How can i get rid of Ich?

Question

I can't seem to get rid of Ich. I've done full tank water changes, boiled the plants, decorations and rocks, and I've even treated the water with the stuff to get rid of Ich. I've placed my fish in a new tank with the treated water as well but it seems to keep coming back. So what can I do now? Any suggestions to get rid of it completely?

Answer 1

your fish maybe stressed. how big is your tank? what kind of fish do you have? i would use aquarium salt then heat the water to 82F.

Answer 2

Gravel vac! You need to get the cysts that fall off your fish out of the tank so they can't start the cycle again. Also increasing the temperature to above 80F is a good idea because it speeds up the life cycle of the Ick. I use the Jungle brand Ick medicine and it works pretty good. But really, gravel vac is very important.

Answer 3

raise the temp to 85 for 2 days then let it lower by its self this will kill the free flowing ich then repeat with out chemicals

Answer 4

Destroy the fish? I know it seems harsh but that's all you can do really. If it doesn't seem to be hurting them then just let them live you the rest of their lives. Just don't add anymore fish. It sounds like you're doing all the right things but the fish are the main carriersof  the disease.

Answer 5

well take your fish to a local pet store and they might know something.U could give your fish to the store to get ich treatment

Answer 6

Just try a different type of medicine, and give the fish medication dips.

Answer 7

What medication did you use?  What temperature is the tank at?  Did you remove the activated carbon from the filter?  Not all Ich medications are created equal-- malachite green + formalin is among the most effective combination, so I would retry with Quick Cure or Rid Ich.  The parasite's life cycle is directly related to temperature-- at around 80*, it takes MUCH less time to reach a free swimming stage (where medications affect it) than it would at 70*.  Getting the temperature to 82* and keeping the tank well aerated will allow you to treat more effectively.  Activated carbon removes medications and other impurities from the water, so it should always be taken out of the filter during treatment.  Lastly, if you used a malachite green based medication, did you turn off the light?  Malachite green degrades with exposure to light, and unless used in a tank with little or no light, will be made far less effective.

EDIT: According to one of the answers you received, "the truth is salt doesn't kill ick heat does."  Unfortunatley, this is entirely untrue.  The most obvious proof is that Discus tanks kept well over 85* (sometimes close to 90*) still become infected with Ich.  Temperature alone will almost never rid the tank of the parasite without doing massive damage to the fish.

EDIT 2: And that is a perfect reason NOT to trust chain store employees!  Stress Zyme is NOT a medication, and I believe it specifically says that on the bottle.  It's only purpose is to irritate the fish, causing them to produce more mucus, and if you're lucky, provide some nitrifying bacteria.  It will do NOTHING for Ich.  Also, somebody suggested letting the tank sit empty for 6 weeks-- that is ABSURD.  The theront stage of the parasite will die within just over a DAY without a host!!!  An undergravel filter will have no affect on the parasites!  If the temperature is as high as I suggested, the cysts in the gravel will be forced to move to a free swimming stage where medications actually will kill them.  They CANNOT remain in the gravel indefinitely.  This is the exact reason it is recommended you treat at LEAST one week after all signs of the parasite are gone-- any cysts remaining in the gravel will "hatch" and be killed.  Also, Silver Dollars are sensitive to mediations, so use half the dosage specified on the medication packaging.

Answer 8

It sounds like you have a freshwater setup (guessing from the boiled plants statement).  The tank needs to go "fallow" for at least 6 weeks (need to allow at least 28 day life cycle of ich and perhaps longer if they spawn).  Meaning leave the pumps and everything running, but remove all living creatures (fish).  Ich needs living creatures to survive; it feeds off of the fish, falls off and then live in the sand/gravel rocks and spawns).  

If you don't want to wait the 6 weeks, you could break down your entire tank, dump the water, dry out everything(plants, rocks, substrate) for a few days, and then clean the tank (still treating the fish in a hospital tank with formalin).  

You can always nuke the tank in calc water (high levels of calcium) to kill off everything, but I do not recommend it because calc water kills everything (good and bad) and should only be used in extreme situations.

For the fish, place them in a hospital tank for the entire 6 weeks or longer while the other tank is fallow.  Treat them with a formalin treatment or formalin dip (can be found at www.drsfostersmith.com) and assuming I am correct with the freshwater species, try a saltwater dip too (use marine salt like instant ocean or crystal sea avail. at pet stores).  The change in environment will kill off some of the ich on the surface of the fish.  The formalin treatment is the ONLY thing that I have found to work on fish.

Answer 9

Seriously! Use Aquarium Salt!

It only happens because you didn't put aquarium salt.

It works! Trust me!

Answer 10

Ich treatment is as easy as turning your heater up. I've dealt with Ich before and with similar fish as you. Gradually turn your heater up to 83F no more then that and keep it their for 2 weeks. In about a week to a week and a half you will no longer see Ich on the fish but just to make sure all the free swimming Ich is dead leave it for 2 weeks. Guaranteed results. Heat will kill Ich once they hatch, the heat will be a little uncomfortable for the fish but meds will stress out your fish even more. Why buy meds?

Answer 11

Medication is not really good in some cases.

Best would be to add aquarium salt and crank up the heat to

86 degrees

Answer 12

well if it is ich it will be white spots that look like grains of salt

and every thing you did failed because you do not have an undergravel filter I am guessing but the cure is simple and easy ick is a parisite and it lives in the gravel but you don't wash the gravel to get rid of it turn the tank temp up to 85 degs this by itself will kill ick some will say you have to add salt but the truth is salt doesn't kill ick heat does

then you need to find out what is stressing the fish stress is what makes them suseptable if you washed the gravel then it means the tank is having to cycle again and the cycle process will make fish stressed so keep your tank temp at 85 and get it properly cycled and things should balance out and end the cycle your going thru now

Answer 13

different ich medication

like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255MSS?tag=...