Ich in 29 gallon tank

Question

I have noticed two of my mollies and quite a few molly fry have ich in my 29 gallon tank. There are more fish in there an that, but I haven't noticed it on them.

Today I put in two tablets of Ich Clear Tank Buddies, and I know I need to take the carbon out of the filter.

I have the kind of filter that you pour in the carbon. Do I pour out the carbon, discard it, then keep the filter running? Or just turn the filter off all together?

Answer 1

I recommend the instructions here: http://www.fishforu.ms/freshwater-discus... for treating ich.

Don't turn off the filter.  You need to remove the charcoal because it will remove the ich treatment otherwise.  I am not familiar with the filter you have, but it sounds like you will be discarding it and using fresh charcoal when done.

In general, I would advise against using medications, especially for something as simple as ich.  Follow the instructions in the link above, and you'll be good to go.

Answer 2

Mollies are especially susceptible to ich, but if you turn the water temp up to 82 F and leave it for a week, that will cure them and kill any ich currently in the tank.

With mollies you can leave the temp up, but it depends on what other fish you have on whether or not you should.

Answer 3

I am assuming you have a 3 part filter:

physical- sponge

chemical- carbon

Biological- gravel media

Either way, you should just be able to toss out the carbon while treating (and replace it to remove the meds when finishing the treatment)

Never turn off the filter, Not only does it break up water surface, but it also hosts your good bacteria colonies, and traps waste.

Carbon is only active for one to two weeks anyway and should be replaced monthly.