LuckyLoach
New Member
I just thought I would share my experiences with the dreaded ich. Hopefully this may save someone else’s fish, as it was too late for some of mine.
I caught the ich fairly early on one of my three clown loaches, and immediately went down to Wally-World (no local pet shops), and purchased an ich medication there. They had about three types, but none were anything that I found desirable to use with loaches. I followed the directions for half doses, for fish without scales, as soon as I got home. The directions said to keep treating until the ich disappears. I began treating on Monday, and slowly upped the temperature of the tank to 86 as some do recommend. I also had to remove all the carbon from my filters, which made the water less than desirable. By Friday, nothing had changed for the better. My other two loaches were covered, the original loach was looking terrible, several tetras were covered, and I had lost 4 Platies. I headed over to a larger city, about 45 minutes away, that evening. I went to a pet shop, and to Petsmart, and both recommended the same medicine to me. It is called Mardel CopperSafe. It states on the directions, no half doses, treats the tank for 30 days, do not remove carbon, and do not up temperature. I had serious doubts about its abilities. I came back, treated the tank, and watched the tank the next couple of days. I ended up loosing the original loach, but the other two were clean again within a couple of days. All of my tetras made it through except for two. I did loose 11 out of my 14 platies, but I believe this is due to raising the temperature up to 86 degrees because none of them had ich spots. I just don’t think they could tolerate the heat. I lost about 15 fish total.
Skip two months to present day. After I felt the tank was clear, and I was finally safe to rebuild the community, I went to Wal-Mart to purchase some additional fish. The guy in the fish department there is excellent and takes good care of the tanks, but they had just remodeled. I wasn’t paying real close attention, but it appears that the two new loaches that I purchased, along with a couple of the new tetras, had ich. I saw one to two spots on most on the fish, so I knew I had caught it early again. This time, I treated with the Mardel CopperSafe immediately. I went back down to Wally World to get some spring water, and as I walked by the fish tanks, I noticed that there was only one loach left. He was by himself, and had ich also. I figured while I was treating my tank, I might as well try to save him also. 24 hours later, the tetras were clean, but the loaches looked a little worse. Two were lightly dusted, and one was had a decent covering. I just got home from work tonight, about 48 hours later, and found two of the loaches completely clean, and the one with the heaviest covering, only has two spots near his tail fin now. All of the other fish are clean. I did not turn up the heat or remove my carbon this time around. The tank is as clear as can be, and the fish all look like they are going to make a total recovery.
Here is what I have learned:
1. Always try to take a good look at the fish before you buy them from the store.
2. Monitor your fish closely. The quicker you find the ich, and are able to begin treatment, the better the chance your fish will have to survive.
3. Purchase quality ich medication. If you have to use medication that is not up to par, you may not be treating anything.
4. Keep good ich medicine on hand. If you don’t have a local store to buy from, order it from somewhere while your fish are healthy. You never know when you may need it.
5. Ich may not be able to survive at 86 degrees, but some of your fish may not either.
6. Keep close watch on the fish while treating. Ich can spread quickly, and if one method of treatment doesn’t work, be prepared to change courses.
I don’t write this saying that I know this method will work for everybody. I’ve had great success with the Mardel CopperSafe, but that doesn’t mean everyone will have the same results. There were some things that worked for others that did not work for my tank. I did want to share this though in hopes that it may help someone who is out of options, as I once was. Good luck to you all!!
I caught the ich fairly early on one of my three clown loaches, and immediately went down to Wally-World (no local pet shops), and purchased an ich medication there. They had about three types, but none were anything that I found desirable to use with loaches. I followed the directions for half doses, for fish without scales, as soon as I got home. The directions said to keep treating until the ich disappears. I began treating on Monday, and slowly upped the temperature of the tank to 86 as some do recommend. I also had to remove all the carbon from my filters, which made the water less than desirable. By Friday, nothing had changed for the better. My other two loaches were covered, the original loach was looking terrible, several tetras were covered, and I had lost 4 Platies. I headed over to a larger city, about 45 minutes away, that evening. I went to a pet shop, and to Petsmart, and both recommended the same medicine to me. It is called Mardel CopperSafe. It states on the directions, no half doses, treats the tank for 30 days, do not remove carbon, and do not up temperature. I had serious doubts about its abilities. I came back, treated the tank, and watched the tank the next couple of days. I ended up loosing the original loach, but the other two were clean again within a couple of days. All of my tetras made it through except for two. I did loose 11 out of my 14 platies, but I believe this is due to raising the temperature up to 86 degrees because none of them had ich spots. I just don’t think they could tolerate the heat. I lost about 15 fish total.
Skip two months to present day. After I felt the tank was clear, and I was finally safe to rebuild the community, I went to Wal-Mart to purchase some additional fish. The guy in the fish department there is excellent and takes good care of the tanks, but they had just remodeled. I wasn’t paying real close attention, but it appears that the two new loaches that I purchased, along with a couple of the new tetras, had ich. I saw one to two spots on most on the fish, so I knew I had caught it early again. This time, I treated with the Mardel CopperSafe immediately. I went back down to Wally World to get some spring water, and as I walked by the fish tanks, I noticed that there was only one loach left. He was by himself, and had ich also. I figured while I was treating my tank, I might as well try to save him also. 24 hours later, the tetras were clean, but the loaches looked a little worse. Two were lightly dusted, and one was had a decent covering. I just got home from work tonight, about 48 hours later, and found two of the loaches completely clean, and the one with the heaviest covering, only has two spots near his tail fin now. All of the other fish are clean. I did not turn up the heat or remove my carbon this time around. The tank is as clear as can be, and the fish all look like they are going to make a total recovery.
Here is what I have learned:
1. Always try to take a good look at the fish before you buy them from the store.
2. Monitor your fish closely. The quicker you find the ich, and are able to begin treatment, the better the chance your fish will have to survive.
3. Purchase quality ich medication. If you have to use medication that is not up to par, you may not be treating anything.
4. Keep good ich medicine on hand. If you don’t have a local store to buy from, order it from somewhere while your fish are healthy. You never know when you may need it.
5. Ich may not be able to survive at 86 degrees, but some of your fish may not either.
6. Keep close watch on the fish while treating. Ich can spread quickly, and if one method of treatment doesn’t work, be prepared to change courses.
I don’t write this saying that I know this method will work for everybody. I’ve had great success with the Mardel CopperSafe, but that doesn’t mean everyone will have the same results. There were some things that worked for others that did not work for my tank. I did want to share this though in hopes that it may help someone who is out of options, as I once was. Good luck to you all!!
I am using rid-ick and the ick is now leaving my blue gourami Finally I am saving the fish after losing so many with cheap non working ich meds. The problem is now that I have higher nitrate and nitrite they are in the safe to stress level and I think getting higher. Do you know coudl this be from the medicine? I did a 25% water change yesterday adn a larger one today. If you or anyone knows of this medicine making numbers a little wacky plese comment.
