Can anyone explain to me how to treat this?

Question

I read the information on this website on how to treat ich and somehow it doesn't make any sense!

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=2421

Could someone please explain to me what I should do about ich? Or provide a more explanatory sight?

Answer 1

Ich is a parasite that is found in all water sources.  Fish only get ich when their slime coat has been damaged, thinned or aggravated and usually due to stress on the fish.  (could come from many places)  

Ich isn't in the gravel and it isn't on the fish just waiting to attack a fish it is in the water naked to the human eye.  When a fish is stressed and his protective slime coat has thinned, these parasites will attach themselves to the fish.

The best way to cure ich is to get liquid ich medicine from the store (always a great item to have if you are not running UV Steralizers on your tank)  Treat as directed for the infestation you have.  You will need to remove the carbon from your filter if you are running it.  (Salt dips will work however if you do not know what you are doing, this could kill your fish) keep the salt out.

Also, it doesn't matter about the temperature.  Warmer temps speed up the life cycle of Ich which is still 7 days cooler temps r****d it which it is recomended in sever cases to COOL the water and allow the meds to start to work.

Just treat the tank.  Forget about temps your fish needs it now.  Ich will kill fish.

Answer 2

Ich falls off of the fish and multiples in the gravel and larvae are free-swimming in the water till they find a host. The only way to get it is to kill them is when they are waterborne, so the ones on the fish will die on their own accord (couple days), not by the medicines.  

For ich you will need to help the fish.  There are many medicines, one of the easier ones is salt (use recommended dosage), as it isn't actually a mixture of chemicals and is easier on the fish. There are many varieties and types, but my favourite is a combination of aquarisol and coppersafe.

Hope she gets well soon.

Answer 3

ich is a parasite that lives on the fish. fish can get ich in many different ways. one of the biggest ways is stress, stress can be caused from big temp fluctuations and from feeling threatened as well. and make sure the white spots are ich and not the tail rot. if it is ich, just get a simple bottle of ich treatment from walmart and follow the directions on the bottle.

=] hope it helps. good luck!

Answer 4

Basically, what you need to do is get the temperature to around 80* and start treating...

The medication can kill the parasite more quickly at a higher temperature-- while the parasite is attatched to the fish or encysted, it will not be affected, but as a free swimming tomites.  In cooler water, it will take ages to kill the parasite, and while the infection itself will have less affect on a fish each day in cooler water, not only will the overall damage be the same (because the parasite will just be destroying tissue slowly for a longer period of time), but the medication will be continually metabolized by the fish, which isn't healthy, and can lead to kidney and liver issues in the future (much as with alchoholics who continually test their liver's and kidneys' tolerance for toxins).

With the warmer water, you force the fish to be exposed to less medication (which is essentially a toxin) and parasitic destruction.  Malachite green and formalin (Quick Cure, Rid Ich) is a very effective combination, but copper, heat + salt, heat + salt + methylene blue, and others are also fairly common.  Heat alone will not kill the parasite unless it reaches well into the upper 80's, and sometimes, even temperatures above 90* are required to actually kill the parasite, which is why salt and medications are employed[1][2][3].  During treatment, remove any activated carbon from the filter, and using malachite green, keep the tank dark, as it degrades with exposure to light.

Just for kicks, I'll rebuke some comments made in other answers that are utterly without basis...  

-Heat alone will not kill Ich without doing considerable damage to most fish.  To kill Ich, you'd have to reach into the high 80's, and in many cases, the low 90's.  Discus tanks are generally kept VERY warm (often up between 85 and 90*), and are not immune to Ich.  If your fish are heat tolerant, or do very poorly with medications (Discus, Bettas, Gouramis, Knives, many other Cichlids), you may be able to pull if off by cranking the heat up to 90* for a few days, but this should be a last resort.

-Ich is on most fish, though not in parasitic numbers, just waiting for a stressor (temperature fluctuation, ammonia spike, pH swing, etc.) to allow it a chance to infect.  As long as it is attatched to the fish, it can survive almost indefinitely.  Cysts in the substrate will last for considerable amounts of time before they "hatch", releasing tomites that are affected by medications, but will starve if they are not allowed a host.  Healthy fish will be able to fight off these tomites, essentially starving the parasites.

-Melafix is useless for treating Ich, and most other infections-- it is a PREVENTATIVE.

-Coppersafe is EXTREMELY toxic to inverts like snails, and it specifically says this on its packaging: "CopperSafe may be harmful to plants and some snails. If possible, remove plants and invertebrates without an exoskeleton from the aquarium."

Answer 5

temperature to 78-80°F over 48 hours to speed the cycle of to mite formation and release. Theoretically, if the cycle takes four days to complete

Answer 6

Really, the best way to treat ich would be to buy drops to add to the water. You can find the drops at a pet store.  

Answer 7

ok ich is a parisite that lives in the gravel it is identified by white spots the size of a grain of salt

there are basicly 2 ways to treat for ich method 1 is useing an anti parsite medication there are several different ones ich away is an example the direction will say how much to use per gallon like 2 drops

edit : salt does not kill ich it helps the skin of the fish and coppersafe is a medication for killing parisites it was desgined to be used in tanks with snails so as not to harm the snails

who ever came up with this stuff about salt as a cure for ich is wrong heat and or meds kill ich not salt

and remove any carbon in the filter system

the 2nd method and the one I use is to raise the tank temp up to 85 degs this will kill the parisite and cure the fish

Answer 8

Go to your local pet store, buy a product called mela fix and use as directed.  It is the best product for diseases and open wounds!