Hello all -- I think I may have spotted some Ich on one of my fish (not a cory). I know that Corys are intolerant of salt, high temps, and most Ich medicine, so what is the best course of action for treating Ich in a tank with Corys? I tried the search on here but found nothing.
Treating Ich In A Tank With Corys
- Thread starter Rynofasho
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Coryologist
Fish Addict
I don't know where you heard that, but it is bogus information. I'm not aware of ANY commercial ich medications that poses even the slightest threat to your Corys well-being. - Frank
Most all of them are harsh on scaleless fish. I've found something called Kordon Ich Attack which looks to be more natural which I might have to try.
Since only the Betta is infected now, would it be wise to move the Betta and treat it separately? My reasoning here is that he used to be in a 1.5 gallon with no heater and did well in there, so I know he can be moved, but the Corys I know will be less tolerant of the temperature change.
Additionally, I know that Corys are less susceptible to developing Ich so I was thinking to remove the Betta and treat it, turn the tank temp up to 82ish to speed the life cycle of the Ich, and hope that no one else contracts it.
Since only the Betta is infected now, would it be wise to move the Betta and treat it separately? My reasoning here is that he used to be in a 1.5 gallon with no heater and did well in there, so I know he can be moved, but the Corys I know will be less tolerant of the temperature change.
Additionally, I know that Corys are less susceptible to developing Ich so I was thinking to remove the Betta and treat it, turn the tank temp up to 82ish to speed the life cycle of the Ich, and hope that no one else contracts it.
Coryologist
Fish Addict
That is always the best course of action. - F.
Ich is a tank disease. Removing fish and treating them individually generally does not work. Best to treat in place.
Now, Ich Attack is too weak to cure. It is based on a natural form of quinine, but the concentration is too low. IME it does not work by itself, at best it will keep Ich infection low for a while. As a supplement to conventional Ich treatment with strains that are resistant to mal. green it has some merits, by itself -- no.
Some Ich treatments (flubendazole, quinine) work nearly 100% without temperature changes. Ich Guard (from the same Kordon) is highly effective and usually delivers without raising temperature too. IME the medication does not have any ill effect on cories.
hth
Now, Ich Attack is too weak to cure. It is based on a natural form of quinine, but the concentration is too low. IME it does not work by itself, at best it will keep Ich infection low for a while. As a supplement to conventional Ich treatment with strains that are resistant to mal. green it has some merits, by itself -- no.
Some Ich treatments (flubendazole, quinine) work nearly 100% without temperature changes. Ich Guard (from the same Kordon) is highly effective and usually delivers without raising temperature too. IME the medication does not have any ill effect on cories.
hth
Coryologist
Fish Addict
The key word being, "generally."
It sure works for me. - Frank
onebto
Fish Herder
I had an out break of Ich in my tank once as I have Clown Loach I dosed the tank at 50% of recommended levels, my 8 Panda Cory took it in there stride 8 months later they are still with me and as lively as they have ever been.
I did not use Salt instead I raised the Temp to 30 degrees and used King British Ich medication got things sorted.
Regards onebto.
I did not use Salt instead I raised the Temp to 30 degrees and used King British Ich medication got things sorted.
Regards onebto.
Well, my outbreak turned for the worse. The fish that I thought had Ich DEFINITELY had Ich, and it is now on one of my plecs and three of my five remaining plecs.
I had already purchased and begun using the Ich Attack herbal stuff. I just dosed the tank for the second time. My fear is that it IS too weak as I have seem others say on the net. It seems people have about a 60/40 success rate with it.
Should I keep using it for a few more days and see if it gets better, or since the Ich seems to be spreading fairly fast and furious (tank is at 81F now as I didnt want to heat it up too high), or should I go with something that has the malachite green / formalin starting tomorrow and just use half of the recommended dose? What would you do in this spot?
I had already purchased and begun using the Ich Attack herbal stuff. I just dosed the tank for the second time. My fear is that it IS too weak as I have seem others say on the net. It seems people have about a 60/40 success rate with it.
Should I keep using it for a few more days and see if it gets better, or since the Ich seems to be spreading fairly fast and furious (tank is at 81F now as I didnt want to heat it up too high), or should I go with something that has the malachite green / formalin starting tomorrow and just use half of the recommended dose? What would you do in this spot?
Sorry for your problems.
I do wonder how you determined the success rate for Ich Attack... I hope you are correct, I only know several people who failed with it and none who succeeded.
The other thing which is not helping is your temperature setting. 81F is sufficiently high to make Ick more virulent but not high enough to kill it. You need to go to at least 86F, and ensure that you have some effective medication in the tank as you raise the temperature, and also ensure that you have very good aeration, otherwise some fish may suffocate. (In your case, danios most likely will suffer most).
If you intend to continue with Ick Attack, bring temperature lower. Quinine works on Ich Parasite in all of its phases, and Ick is less aggressive at lower temperature. Chances of this curing Ick are still not good.
If you want to solve the problem, get one of the medications that is effective against Ick. These include Ick Guard Crystal form (Mal Green+Acriflavine+Salt), QuickCure (Mal Green+Formalin), RidIch+ (ditto). All of these meds work better at higher temp, but don't raise until you dosed. My personal preference is Ick Guard since Formalin is toxic and not a must... but any of the mentioned meds should work.
Also, judging by your words, you have lots of Ick in the water column right now... a very large water change before treating should help.
Good luck!
I do wonder how you determined the success rate for Ich Attack... I hope you are correct, I only know several people who failed with it and none who succeeded.
The other thing which is not helping is your temperature setting. 81F is sufficiently high to make Ick more virulent but not high enough to kill it. You need to go to at least 86F, and ensure that you have some effective medication in the tank as you raise the temperature, and also ensure that you have very good aeration, otherwise some fish may suffocate. (In your case, danios most likely will suffer most).
If you intend to continue with Ick Attack, bring temperature lower. Quinine works on Ich Parasite in all of its phases, and Ick is less aggressive at lower temperature. Chances of this curing Ick are still not good.
If you want to solve the problem, get one of the medications that is effective against Ick. These include Ick Guard Crystal form (Mal Green+Acriflavine+Salt), QuickCure (Mal Green+Formalin), RidIch+ (ditto). All of these meds work better at higher temp, but don't raise until you dosed. My personal preference is Ick Guard since Formalin is toxic and not a must... but any of the mentioned meds should work.
Also, judging by your words, you have lots of Ick in the water column right now... a very large water change before treating should help.
Good luck!
My understanding that the purpose of the heat isn't necessarily to kill the parasite, but to instead speed the life cycle so that you get the phase in which it can be treated with medication faster. Corys are fairly intolerant of heat, so I cant really crank it up on them higher without stressing them more.
The Ich Attack was either working to an extent, or some of the cysts burst faster from the temp because a few fish had less spots but still had a decent amount. I did a 30% change and treated Rid Ich + at 50% yesterday (it is malachite green and formalin). I can only see one or two spots on my cats now, less on my one plec, and one of the cats didn't make it (he looked bad for a few days prior with eroded barbels). I did another 25% change tonite and treated at the half dose again and vaccuumed a lot. I also cleaned the filter really well (with tank water on the important stuff obviously and I pulled the rest apart to wipe it all down).
Fish seem to be handling the medication fine, and everyone looks pretty good in terms of energy and appetite, minus a few fish with spots still.
Hopefully it will improve tomorrow. I've lost a Betta and two Corys to date, and they were the only fish who appeared stress prior to the outbreak, so Im hopeful that all the rest will pull through.
The Ich Attack was either working to an extent, or some of the cysts burst faster from the temp because a few fish had less spots but still had a decent amount. I did a 30% change and treated Rid Ich + at 50% yesterday (it is malachite green and formalin). I can only see one or two spots on my cats now, less on my one plec, and one of the cats didn't make it (he looked bad for a few days prior with eroded barbels). I did another 25% change tonite and treated at the half dose again and vaccuumed a lot. I also cleaned the filter really well (with tank water on the important stuff obviously and I pulled the rest apart to wipe it all down).
Fish seem to be handling the medication fine, and everyone looks pretty good in terms of energy and appetite, minus a few fish with spots still.
Hopefully it will improve tomorrow. I've lost a Betta and two Corys to date, and they were the only fish who appeared stress prior to the outbreak, so Im hopeful that all the rest will pull through.
Correct, but unless you have a medication that is effective speeding the life cycle only increases the amount of parasite in the tank. Ich Attack is not an effective medication and your losses attest to it; switching to RidIch+ was the right move. If you want, you can treat with both, this will not do any harm and may be somewhat more effective than RidIch+ alone.
Most tropical fish will handle 86F for a few days fine; you can increase the tank aeration to make it more comfortable for them.
Continue treating for at least 5 days after you see no more Ich spots, otherwise it may recur.
Alright, I'll leave the tank where it is temp wise for one more day and see if the second day of meds makes it better and if not Ill crank it up a bit, plus continue treating well after I don't see it any more. I guess I'll post any worthy updates. Thanks for all the advice!
moochy13
Fish Herder
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when i was treating for ich the guy at the lfs asked if i had catfish, i said yes, and he gave me myaxzin. i had the temp at about 29/30, treated for 5 days like the guy said - 4 days constant, leave a day, then one mroe day - and it got rid of the ich. i lost a cory and a ram, however both these fish were ill before i started treatment, and i guess the heat and med finished them off.
Well, I don't see any Ich on any of the catfish anymore, and I think I saw one spot on my male BN but he is active as ever. Everyone else seems to be doing alright. I treated the tank again tonite, and it looks like everything is getting better. Hopefully Ill be clear tomorrow and treat through Monday.
We still have two Bettas in separate 1.5 gallons, so I'm thinking of putting one of the Bettas in the main tank after the Ich clears and getting a 5 gallon tank for the other Betta and then using that as the hospital / QT tank for any new fish that I pick up.
We still have two Bettas in separate 1.5 gallons, so I'm thinking of putting one of the Bettas in the main tank after the Ich clears and getting a 5 gallon tank for the other Betta and then using that as the hospital / QT tank for any new fish that I pick up.
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