How Much Salt For My Mollies And Swords?

[Prinmel]

I have a tank with mollies and swordtails that I just got, well one day after I got them they popped up with ick, covered in it! My tank is not new has been going for a couple years, just switched to a different type of fish. Never had ick with the other fish. So they are all in a smaller tank with medicine. So two questions:
1.) how do I make sure the ick is gone from the main 55 gallon tank? I don't want to have to put medicine in it because it takes so much and is expensive. Should I drain the main tank and leave 5 gallons or so in it and treat that water then refill, or will that give me new tank syndrome? Can I just add a ton of salt while the others are in the small tank then change half when they are better? Which brings me to question
2.) How much salt per gallon should I put in there on a regular basis to maintain a disease free environment? I have read so many conflicting amounts... I do weekly vacuums and water changes and keep the temp at 82º F. I have perfect water for them, high alkalinity and hard.

 

[»äshleÿ«]

Ich is a pain but it's really easy to treat without the use of meds. Raise the temp to 86°F (ich cannot breed at this temp or higher and therefore won't survive). Use approx 15mL (1 tablespoon) of aquarium salt for every 5 gallons. Make sure you have a bubbler in the tank or your filter output is stirring the water enough to keep oxygen in the tank. Watch the ick on your fish; once you notice some of the white spots disappearing do a 30% WC every other day by vacuuming the gravel and remember to replace some of the salt lost. This will help to replenish oxygen and remove the parasites free-swimming in the water. After about 10-14 days your tank should be ich free if the tank has been maintained at a steady temp and the NaCl levels have been constant. Good luck!

 

[OldMan47]

There is a link in my signature area to a very good article on treating ich. It starts out telling you all about the parasites so you don't end up making some of the more common mistakes like stopping the treatment too soon. I have used the method and never saw another ich infestation in the tank. The water change is not necessary for the treatment and really just adds complexity to the treatment by adding in things not needed. I have seen the water change thing before but never found it necessary until it was time to begin dropping salt concentration and water temperature. Obviously, the only way to remove any salt is with a water change. With just mollies and swords in the tank, normal water changes of about 30% each week are plenty fast enough at removing the salt.

 

[Prinmel]

Ok I read the article and I don't know, for me it was a bit hard to follow... But once I do get rid of the ich, how much salt should I add for maintenance levels? Also are swords as salt tolerant as mollies? I know that mollies can convert to full saltwater if they wanted to and live just fine like that. I am just not sure about the swords...
Thanks!!

 

[OldMan47]

You add enough salt for the treatment and wait. When the ich is gone, you do your regular water changes starting about 3 or 4 days later. The next time you add any salt is when you mess up and put ich infested fish into the tank and need to treat again. You do not use salt as a tonic, although the packagers of salt would like you to think you can. Salt is a medication and should only be used when needed. Using salt when it is not required as a treatment is like you taking a dose of penicillin daily as a preventive. What do you do when you get sick and are allergic to the stuff?

 

[gearhead65]

I have swords and mollies too, but I also have corys. From what I understand, corys are very salt intolerant. How would one go about this with corys added to the mix?

 

[Prinmel]

oh well I already have them in a smaller tank with ich medicine. It says to treat once, or every 24 hours until symptoms are gone. So I will probably treat them every 24 hours and give the last dose on Friday night... I wont be home to dose until Sunday.. But all the white spots are gone today, I bumped the heater up last night and it’s sitting at about 85º F.

 

[heygetsmart]

I've only used rid-ich in my smaller tanks, but my larger ones I do the salt and heat method [ : It works like a charm

 

[Prinmel]

Does this salt treatment work for other types of diseases, like fungal and bacterial infections?

 

[OldMan47]

Salt is specifically used for ich. There is an article about treating ich that can be reached by a link in my signature area.