# Treating Swordtail Fry with Ich?



## shellybee (Jan 25, 2010)

I recently rescued several swordtail fry from a friend's tank and discovered that they have ich. They are about a month old and are housed in my 5gal QT. No one was recommending any medication, as it might kill them. It was suggested to try Aquari-sol as a mild treatment that they might tolerate. I raised the temperature to about 84F, and I've been dosing daily for a week now. I had hoped to see some improvement, but the spots are still there. Does anyone have any recommendations?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

I use a product called QuIck Cure which is made by the same manufacturer as Aquarisol. Use it at half dosage which is normally 1 drop per gallon. So you'll use 1 drop per 2 gallons or probably 3 drops total. Dose every day until 2 days after you see no more spots on the fish. Do not stop early or it will return.
I would also add some Aquarium Salt to the tank at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons but do it slowly over 2 days.
You should also change 25% of the water by siphoning from the bottom of the tank.
Good luck.
--
Paul


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I believe the temp needs to be a few degrees higher, like 86 F.


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## vinjo (Dec 8, 2010)

I can't confirm but I've often seen other people posting on forums that the cheapest cure for ich is higher temperatures.


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## shellybee (Jan 25, 2010)

update: Temp was raised to about 86F. I finally noticed the spots had disappeared the next day after I posted (impatient I know...) I dosed for 3 more days, did a 50% water change and put in the carbon. Temp was slooooowwwwwly reduced over the next couple of days. There have been quite a few deaths, maybe from the meds, but 3 of the fry seem to have survived. My fingers are crossed.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

i've treated molly fry with methylene blue... I actually took a bit from my lab because thats what we used for the wet lab. I think that is one of the active ingredients in ich cure medications. 
I'm not sure what else is in quick cure or ich cure medications, but basically what the temperature increase does is drive the life cycle of the parasite into the water so that it can be killed by the medication or salt in the water. 
The white spots are actually bumps underneath the scales where the parasites live out a part of their life cycle. 
My opinion is that most tanks will have the ich parasites but its the decrease in immunity due to stress or changes in conditions that cause the fish to be susceptible to ich. So keeping aquarium conditions to an optimum would help you prevent this problem.
Good luck with the fry. =3


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