Ich

[Zac]

Hey all,

I have ich in my tank. It’s not a super bad outbreak but it’s definitely present. I was dosing ich X for 3 days and doing the 1/3 water changes per the instructions. I was dosing 10mL in my 29 gallon aquarium. Since the instructions made it very important to not OD I was dosing as if I was treating 20 gallons (which probably wasn’t enough). I did a water change and put in 12.5mL. I also raised my tank temp to 80°F. It’s been about 3-4 days and no improvements, but also not really getting any worse. I also dosed paraclense in case it wasn’t ich. I plan on leaving everything for a week.

I just had a severe bacterial bloom from ripping out all my plants and replacing them with new (dumb mistake) so I don’t want to do more water changes if I don’t have to since there’s still a little bit of bloom left. 
 

Do you guys have any suggestions on anything else I can do?

 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

There are a couple of things that could be happening. With the recent change you could have what Cory refers to as "stress Ich". You could also have something called epistylis. Either way I don't think the heat is going to help you. If it's the latter it makes the illness worse. If it's the former it could be causing more stress hence not helping the situation. If you could post a picture of your fish that might help us figure out what they have. Epistylis is a bacterial infection therefore would not be treatable with Ich X, and heat only exacerbates the problem. I've never figured out what Cory means by "stress ich" meaning I don't know what the technical name is for the illness is he describes. 

Heat in treating Ich only helps your medication (be it salt or something like Ich X) work FASTER. It speeds up the life cycle of Ich and allows the meds to attack the parasite when it's at it's most vunerable, and the only time that is- is when it's free floating before it attached to a fish/host. When it's on your fish or in the substrate as eggs they are protected. 

Using heat in treating Ich is not necessary. It's a step I've done before but I've stopped the practice as it usually causes my fish more stress and risks other illnesses and loss of oxygen in the tank (though you can add air stones). There are many other reasons I personally choose not to use heat as part of this treatment plan (unhappy plants, more bacterial growth, etc). Sometimes it takes longer to treat that way (no heat) but I feel like the fish are better off. This is a personal preference, but again it is not absolutely necessary in treating the illness.

Ich is usually fairly easy to diagnose but I chose not to take the risk that it's something else and exacerbate it by using heat. 

My hunch is that if it's not gotten any better either you are in the middle of the life cycles of the Ich and it will be another 3-7 days before it's gone. Or it's something else.  

Edited July 14, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Zac]

On 7/14/2023 at 4:28 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

There are a couple of things that could be happening. With the recent change you could have what Cory refers to as "stress Ich". You could also have something called epistylis. Either way I don't think the heat is going to help you. If it's the latter it makes the illness worse. If it's the former it could be causing more stress hence not helping the situation. If you could post a picture of your fish that might help us figure out what they have. Epistylis is a bacterial infection therefore would not be treatable with Ich X, and heat only exacerbates the problem. I've never figured out what Cory means by "stress ich" meaning I don't know what the technical name is for the illness is he describes. 

Heat in treating Ich only helps your medication (be it salt or something like Ich X) work FASTER. It speeds up the life cycle of Ich and allows the meds to attack the parasite when it's at it's most vunerable, and the only time that is- is when it's free floating before it attached to a fish/host. When it's on your fish or in the substrate as eggs they are protected. 

Using heat in treating Ich is not necessary. It's a step I've done before but I've stopped the practice as it usually causes my fish more stress and risks other illnesses and loss of oxygen in the tank (though you can add air stones). There are many other reasons I personally choose not to use heat as part of this treatment plan (unhappy plants, more bacterial growth, etc). Sometimes it takes longer to treat that way (no heat) but I feel like the fish are better off. This is a personal preference, but again it is not absolutely necessary in treating the illness.

Ich is usually fairly easy to diagnose but I chose not to take the risk that it's something else and exacerbate it by using heat. 

My hunch is that if it's not gotten any better either you are in the middle of the life cycles of the Ich and it will be another 3-7 days before it's gone. Or it's something else.  

Here’s the best pic I could get of one of the fish. Most of them are super active still. Even this one. Looks like ich to me

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

For me it's hard to say. I'll tag @Colu?

[Colu]

I can't tell off that picture   if the spots are flat  I would keep treating with ick X and I would add a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons as Ich causes massive electrolyte loss and the salt will add back in essential electrolytes if  there raised you could be dealing with epistylis I would treat with a combination of ick X and do a course of maracyn2 in food feeding a small amount twice a day for 7 days as epistylis feeds off of the gram negative bacteria on the slime coat of your fish and spreads more quickly at higher temperatures @Zac

Edited July 15, 2023 by Colu