# Ick or something?



## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

I recently noticed my Dwarf Gourami about 1.5 yrs old occasionaly brushing up agains the filter or glass. Seems like he's itching himself which would make me think it is ick but usually when ick is present the fish have white dots on them. None of my other fish have shown this action so I am not sure what his deal is. Anyone with a guess?

thanks


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Ick is a good guess. Fish often start scratching before spots show.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Try slowly elevating the temperature in the tank to the lower 80s (over a few days not hours, say 2 degrees a day) and adding some aquarium salt (per the directions on the back). I believe all the fish in your signature will tolerate that. I would add the salt slowly over a few hours rather than all at once. If you notice they stop itching on the side of the tank etc keep tank in this condition for 3 weeks. Make sure that when you do water changes you add salt back in, to the amount that you took out only. 

When ready to go back to regular tank conditions just slowly reduce temperature and do not replace salt when you perform water changes. This will take the salt back out of your tank. 

Of course if more symptoms show up then pay attention to them  If it is ich this treatment will likely be enough to solve the problem, especially since it is being caught early. I would read up on the life cycle of ich too, if you stop treatment prior to its life cycle end it will just return. 

If it is not ich this treatment shouldn't cause any harm to the fish, leaving you free to move on to another treatment without worries about how that treatment will interact with this one.


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