Can i treat ich with a salt treatment but without a heater?

Question

i have a goldfish aquarium so i don't have a heater. this article http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php says that a salt treatment without heat is possible.

Answer 1

It is possible.

Answer 2

yeah, can

Answer 3

Salt is a mild antibacterial agent and it stimulates the production of a fish's slime coat, which is part of a fish's natural immune system.  My "medicating" an ill fish by adding salt to the tank an aquarist is giving the fish's immune system a boost and simultaneously dealing a blow to any bacterial agents in the tank that are sensitive to salt.  Ich is a parasite that is somewhat, but not particularly vulnerable to salt.  (Ich infestations occur in saltwater tanks, too).  

Turning up the heat helps to treat ich by speeding up the life cycle of the ich parasite, thereby causing medications to kill it quicker and forcing it to progress to the free-swimming stage sooner.  The free-swimming stage of ich is the only stage that is vulnerable to medication.  This is why many ich outbreaks seem to get worse before they get better when undergoing treatment.  Any parasites that are in the cyst stage must hatch, infest the fish and then progress to the free-swimming stage before they can be killed by the treatment.

Salt alone can only cure an ich infestation if it is in a very early stage and your fish is hardy enough that its immune system can fight off the parasite to the point where the fish cannot be infested at all.  This is not common.  Most ich infestations are very persistent and medication must be resorted to.  Ich is one of the few fish ailments where the use of a hospital tank is useless as a single infected fish usually indicates that cysts or free-swimming ich will be present in the tank as well and the whole tank should be treated anyways.

Good luck with your fish.