Reoccurring ich

[Casual aquatics]

Have any of y’all had a tank that constantly battling ich it’s crazy my Cory cats loaches IDs and upside down cat all fine been in there for a grip but seems every time I get a new cichlid to put in there as grow out etc it’s ending up with ich by the time I catch it get meds ordered seems they die before they come this time I ordered double the meds and in mean time try heat and salt treatment but seems to be reoccurring do I need to completely drain tank and clean it wouldn’t this mess up cycle????

[siniardem]

 

Usually ich comes when the fish is stressed and the immune system is low. Like a cold in humans is how I see it. It could be from moving a new fish in constantly and that's how they react or from bad water quality. 

Some things to consider:

-Turn lights off for 24-48 hours when acclimating new fish to reduce stress.

-Check water quality and make sure it is always prime conditions, including before and after moving fish.

-Try quarantining new fish first. 

[JaredL]

@siniardem is right. Stressed fish are more prone to being attacked by ich. Additionally, Ich is a parasite that goes through a life cycle in your aquarium. In basic terms, it feeds when attached to fish, drops off into substrate, multiplies, then swims in water to find a fish, and the process repeats. Quarantine is important with new fish so you don't infect your whole tank. You shouldn't need to drain your tank. Heat and salt are known methods to treat ich, however I haven't used them so I can't provide much direction with that. When using the ich medicine(I use Ich-X), follow the directions and use for the whole length of time it says. The reason for this is that the medicine can only kill the ich during the time it is swimming in the water between your fish and the substrate. It's likely that you introduced it into your tank if your new fish was showing symptoms. Your other fish may not be affected by it currently, but it may be worth considering treating your tank in the event it is still living in there.