gourami with ich.

[Fishy411]

my gourami in my 10 gallon has ich. What shoulkd i treat him with?

 

[Doggfather]

Whats avaliable in your area? it's difficult to give brand names on an international forum because whats avaliable here might not be avaliable anywhere else, most places have a variety of ich meds...To begin with, raise the temperature of the tank then go to the lfs and pick a med

 

[Fishy411]

yeah.. well the raising the temp is a problem. I have my heater going full bore and it is only like 72-73. Also i just looked in my 55 gallon and two of my green cories have little white spots on theri heads1.. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH will i have to move these into my 10 gallon where the treatment is? I got some tank buddies tablets. Will raising the temp be enough. The heater on my 55 is working good and when i moved the other fish from my 10 gallon i turned the heat up. Will these be enough.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...I just finished cycling my 46 gallon FW tank. I got the ich several weeks in during the stress period and I had a completely successful result. I think the keys are to slowly bump up the heat to about 80 degrees if possible (speeds up the cycle of the ich organism and shortens treatment time) and take out the charcoal in your filter. I used malechite green (the brand was Wardley's). Despite being in the cycling period, I did frequent 10% water changes. Ich was cured in 7-8 days. Good luck. FR, MD

 

[Fishy411]

i cant bump up the heat. My heater is bumb and the temp cant be pushed past 72.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Fishy411

First of all you have to get a heater. You cannot expect to keep tropical fish in cool water. That alone is enough to cause them to get ich.

Now, about the ich. please be sure that your diagnosis is correct before you treat them with anything. A fish with ich will look like it has been sprinkled with salt. It will be tiny specks of white and might start on fins or show up all over it. Here's a picture:

http/www.mushi.petfish.net/ick.html

Now the reason I am questioning your diagnosis, is because corys don't seem to get ich, and if they seem to have it, they probably have a bacterial infection instead. This is something entirely different and you will not want to treat him with the same medication, and definitely not put him in a tank with a high temperature.

Please look carefully at the picture and be sure just what the problem is before you add meds. Also, it's usually a good idea to give your tank a good water change and bottom cleaning before you begin.

 

[Fishy411]

well inchworm i DO have a heater but what i am saying is that my heater is not working properly as of late so the highest i can get the temp to is about 72-73 degrees. My birthday is early next month so ill get 0one then. I havent moved the corys into the treatment tank because they are acting normally and i am beginning to think it is just a different coloration. The gourami has little white spots on most of his body and a few big ones. i have to do a water change today to add more medication for my gourami so ill just make it a water change with warm water. also in that link is that a mild casr of ich bcuz my gourami looks much much worse than that.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Fishy411

Yes, that case in the picture does look mild to me. I have seen worse cases than that. The thing that is important is to notice that the spots are tiny and look like salt crystals, rather than like blobs of white stuff which would more likely be a bacterial or fungus infection.

Perhaps your parents will help you out by giving you a heater as an early birthday present. It will be really hard to treat ich without raising the temperature. This is because ich is a parasite that must go through the various stages of its life cycle before it is killed, and that speeds up or slows down according to the temperature of the water.

My usual suggestion is to increase the temperature to 80 degrees F., add 1 Tbs. salt per each 5 gallons of water, and to use a medicate as well.

When you do a water change, be sure to have the temperature the same as the water in the tank. This is to prevent temperature fluctuations, which is even harder on the fish than having a constant low temperature.

 

[Fishy411]

ok. I did a 10% water change today. can i use kosher salt in the tank? also my gourami has small salt like crystals and big white blotches. He itches himself on the gravel too. He has loss of color. He is a honey gourami and the front half of his head is a brownish color. Is it possible to have ich and other bacteria.