .................so If I change say a gallon of water out of the tiny tank tonight I would need to add how much more salt?


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Just raise the temperature for a couple of weeks. It's what a lot of people use and have been effective.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I wouldn't add anymore salt if I were you and then if you do, make sure it is only after large water changes.


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## Rodzilla (Jul 4, 2008)

I just finished treating Ick on my Girlfriends Oranda tank. We lost one and I found that the salt/heat and dark didn't work just stressed the fish and reduced oxygen. I bought Jungle Labs "Ick Guard" and it worked with no further losses. I wish I had of bought the chemical 1st thing instead of trying the heat/salt/darkness. 

Thats my experience anyway. I still have a bottle of the stuff if your anywhere near the beaches.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Goldfish would be a different story. They prefer cooler water so increasing the heat will definitely stress them out.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Be careful with the salt. What other fish do you have in the tank? Some fish like Corydoras are very sensitive to salt and could kill them.

Good luck.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I should ask, what ratio of male:female do you have with your platies?

Despite the platies being a VERY hardy fish, the one thing I have noticed is that they are pretty sensitive to this ratio for a number of reasons. The main reason is being oversexed though.

If you have more males than females, your females will be constantly harassed, which can lead to stress and make them more prone to illness like ich or fin rot. 

A good ratio is typically one male to four females.

I only add this information because I am a firm believer that fish illness is more often than not brought on by stress caused by improper care (lack of filtration/waterchanges ammonia/nitrite problems) or improper stocking (overstocking, compatibility or ratio problems).

Let us know how it goes.


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## artemisblossom (May 22, 2008)

thank you for all your quick and helpful replies
I have 6 platies in total and I think i have 2 male and 4 female. it is 2 females that are showing signs of ick or what I think is ick.

Question on just raising the temp what temp should I raise it to? The normal temp for the big tank is 78-80 and right now in the tiny tank that i have the 2 sick fish in I have a temp of about 83 ...........will that hurt snails? I have 2 golden mystery snails and a small thorny snail. It was for this reason that I moved the sick fish to a small 2.5 gall tank but based on the replies I have been getting from other forums it seems I should have treated the whole 55 gal tank and moved the snails not the sick fish (sigh)


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I would suggest it is likely not ich if your temperature is so high normally.


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## artemisblossom (May 22, 2008)

really? If it is not ick then have no idea what it could be . The fish seem to have some spots on them but they really don't look like salt granules, it looks like more like flat semi clear spots that are on the tails and bodies. I can see the spots if I shine a light on them. they are both light colored fish and their tails are kind of transparent so I can see the spots very clearly. I don't think they are feeling well because before I moved them to the small tank they seemed to kind of hide and just lay on or near the bottom when they are normally very active fish. Got ay idea what could be wrong with them ?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

artemisblossom said:


> really? If it is not ick then have no idea what it could be . The fish seem to have some spots on them but they really don't look like salt granules, it looks like more like flat semi clear spots that are on the tails and bodies. I can see the spots if I shine a light on them. they are both light colored fish and their tails are kind of transparent so I can see the spots very clearly. I don't think they are feeling well because before I moved them to the small tank they seemed to kind of hide and just lay on or near the bottom when they are normally very active fish. Got ay idea what could be wrong with them ?


Picture please.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Here's a great site on Ich. http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml


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## artemisblossom (May 22, 2008)

Sorry it is just not showing up on any pictures, the mickey mouse platie's colors seem to be a little faded also. I will continue trying to get a picture of it


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

artemisblossom said:


> really? If it is not ick then have no idea what it could be . The fish seem to have some spots on them but they really don't look like salt granules, it looks like more like flat semi clear spots that are on the tails and bodies. I can see the spots if I shine a light on them. they are both light colored fish and their tails are kind of transparent so I can see the spots very clearly. I don't think they are feeling well because before I moved them to the small tank they seemed to kind of hide and just lay on or near the bottom when they are normally very active fish. Got ay idea what could be wrong with them ?


You might not be dealing with ick then, as ick is usually very apparent and easy to see on almost any fish white/black/clear tail or not.

The small 'flat' spots that are lighter in color - maybe a fungal infection or bacterial infection? Have you tried just using pima/melafix as a broad treatment?

A picture would certainly clarify what you're dealing with.


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