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Trying to sterilize Ich-infested tank with high temperatures. (No fish)


LDNMollies
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I made a rookie mistake and introduced Ich to one of my display tanks via some plants that I got from Petco. I have removed all of the fish, and they are being treated separately in a hospital tank. I cranked the temperature in the display tank up to 92, hoping to kill the Ich without killing my BB. Does anyone know if this is an effective method, and how long I will need to keep the temperature raised to ensure the Ich is gone?

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i would be concerned that the fish have been exposed to the ich. i personally would have left the fish in the tank, and treated the entire tank. i wont advise on the high temp being effective. i have always treated with salt, and or a ich medication.

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On 8/13/2021 at 3:06 PM, lefty o said:

i would be concerned that the fish have been exposed to the ich. i personally would have left the fish in the tank, and treated the entire tank. i wont advise on the high temp being effective. i have always treated with salt, and or a ich medication.

I'm treating the fish with Ich-X in a separate tank. I guess I should have made that more clear. I didn't want to stain the glass on my UNS tank.

Edited by LDNMollies
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I think the life cycle of ich is about 10 days (maybe less), so without fish the ich should be gone from the tank if you leave it vacant longer than that. Heat is supposed to speed up the life cycle, but I don't know by how much.

Correction: After I posted the above, I read an article that says ich can remain dormant in an aquarium for months without fish. So much for the lore of fishkeeping as opposed to science. The article also said established filtration also helps to eliminate ich - another reason to leave the fish in the established tank.

I am sure heat can kill ich, but how hot the water has to get, I do not know. I don't know if 92 is hot enough.

Edited by HH Morant
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On 8/13/2021 at 4:54 PM, HH Morant said:

I think the life cycle of ich is about 10 days (maybe less), so without fish the ich should be gone from the tank if you leave it vacant longer than that. Heat is supposed to speed up the life cycle, but I don't know by how much.

Correction: After I posted the above, I read an article that says ich can remain dormant in an aquarium for months without fish. So much for the lore of fishkeeping as opposed to science. The article also said established filtration also helps to eliminate ich - another reason to leave the fish in the established tank.

I am sure heat can kill ich, but how hot the water has to get, I do not know. I don't know if 92 is hot enough.

Hmm, maybe I should just bleach the tank then. Re-cycling sounds more appealing than risking more Ich outbreaks.

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With the tank at 92 degrees, you can leave the tank fallow (fishless) for four weeks and the ich will be gone. But unless you plan on doing a thorough four week long quarantine on every fish you plan to add, then there is no reason to do this because it will just be introduced again.

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