Planted tank and Aquarium Salt, or how to treat ich without staining the tank?

[noctiluca1101]

I have a planted 40 gallon breeder community tank which is going on 4 months old and currently includes:

• 12 Neon Tetra 
• 6 Bronze Corys
• 5 Amano Shrimp
• *6 Dwarf Chain Loaches (just added two days ago after quarantine)
• Crypts - green and lucens
• Vallisneria
• Amazon Sword
• Anubias
• Java Fern

Temp 76; pH has dropped a little below 7, it's around 6.8 and is probably due to the driftwood and I need to add a bit more crushed coral; Ammonia 0; Nitrites 0; Nitrates around 40ppm (can add GH/KH numbers if it will be helpful).

I may be paranoid, but one of my Dwarf Chain Loaches has been kicking up the sand, and I noticed one of the corys rubbing on the sword leaves. I don't SEE any white ich spots or anything else at the moment, and no one else in the tank seems to be bothered. I've never had dwarf chain loaches before and have heard that they are prone to ich because they are scaleless, so maybe I'm just over-reacting and they're ok, just settling in as they've only been in the big tank for a few days...

I have the med trio which I've used for quarantining (I also have three other tanks: 20 gal guppy tank, 10 gallon betta tank, 10 gallon pea puffer tank) 

However, if it does wind up being ich or something similar and I do need to treat the tank, will adding salt completely nuke my plants? I understand it dehydrates them, and if I really need to I could probably just pull them all and replant after treatment.

Aside from using salt... is there anything for ich that works as well as Ich-X that won't stain the tank? 

Comments/suggestions/insights are greatly appreciated ❤️ 

Edited June 15, 2021 by noctiluca1101
update and pic

[FrozenFins]

In my experiance ich x is all your going to need to treat for ich.

I've used API Super Ick Cure and within 5 days of treatment the ick was completley erdicated. Didn't use salt nor did I raise the temperture of the water.

Keep us posted! Crossing my fingers its not ich🤞

[Colu]

What are your water parameters as rubbing behaviour can be caused by poor water conditions

[noctiluca1101]

On 6/15/2021 at 6:50 PM, James Black said:

In my experiance ich x is all your going to need to treat for ich.

I've used API Super Ick Cure and within 5 days of treatment the ick was completley erdicated. Didn't use salt nor did I raise the temperture of the water.

Keep us posted! Crossing my fingers its not ich🤞

Thank so much! I do have on hand and have used API Super Ick Cure (prior to getting ACO med trio) for my guppies and agree, it did exactly what it was supposed to and I have not had another outbreak with my guppies.

In full transparency, my main concern is a vain one, this tank is in my living room and is my largest tank (currently 😇). I would really prefer to not treat with something that will stain the corners blue like in my 10-gallon hospital/quarantine tank. 

[noctiluca1101]

On 6/15/2021 at 6:52 PM, Colu said:

What are your water parameters as rubbing behaviour can be caused by poor water conditions

Temp 76; pH has dropped a little below 7, it's around 6.8 and is probably due to the driftwood and I need to add a bit more crushed coral; Ammonia 0; Nitrites 0; Nitrates around 40ppm (can add GH/KH numbers if it will be helpful).

I used the Aquarium Co-op test strips, ammonia was 0. However, parameters being off was actually my first thought since I just added the loaches, I was worried that maybe it was too much bioload at once and that they were getting ammonia burns. I can bust out the API Master Test Kit though and get a different reading.

[BIG GREEN]

Not sure what folks do wrong but Ich-X has never stain none of tanks, not once....