# Medication and Water Changes



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

If most of you dont already know, i have Ick in one of my tanks.  I have been medicating with Aquari-Sol for sensitive species due to tiny fry in the same tank, for 3 days now. Seems to be working at not letting the infection spread, but the first fish who had it is now COVERED.  

My question is...should i do water changes during the medication treatment? my ammonia is up slightly to .25 and my nitrites the same. Im also wondering if putting in used filter from my established tank would help this ammonia and nitrite problem, if i shouldnt do a water change...


----------



## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

The idea is to raise the water temp so that the life cycle of the ich will be accelerated. The meds kill the young parasite.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm


> After several days of feasting, the engorged parasite develops into a trophozoite, burrows out of the fish and sinks bottom of the tank. Secreting a soft jellylike substance, it forms a protective membrane inside of which it divides into hundreds of baby parasites, known as tomites. The hungry tomites soon leave their home in search of a fresh fish to dine upon.
> 
> It is during the free-swimming stage, which lasts a mere three days, that the parasite is vulnerable to medication. Once it has burrowed into a new host fish it is safely protected from chemicals in the water.


so the idea is to do a WC every day to suck out as much of the tomites as possible.

And it will get worse on the fish before it gets better....so seeing more is more than probable


----------



## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Can you QT the heavily infected fish?

Are you currently running filtration? Some medications request that the filtration is turned off.


----------



## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

filtration keeps going...just remove any carbon.


----------



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

thanks for the info. what happens once the ick is in the host though? it says they are protected from the meds. thats no good. will the infected fish die?!

i cant qt the fish. i only have one tank as a qt tank, and theres already a betta girl in there with mouth fungus. (shipped direct from thailand) 

what about the water params? should i put good used filter in the HOB on the infected tank to help?


----------



## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

The only thing you can kill is the baby parasites, known as tomites.



> It is during the free-swimming stage, which lasts a mere three days, that the parasite is vulnerable to medication. Once it has burrowed into a new host fish it is safely protected from chemicals in the water.


The fish has to suffer thru the infestation. What you are trying to do is prevent the next cycle of infestation. That's all you can do. Keep medicating for a week or more even if there are no more signs of ich. I'd almost say medicate for 5 days after the last signs of ich have gone....but at least 3....with daily WC, higher temps and no carbon regular filtration. Depending on the size and population of your tank you can reduce the water level while you medicate, so you use less meds. Ich parasite of all stages are in the tank, not just the fish.


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> thanks for the info. what happens once the ick is in the host though? it says they are protected from the meds. thats no good. will the infected fish die?!
> 
> i cant qt the fish. i only have one tank as a qt tank, and theres already a betta girl in there with mouth fungus. (shipped direct from thailand)
> 
> what about the water params? should i put good used filter in the HOB on the infected tank to help?


I would raise the temp (if you haven't already), and do large water changes with gravel vacs to remove dead/paralyzed ick.

The increase in appearance of Ick, like stated before is just because the parasites already in the fish are now coming out and moving onto the next stage.

Try to keep the water clean - either do large WCs to remove that ammonia and nitrite/nitrate, and at the same time you can clean up the gravel/bottom. The most effective thing treating almost any ailment is clean water.


----------



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

i did a massive 60% water change. (sucked up a fry, but got him before he got flushed  )

i do all my water changes with a syphon, and clean the gravel thoroughly. 

i have the temp at 84 and everyone seems fine...except for my panda cory. i found him this evening, dead in his favourite place. he was my first fish, and my favourite.  i actually swore out loud when i found him. (my daughter repeated it and said "damn", kind of cute, but my fiancee flipped)

i have added meds again after the WC, and it seems to not be spreading to other fish. i am missing a few fry, but they could be hiding. (i hope) 

im just wondering, what can i do for the poor fish that is covered, literally, COVERED with ick? is there something i can get to soothe the pain, or help the healing process? more importantly, is there any way of getting rid of those unsightly white cysts?


----------

