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Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, or Ich for short is a common parasite found on fish. It looks like tiny white grains of salt stuck to your fish's scales and fins. It can spread and will join together forming larger patches if not treated.
Ich has three life stages. The first stage they are invisible to the naked eye swimming around looking for a host. They become visible during the second stage. They bury themselves under the fishes mucus coating feeding on their body fluids growing to the point that they become visible to us. This stage only last 3-4 days and the spots begin to drop off. They swim around for several hours finding something to attach themselves to like substrate, plant leaves etc. This is the time they're vulnerable to medications. Once this tiny parasite attaches itself to something the cycle begins again. It will stay there producing more Ichs and they will burst forth in search of a new host. With each cycle they multiply dramatically. Left untreated Ich can be fatal.
A few tips to avoid Ich are simple:
Inspect the tank you are interesting in buying fish from. If any look sick - or weak move on.
If possible quarantine your new fish for 7-14 days. Keeping a close eye on them for any signs of sickness.
Not everyone has a quarantine tank I understand that. When floating your bagged fish to acclimate them, open the bag over a net set on a pail. Remove the fish from the net and then add him to your tank without the water he came in. There's no insurance that the fish in not infected as Ich could be in the invisible stage but this will at least tip the scales in your favour.
If you have multiple tanks - keep a net specifically for each tank. Dry your nets completely between uses as Ich can not survive dry.
Purchase plants only from fish-free tanks. Quarantine your plants 5-7 days.
Until last week I have never had to deal with Ich. I have read about it and know what to do in the event so now I had to put my knowledge to the test. My problem was the Ich was on my tiny fry. I was horrified. Poor little ones.
Because they were fry, tiny and probably more delicate than larger Cichlids I wasn't going to use any medications. I thought that would be too harsh for my little ones. My first step was turning up the heater. I keep my water in my fry tanks around 80°. Over the next 24 hours I raised the temperature an increment at a time until I reached the desired temperature of 85°. I also dissolved 1 cup of sea salt in tank water. Once it was all dissolved I added that to their tank. It sounds like a heavy dose for a 20 gallon tank but it's necessary. They can handle more salt then you realize. Also add more surface agitation. When medicating you should always add more surface agitation to increase O2 as lack of oxygen is a side effect of many illnesses.
Watch your water parameters so your nitrates don't get out of control. Only do a water change if that happens. Otherwise leave the water as is.. and just maintain the temperature for 10 days. This process should eradicate the parasite. Do not stop this treatment until the entire 10 days have passed. Remember their are stages where the Ich is invisible so even if you can't see them they may be still there. After 10 days you will be sure they are gone.
As for what salt to use. There are many opinions out there but I myself use Sea Salt for treatments. This is the purest from of salt without additives like iodine. Following the treatment of 10 days, it's time to do water changes. You will need to do several 50% water changes to reduce the salinity back to a normal range.
I'm in the middle of this process right now. My tiny fry are doing well, eating and will hopefully recover completely. I have read another tidbit that I did like. If a fish has been infected with Ich and recovered it will build immunities to Ich and likely never have it again!
Ich has three life stages. The first stage they are invisible to the naked eye swimming around looking for a host. They become visible during the second stage. They bury themselves under the fishes mucus coating feeding on their body fluids growing to the point that they become visible to us. This stage only last 3-4 days and the spots begin to drop off. They swim around for several hours finding something to attach themselves to like substrate, plant leaves etc. This is the time they're vulnerable to medications. Once this tiny parasite attaches itself to something the cycle begins again. It will stay there producing more Ichs and they will burst forth in search of a new host. With each cycle they multiply dramatically. Left untreated Ich can be fatal.
A few tips to avoid Ich are simple:
Inspect the tank you are interesting in buying fish from. If any look sick - or weak move on.
If possible quarantine your new fish for 7-14 days. Keeping a close eye on them for any signs of sickness.
Not everyone has a quarantine tank I understand that. When floating your bagged fish to acclimate them, open the bag over a net set on a pail. Remove the fish from the net and then add him to your tank without the water he came in. There's no insurance that the fish in not infected as Ich could be in the invisible stage but this will at least tip the scales in your favour.
If you have multiple tanks - keep a net specifically for each tank. Dry your nets completely between uses as Ich can not survive dry.
Purchase plants only from fish-free tanks. Quarantine your plants 5-7 days.
Because they were fry, tiny and probably more delicate than larger Cichlids I wasn't going to use any medications. I thought that would be too harsh for my little ones. My first step was turning up the heater. I keep my water in my fry tanks around 80°. Over the next 24 hours I raised the temperature an increment at a time until I reached the desired temperature of 85°. I also dissolved 1 cup of sea salt in tank water. Once it was all dissolved I added that to their tank. It sounds like a heavy dose for a 20 gallon tank but it's necessary. They can handle more salt then you realize. Also add more surface agitation. When medicating you should always add more surface agitation to increase O2 as lack of oxygen is a side effect of many illnesses.
Watch your water parameters so your nitrates don't get out of control. Only do a water change if that happens. Otherwise leave the water as is.. and just maintain the temperature for 10 days. This process should eradicate the parasite. Do not stop this treatment until the entire 10 days have passed. Remember their are stages where the Ich is invisible so even if you can't see them they may be still there. After 10 days you will be sure they are gone.
As for what salt to use. There are many opinions out there but I myself use Sea Salt for treatments. This is the purest from of salt without additives like iodine. Following the treatment of 10 days, it's time to do water changes. You will need to do several 50% water changes to reduce the salinity back to a normal range.
I'm in the middle of this process right now. My tiny fry are doing well, eating and will hopefully recover completely. I have read another tidbit that I did like. If a fish has been infected with Ich and recovered it will build immunities to Ich and likely never have it again!
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