# I think its ich



## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

so in the our tank to day my girlfreind noticed white spots on her tiger barb's tail fin and dorsal fin. I think it is ich. what is the best way of treating it? the fish still swims fine but it has several spots on it. help me pleasss. thanks


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> so in the our tank to day my girlfreind noticed white spots on her tiger barb's tail fin and dorsal fin. I think it is ich. what is the best way of treating it? the fish still swims fine but it has several spots on it. help me pleasss. thanks


You can get several different products for Ich at either Petsmart, Petco, or even Wal-Mart. Just remember to follow the instructions very closely. I have never encountered Ich as I have always kept a check on my water quality. However, I have had a couple fungal outbreaks that I used Melafix to treat.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

okiedokie thanks! im not sure what causes ich...do you know? i read that a change in water temperature can do it? if that is the case im pretty sure it would have been at the begining of this week when ignorantly we changed about 60% of the water in the tank instead of 20% and probably put the fish back in the water too soon.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

i used Super Ick Cure, a little aquarium salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallon??), and increased temperature with good result.

remember 3 things.
1. increase temp slowly over the course of a few days. i did 1*F every 12 hours until the water temp was 82*F
2. continue with the meds as directed for a week after the symptoms on your fish disappear.
3. the idea is to treat the water, not the fish.

hope this helps.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

search for "Ichthyophthirius multifiliis" in google and read through the first 5 items that come up. you'll know more than you ever care to know about it.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks gil! we will go and pick some ick cure today.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> okiedokie thanks! im not sure what causes ich...do you know? i read that a change in water temperature can do it? if that is the case im pretty sure it would have been at the begining of this week when ignorantly we changed about 60% of the water in the tank instead of 20% and probably put the fish back in the water too soon.


You shouldn't take the fish out at all. I take out about 20-25% every 12-14 days on my 29G and 55G and just use Tap Water Conditioner when I add back my water. I have always used a 5 gallon bucket and a large gravel vac to do this process.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

> You shouldn't take the fish out at all. I take out about 20-25% every 12-14 days on my 29G and 55G and just use Tap Water Conditioner when I add back my water. I have always used a 5 gallon bucket and a large gravel vac to do this process.



yeah we didnt take the time to read about it and i just did it the way my parrents did which i now know is wrong. so next time we will definatly be more carfull befor we start taking water out of the tank... thanks for all of the advice


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> yeah we didnt take the time to read about it and i just did it the way my parrents did which i now know is wrong. so next time we will definatly be more carfull befor we start taking water out of the tank... thanks for all of the advice


No problem at all, I am just glad that my experiences can help you.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks again ghost. but i have another problem... we got the ich cure stuff but it says to take the carbon out of the filter but in my filter there are 2 screens one that is white and another one that is black with the carbon in it and it dosnt open. im wondering if i should take the whole filter out or just make a small slit in it and take the carbon out and replace it when the ich is cured or if i should just leave it in the filter? i havnt done anything yet but i want to treat as soon as i can.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

what filter are you using?

i think the idea is to just remove the whole packet. install a new one after you're done with the treatment.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

double-post


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

gil_ong said:


> what filter are you using?
> 
> i think the idea is to just remove the whole packet. install a new one after you're done with the treatment.


gil beat me to it, but yes you need to totally remove the filter when treating for ich, otherwise the medicene will just get stuck in the filter. Just remember to follow the instructions as close as you can.


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

Ich cure has never worked for me, I have had problems with it in the past. The best cure in my opinion, after trying many different treatments, is a simple water change. Check your water perimeters.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks for the help. i have an aqua tech for a 10 gal...i am assuming because it came with the tank. it had two filters in it a white one and a blue one...the blue one i took out but the white one i left in should i take the white one out too?


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

You should be fine just removing the blue one which contains the carbon. Activated carbon removes chemicals in your tank. The white filter media in that aqua tech is most likely an ammonia remover it shouldn't effect anything.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks. is not eating a sign of ich as well? because iv noticed that the barb isnt eat nearly as much as it did...if at all


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

illness and disease causes stress, and when anything is stressed, it typically loses appetite.


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## mts (Aug 14, 2008)

be careful with the meds. Some fish are very sensitive especially scaleless
and exoskeletal fish such as shrimp and snails. Do a 50% water change before treating with any kind of meds. I always use Mardel products before treating bring the water temp up to 84. Use a sponge filter vs carbon, the carbon absorbs all of the meds. Ick takes several weeks to go through all of the cycles. Once this Ick is cleared up, keep antibiotics on board, also some 
aquarisit use salt as a preventative treatment, 1 Tablespoon/5 gallons.
just make sure that the fish can tolerate the salt


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks mts i will keep that in mind for next time (hopfully there wont be a next time) but i have already started treating and it seems to be working...the barb got its appitite back for today and the spots seem to be fading...maybe its just wishful thinking but it makes me feel better


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

remember to keep treating after the spots go away, and change water according to the directions on the bottle.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks gil. it says to keep giving treatment untill 3-4 days after spots have dissappeared and then do at least a 20% change at the end of the treatment....so ill probably treat for 4 days after and do a 30ish% change


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Good idea...

Also, keep your temp up and add some salt to your tank. FYI, Aquarium Salt from the pet store is exactly the same thing as Kosher Salt from the supermarket at about 4x the price. You can also use regular iodized table salt if you like. I recently learned that iodine is actually not harmful to fish.


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## Sock Yee (Dec 29, 2007)

Well, glad to hear that the your fish is on the road to recovery. But for long-term measures, you would want to ensure that the water stays clean in order to prevent recurrences.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> thanks gil. it says to keep giving treatment untill 3-4 days after spots have dissappeared and then do at least a 20% change at the end of the treatment....so ill probably treat for 4 days after and do a 30ish% change


i would do a water change right before you dose the 3rd time (+ 5th, 7th...), and at the end.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

gil_ong said:


> i would do a water change right before you dose the 3rd time (+ 5th, 7th...), and at the end.


thanks ill have to do it tomorrow or later tonight when the water the water has had time to cool to room temp...the water is lookin a lil brown because that is the color of the meds but the barb is eating like normal now


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

the spots have mostly dissappeared just one left on the barbs tail so it appears to be working


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

remember to do a water change. vacuum your gravel to get rid of eggs and pupae (or whatever it's called).


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

how many tiger barbs are in the tank ?


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks gil. lamonsas there is only 1 barb in the tank...i know that they are schooling fish but it seems to be fine...he dosnt nip at the other 2 fish and most the time just swims laps...we are working on a 55 gal tank that hopfully will be able to have a small school of the barbs.


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

oh nice , but initially u only bought 1?

Yea im gonna buy a few baby tiger barbs this thurdsday, i cant decide if i should buy 4 or 5(im not buy more than 5)

they are really amazing looking fish


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> oh nice , but initially u only bought 1?
> 
> Yea im gonna buy a few baby tiger barbs this thurdsday, i cant decide if i should buy 4 or 5(im not buy more than 5)
> 
> they are really amazing looking fish


Again, you should not be putting any Tiger Barbs in a 20G tank.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

Ghost Knife said:


> Again, you should not be putting any Tiger Barbs in a 20G tank.


when i got my tiger barb this was my first tank and we just went to petsmart and took the peoples word for it and the result was putting fish that belong in groups in and a much larger tank in to a 10 gal...we went off the little card under the tank saying that tiger barbs, dojo loaches, and blue guarmies could go in a 10 gal.... and... the lady said it was fine!?!?!... sooo lesson learned...do your research befor you get your fish... right now the fish seem fine but they are also smaller right now...


but im not sure how many barbs is a good number...the cards under the tank normaly say they do best in 3 or more but last time all i went by was the cards and look how that turned out...


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> when i got my tiger barb this was my first tank and we just went to petsmart and took the peoples word for it and the result was putting fish that belong in groups in and a much larger tank in to a 10 gal...we went off the little card under the tank saying that tiger barbs, dojo loaches, and blue guarmies could go in a 10 gal.... and... the lady said it was fine!?!?!... sooo lesson learned...do your research befor you get your fish... right now the fish seem fine but they are also smaller right now...
> 
> 
> but im not sure how many barbs is a good number...the cards under the tank normaly say they do best in 3 or more but last time all i went by was the cards and look how that turned out...


Tiger Barbs generally do best in schools of 5 or larger because when there's only a few of them they get extremely defensive and terretorial causing fin nipping.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

thanks ghost knife for clarifying...is it true the larger the group the better? (if you have the proper tank size)


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> thanks ghost knife for clarifying...is it true the larger the group the better? (if you have the proper tank size)


Indeed it is better. I started with 4 in a 29G many months ago and they would chase around the other fish constantly. I then moved them to my newer 55G and added 3 more. One of them died I believe from old age as he was large for a Tiger Barb. However, even at 6 they are extremely calm and cool. They chase each other for exercise and that's about it.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

i think i got one of the odd balls then...my barb dosnt really chase any one...he jsut zooms around the tank somtimes chasing his own refelction


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

COM said:


> FYI, Aquarium Salt from the pet store is exactly the same thing as Kosher Salt from the supermarket at about 4x the price.



shucks I spent like 5 bucks on "conditioning salt"


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

wooohooo no more spots in the tank!!!! all the fish are swimming fine and they look good! a few more days of treatment then should be good to go


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

curtman602003 said:


> wooohooo no more spots in the tank!!!! all the fish are swimming fine and they look good! a few more days of treatment then should be good to go


That's good to hear. Ich can be one of those things that's quite hardy or can be eliminated easily. Keep the water quality high and you shouldn't have anymore ich problems.


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

i agree with ghost. there are different stages to ich. let up with the medication, increased water temperature and water changes for a ONE WEEK after the end of symptoms.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I'd go with 2 weeks. When I had ich I went so far as to keep the temp up and salt in the tank for a full month after the outbreak. I was taking no chances LOL.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

okiedokie thanks...the meds turn the water a nasty brown color...so ill be happy when the fish are all fine and the water is clear again


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

Obsidian said:


> I'd go with 2 weeks. When I had ich I went so far as to keep the temp up and salt in the tank for a full month after the outbreak. I was taking no chances LOL.


yeah. definitely not something you want to have to deal with again.



curtman602003 said:


> okiedokie thanks...the meds turn the water a nasty brown color...so ill be happy when the fish are all fine and the water is clear again


hmm.... what med are you using? i used API Super Ick Cure and it is a bright blue.


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## curtman602003 (Sep 1, 2008)

blue is way better than poop water haha...but its called ick attack by kordon...ugly but it seems like it works pretty good


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