Ich Medication - I Dont Think It's Working?

[CezzaXV]

Hey all,

Long story short, on 5th Jan I ended up with a cardinal in my tank with a severe case of ich (he was in quarantine and I didn't see that he had ich before moving him back to the main tank). I rushed out to get some meds, and the LFS recommended some King British WS3, which he said should clear it up within a week, although the bottle says two. He said it was very strong stuff and not to overdose and follow the instructions very carefully, which I've been doing. The instructions said if you have any sensitive fish to do a half dose, and as I have cories that's what I've been doing.

The bottle says to dose every 2 days, which is what I've been doing. However, there doesn't seem to be any improvement. In fact, some of the cardinals have been infected with it as well since I started dosing. The original cardinal which had it (he's quite distinctive as he's a bit bigger than my others) is completely covered with it and the fin on his back is missing a big chunk from it now.

Is there anything I should be doing, or should I just sit tight and hope for the best? So far it only appears to be cardinals infected, not my cories or guppies.

 

[Clarousel]

If you have carbon in your filter, did you remove it? When my cherry barbs had ich I forgot about the carbon filter and they got worse like you mentioned.

How long have you been treating for? It would be helpful to do gravel vacs as well.

 

[shelaghfishface]

i always treated ich with higher heat and salt.. worked everytime

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm not sure salt is such a good idea with cories though?

You probably just need to wait; the med can't work while the parasite is still encysted on the fish; it can only work once the cysts have burst (ie the spots dissapear).

There are some strains of whitespot that are resistant to some meds, so you might need to try a different one, but I'd give it a day or two yet.

If you can turn the heater up, that'll help, as it speeds up the lifecycle of the parasite.

 

[CezzaXV]

I've not got carbon in my filter, just ceramic rings, floss and some shells (to help with hardness). I do have some to hand though for when the course is done. Now I think about it, the cartridges from my original filter are in there too from when I started cycling back in September, I think they might have had carbon in, but surely they're spent now?

I've got sand in my tank, not gravel. The bottle says to do a 10% water change after 5 doses, and when I brought it up on these forums people recommended leaving my normal water change schedule and just change the water as the bottle says.

I've been treating since the 5th. The guy in the LFS said it'd clear up in a week, whereas the bottle said 2 weeks. I was at least hoping to see some improvement by now, even if it hadn't cleared completely, but it seems to be getting worse.

My water temp is 25-26 generally, is it okay to turn it up more with the fish I have?

Finally, should I stick to the half dose or consider doing full doses?

 

[LongS]

Turn the temperature up in the tank to speed up the life cycle of the parasite. It won't be for long so i wouldn't worry too much.

I have just finished using the heat and salt method and it worked a treat. My loach is now completely clear and the tank is healthy again. I have a Featherfin cat in there and he didn't mind it.

If i were you i'd think about maybe using the salt treatment. Works great.

 

[Tizer]

salt is not good for corys, it will cause more harm than relief. so unless you can isolate them away while you treat the tank, i dont advise it.

 

[CezzaXV]

Woke up this morning to find a dead cardinal in my tank, I think it was the one that I originally had in quarantine. I'll turn my heater up a bit to 27-28, does that sound good?

I could theoretically quarantine the cories (though it'd be difficult as all my stuff is packed away as the room is going to be redecorated soon), but in any case if what I've read is true, the fact that the cories don't appear to have ich doesn't necessarily mean they don't.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I would keep the cories in the treated tank just because they were exposed. I always treat with heat and medication and it works really well. I would take the temp up to 29 slowly. Thats what had mine at.

 

[CezzaXV]

My heater was set to 26 before, which kept the temp around 25-26. I've turned it up to 28 now, then will turn it up again a bit more tomorrow.

The bottle says do a 10% water change after five doses. Tonight is due my 5th dose. Surely I'm not supposed to change the water immediately after dosing though? Should I do the water change tomorrow?

 

[Greg_DS]

Stick the heat up to 30 gradually, my treatment did take longer than the bottle stated, around 14 days till everybody was clear. Water changes are good (not immediatly after treating) and hoover the gravel as that's where the parasite is before attaching to another fish.

 

[LongS]

Yeah 29-30 degrees i had mine at. I know that salt isn't great for cories or other cats, but neither is parasites. Was a no brainer for me. Couldn't quarantine them then add them back into the main tank, then theres the likely possibility that you will just introduce the parasite again taking you back to the beginning. The way i saw it wasn't a long treatment so the cat wouldn't be exposed to salty water for a significant period of time.

Worked for me. Ich is clear and everything is healthy again. Just something to bear in mind if the medication doesn't work in the next week.

 

[Clarousel]

I had my heat at 30C too, even pushed it to 31C. It took me more than 2 weeks to get rid of the ich If this helps, I did WCs every other day before dosing.

 

[CezzaXV]

I've actually not been doing water changes since I've been medicating. The bottle says to do a 10% water change after 5 doses, and I posted on the forums and people seemed to think it was best to not do my regular water changes.

I'm happy to do water changes if it would help, I just don't want to be removing meds from the water.

 

[CezzaXV]

Since that cardinal died, I only have cardinals with very mild cases now.

I've not done any water changes since I started medicating and although I've not tested, I'd imagine my nitrate levels are building up a bit now. Is it okay to do a big water change tomorrow, or should I wait until the problem is completely gone?