dosage on aquarium salt

[Elisabeth83]

I want to treat ich with salt but I'm not sure of the dosage..

I've read 1 teaspoon per gallon
as well as
1 tablespoon per 5 gallon

what is the correct dosage??

Is this treatment usually succesful? Can ick be treated with Melafix?

Right now I've turned the temp up in my tank and covered it to make it dark.

Should I skip the salt and treat with something stronger??

Almost all my fish in my 26 gallon have small white spots on them.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I'd skip the salt altogether to be honest. Most fish come from areas with low salt content and you'd want to get the ich before it becomes too serious. I'd use Interpet Anti Whitespot Plus for 2 weeks (even though it says less on the bottle) to make sure you get the ich when the meds work (when the spots disappear). Bumo u the heat too to quicken the life cycle.

If you still want to use salt, it's 1 rounded tablespoon for every 5US gallons. It's beneficial to use it alongside the meds to help gill function and supposidly decrease stress.

HTH

Oh, just looked at your sig. You can't use salt with cories.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hey,

It's the 26 gallon tank that has the ich not the ones with the pleco and cories in it.

I can't get that type of ich medication here in Sweden...I have some JBL Punktol which is for white spot.

http/www.jbl.de/index_uk.html

That's the link to the medication. I'm a little confused though on how many days I should treat for with this medication?? Can you help?

 

[Elisabeth83]

More bad news....

fry tank has ick and so does my betta tank....

I definately need to have gravel-vacs/nets and what not for each tank. Well I do have enough nets for each tank...I guess I need to make sure I use the same one on each tank. Maybe hang the net next to the tank so they wont get mixed up. I have 2 gravel vacs...just I need to buy 2 more..

My heart fell out of my chest when I saw 2 of my bettas with white spots on them...

I'm gonna die if all 3 of my tanks get wiped out due to ick...

 

[enchanted]

With ICK you should always treat longer than the medication recommends in order to ensure that it is all gone. Usually 3 to 4 days longer is good.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Ok so I've raised the temp in all the 3 tanks up to about 27 (80) as I've read that this increases the ick's lifecycle. The site that recommended this also said if the temp is raised to 80 the full cycle of the ick should be 5 days so to treat for 5 days..does that sound about right?

I've given the first dose of JBL Punktol medication now to the 3 tanks...I started with half dose like it recommended. It says to treat the day on day 1, 3 etc etc..so if I am doing a 5 day treatment I should do it on days

1, 3 and 5 correct? Not a treatment for all 5 days I wouldn't think?

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Elisabeth83

Ich is a common problem that must be hit hard and long to remove it from your tanks and cure the fish.

I suggest raising the temperature to no less than 80 F, adding salt at the rate of one Tbs. per 5 gallons of water and treating with any good name brand medicine for at least twice the length of time they recommend.

In other words, don't take any chances. Be sure it's completely wiped out, or it will return.

BTW, are your corys and the frog infected too? If not, take them out of the tanks during treatment. While the corys might survive it, the frog will probably not unless the medicine specifically states that it is safe for them.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi Inchworm,

This is actually the first time I've had ick since I started 6 months ago. When I first began I thought I had a case of ick but I didn't..the fish were just flicking and rubbing on gravel probably due to high ammonia because they never actually had any white spots. Now though I have ick for sure...tiny grain sized white spots all over!!

I've added salt now to all of the infected tanks. I didn't have enough aquarium salt for all of the tanks at 1 Tbs per 5 gallons so I did 2 1/2 Tbs per 5 gallons instead. How often should I be adding salt turning the treatment? Is 5 days treatment of the white spot medicine suffcient or should I treat for longer?

The tank with the cories and pleco doesn't have ick "yet" cross my fingers. I've moved my frog to a little half gallon spare tank which he used to live in before he got upgrated to his suite lol The medicine says it isn't good for invertebrates.

I have noticed the guppies in with the cories and pleco rubbing themselves occasionally on the sand..but this has been happening since I set the tank up 1 1/2 weeks ago (added established filter media, water, plants, and gravel in a nylon) so I believe it's due to ammonia. I can't see any white spots on them and everytime I do a water change they stop doing it.

Is there anything I can do to help make sure this take doesn't get ick either?

Thanks for your help

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hmmm....my pleco was in my 26 gallon 4 days ago...but I moved him into my 30 gallon with my cories and guppies because I was treating my 26 gallon with a bacterial medication.

I just had a close look at my pleco and I can see ick on him...what am I going to do?? How can I treat this tank with a pleco and cories in it??

 

[turbotiber]

Hi Elisabeth!

Aawww man seems like you're having all these problems all at the same time, I'm so sorry

You mentioned you don't have too much access to medicien where you are right? I don't have loads of access to all those cool meds everyone talks about but when my betta got Ich I used Malachite Green and Meth Blue (Green - 1 drop per 4 liters, Blue 1 drop per liter but). If you find them there (pretty much should be able to) check the dosage it could be different. It ridded the ick really fast! About 4-5 days no more ich but continue the treatment a few more days just so it doesn't come back. I also added half a teaspoon of salt to his bowl (1.5g)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Elisabeth83

Before you do anything else, please take a minute to post about which fish has which disease. If you are treating some for bacterial infection, it could be that it has spread to the other fish. The treatments are different for that and ich.

Since finrot or other bacterial infections can also produce white spots, be sure that you are not making a mistake. Corys rarely get ich, but bettas can get either and so can most fish.

If the white stuff looks fuzzy or stringy, it might not be ich. Are the fish being treated for bacterial infection in the same tank as the ones with ich?

 

[Elisabeth83]

Inchworm - I was treating the 26 gallon for a bacterial infection (algae eater had pop-eye and a wound) I was also just have mysterious deaths that fit a bacterial problem. The treatment was meant to go on for 4 days and today was day number 4 although I didn't do the fourth treatment because I noticed the ick.

I emptied 50% of the water like I was meant to after the treatment (JBL furanol) and then refilled the tank. I then put in some JBL Acclimol and JBL Denitrol like the JBL Furanol suggested. The Denitrol and Acclimol arn't medications they are just supposed to help the fish get better after the JBL Furanol treatment. Boost their Immune system and add bacteria back into the aquarium.

The 26 gallon, fry tank and betta tank all have ick. In the 30 gallon (cories, guppies and pleco ) the pleco is the only one who I see white spots on. He was in the 26 gallon 4 days ago. I took him out of that tank and put him in with the guppies and cories because he couldn't be in the 26 gallon while I was doing the bacterial treatment.

How should I treat the 30 gallon tank? Should I half the dose of the Ick medicine? Should I remove the pleco and just do a treatment in a bucket?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Elisabeth83

First I would get the pleco away from the healthy fish if you are sure it has ich. Also, you might want to remove all the first medication from the tank before dosing with the ich meds, unless you check with the manufacturer to see if it is safe to combine them. Do this by using carbon in your filter and big water changes.
Be sure to take the carbon out again before beginning treatment for the ich.

You will want to monitor your water parameters too, to be sure that none of these meds have disrupted your cycle by killing off your beneficial bacteria. If this happens you will have to control your ammonia etc. by doing frequent water changes and replacing meds until they are well and the cycle is reestablished.

Now, do you think that the bacterial infection is gone or are you still going to have to take care of that as well?

Frankly, Elisabeth83, it might be a good idea to contact the manufacturer for instructions on how to proceed. The treatment for bacterial infection is opposite that of ich as far as temperature goes, and raising the temperature to treat the ich could bring back the bacterial problem if it is not entirely cured. Also, since I do not know how the meds will interact with each other, I don't want to suggest that you combine treatment at this point, although the manufacturer would know if it would be safe. In other words, I'm afraid of doing more harm than good for you.

Please let me know what you find out. Good luck, I hope your fish recover soon.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi Inchworm,

Pleco has been moved into my 26 gallon and I will continue to treat that tank with half doses on the white spot medication.

I went to the JBL website to the Punktol section this is what it says "If any other preparations (including plant fertilizers) have been used, two thirds of the water should be changed."

The 2 things I used are like stress coat and some stuff to promote bacteria growth are those considered preperations??

It's been about 6 hours since I added everything and the fish seem ok. I don't think this ick treatment bothers the benificial bacteria...it doesn't mention anything about that and usually with the JBL products it will state if it does.

Well I treated for the bacterial problems for 3 out of the 4 days. I guess right now my main concern is the ick. Will the salt I added help the algae eaters wound?

I think I might be able to still treat with the bacterial medication. It only states on the Punktol that JBL fungal should not be used at the same time.

edit: No just read JBL Furanol can't be used in conjunction with any other medications.

I will keep my eye on the algae eater and if he doesn't seem to be getting better should I remove him? The only place I'd be able to keep him would be in a bucket with no heater of filter.

 

[3fsh]

I would be very careful with the pleco and salt... just make sure you keep an eye on him. The salt will burn holes in his skin if you add too much of it. I would go with 1/2 the dose of salt recommended just in case.