Epsom Salt for Ich??

Malachite green is much safer for our fish than methylene blue. Malachite (or Victoria) green also has mild antibiotic effects. I'm of the "age of dyes" from long ago but it still works. To heck with any staining your silicone, I almost never notice the color, white, black, blue or less often green.

There are high temp resistant forms of ich, but raising the temp a bit can speed up the ich lifecycle. That higher temp can stress our fish & reduce water oxygen level. That why it's often suggested to increase aeration, that & ich can often infects the fish gills, unseen by us.

Many of our fish are salt intolerant. It needs to be added over hours (not minutes) or even days to get it to the dosage needed to kill ich. & it should be removed slowly too, via many water changes. TDS shock is a real issue, it used to be called pH shock, but that's not quite right, as we now understand it.

I haven't had ich in many years or lost fish to it & I credit my quarantine tanks. But treating it long enough (10-14 days after ALL signs of ich are gone), with vacuuming water changes every time before redosing. Many believe the "3 day ich cure" actually works...but that's only how long it stays on the fish before dropping off into the substrate & then going into the water column to reinfect our fish. There is NO 3 day cure or even a week...you need to be diligent with both treatment & water changes. It doesn't need to be fatal, but it can be without good care.
 
Malachite green is much safer for our fish than methylene blue. Malachite (or Victoria) green also has mild antibiotic effects. I'm of the "age of dyes" from long ago but it still works. To heck with any staining your silicone, I almost never notice the color, white, black, blue or less often green.
Methylene Blue is safer than Malachite Green.

Methylene Blue kills bacteria and fungus. Malachite Green is for protozoa.
 
Do you have citations for that? I totally disagree on the different dye's safety, I think you're mistaken. Ich is neither a bacteria, or a fungus. Isn't ich a prozoan? Or is now something else now? Please enlighten me.
 
Ich (white spot) is a protozoan parasite.

Methylene Blue is used in hospitals to treat humans for certain health issues.

Malachite Green (aka Victoria Green) is a carcinogen and is used to treat protozoan parasites in fish. However, it is being phased out in some countries due to being a carcinogenic substance.
 
So if ich is a protozoan why use a chemical that treats fungus and bacteria to treat it instead of the chemical used to treat protozoan?

I've always gone with m green for ich, it is effective, it works quick, and have not had any adverse effects from it. Formalin is also effective, but m green is my first choice. Formalin is useful but also has health risks when handled. Its a derivative of formaldehyde.

M blue I'd not consider my top choices for ich. It has its uses, very good for fungal infections, certain external bacterial infections, and preventing fungus on eggs in certain fish. But it is not something I'd turn to if I had options for ich.

Heat is also not one I go to, as prolonged heat is also stressful on the fish I've got who prefer cooler temperatures.


Salt can work, but there's also times not to use it.

Copper is also another method, though that has higher risks than anything else involved and would be the absolute last resort, imo. Worse to remove from the tank forever after, it is toxic to fish and plants in overdose, and you'll never be able to keep inverts again unless you get something like Cuprizorb to remove it long after.

Sometimes you have to look at each case as an individual case, assess the risks and benefits involved with each and go with the approach that works best for that case. For me, with my tanks, I go for half dosed malachite green and it works for me. Salt, I've tried and my cories freaked the heck out. They didn't respond well and flashed everywhere and began breathing very heavily. And it's more of a pain in the butt to remove from the water than medications are where you can throw carbon in rather than continuous water changes. I've not had that reaction with medication with them when dosed properly.

Does this mean Salt doesn't work? NO. It means it just isn't feasible for my particular setups. For me, I find the medication route to be less stressful.

Does m green come with risks of cancer? Possibly. Many things nowadays do, doesn't stop most people. The sun even can! Do we just not go outside? No, we wear clothes, put sunscreen on.
Dose malachite green, use gloves and don't touch the water until the stuff is removed. It's banned for use on food fish. Are you planning to eat your aquarium fish?
 
Well put, @CassCats. From the dawn of the hobby there have always been multiple approaches to ich treatment. I just checked Innes in the 1935 edition (the first edition of 20) of his seminal book and he offers a half dozen treatments endorsed by others at the time ranging from heat to dyes to salt.
 
There is a difference between ornamental fish and fish for food.

Most of the Ich treatments that are banned for use in food fish but are not for use with ornamental fish. So if you have Ich and plan to eat the fish in your tank, do not use the best Ich meds as they are not good for you.

Also if you want to know the actual uses for Methylene Blue in our tanks have a read here https://www.macsenlab.com/blog/methylene-blues-uses-in-fish-aquaculture/
Methylene Blue is utilized in aquaculture as an antifungal and anti-parasitic, and it is widely used to treat fish eggs to prevent fungal overgrowth. It is effective in killing protozoa and other aquatic parasites in fish. Methylene Blue is a safe aquarium disinfectant that is also used to treat toxicity often caused by ammonia and nitrite. This compound is highly safe to use and does not damage or kill the fish, provided it is used in limited dosage and one does not overdose the fish with it.

I have a large review study of over 100 htings tried to use for Ich here is what it stated re M B,

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Meth Blue was originally used as a dye. It also is good for getting oxygen into things. However it will stain things in ones tanks and is ofyen not a first choice as a result.
 
I'd like to add: m blue will work for ich, but it's not one of its better uses. Its also something I think most folks should have on hand in their medication kits.

That's my point with it. It will work, but it's not often what it's targeted for.
 

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