Ich Treatment Questions.

[Christian West]

Hi all. 

I'm have a bit of an Ich problem. The only medicine I have available is a formalin and malachite green solution made by a company called aquasonic, similar to Ich X but not by the same company. this particular med has 400mg (milligrams) of formalin and 0.32mg of malachite per millilitre of solution. the dose is 1ml per 40 litres of aquarium water and to repeat after 3 days. my first question is would i do a water change after the three days before dosing again. My guess is yes but I don't really know.

My second question is probably the most important. one of the tanks has a tandanus catfish which is native to Australia where I live. this fish is known to be sensitive to formalin and malachite and I have killed two with this particular med at full dose. My LFS told me to half dose (1ml per 80 liters) every day for a week then water change and start again. does this sound right or did i mishear them as that is radically different from the bottle instead of dosing once every three day i would be dosing once a day even though at half dose it feels like a lot I'm not sure if the med "gets used up" hence why you need to dose every day at half dose or if i have misheard the store. hopefully as this is similar to Ich X someone will have some insight on what i need to do. 

and should i turn my lights off while treating as I read it deactivates malachite and formalin but i cant find any conclusive info

 

Thank Christian.

water parameter 

pH 7.8 its a little high im brining it down.

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrate 10 ppm

Hardness 160

temp 26 the cat fish really doesn't like it any higher usually run at 24 but higher while treating

(Edit, i rang my lfs when they finally opened on new years amd they said i was correct so ill try that. thanks.)

Edited January 1, 2021 by Christian West
updated information.

[Colu]

I have no experience with that med maybe some one else can chip in

Edited January 1, 2021 by Colu

[Hobbit]

It sounds like you’ve got a plan from your LFS. I can’t help you with dosing for the catfish but as for your first question: Ich-X has you do a 30% water change before each new dose and I’ve followed their instructions successfully. So if you’re ever following the normal dosing then I’d recommend changing water before adding a new dose.

[Christian West]

thanks. ill do that. i rang as soon as they opened this morning and they said that how they do it when they first get their fish. thanks again for the help.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Christian West