Fish Internal Parasites

Question
Hello I have a 3 gallon aquarium. My fish just died of internal parasites and I currently have no fish in the tank. I read online that ich dies at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Can the remaining parasites (internal parasites) in the tank also die at the same temperature? Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi A.C.,
 Hmm.. I would not be so certain that ick dies at 90oF.  The reason why people raise the water temperature when treating for ick is not because that kills the parasite, but rather because that speeds up the life cycle of the parasite. Ick has a multiphase life history.  In one stage (where it appears like a white dot on the fish) it is a cyst and the cysts are pretty much atomic bomb-proof.  But they hatch into free-swimming parasites which try to infect another host.  The free-swimming phase is vulnerable to certain chemicals (such as formalin and copper, which are the basis for most ick treatments, and possibly to salt, which is the "home" remedy for ick).  So, raising the temp causes the cysts to hatch sooner, making them vulnerable to treatment.  

 Internal parasites work very differently and I don't see any reason why cooking the tank at 90oF would kill them.   

  My suggestion is to clean out the tank, rinse it with a capful of bleach in a gallon of water (roughly, you don't need to be precise), then rinse the tank ALOT, many times, let it sit for a couple of days dry, then start again, ideally with new gravel.  That is pretty much the protocol we use at the university for "sick" tanks (i.e., tanks that had fish die of disease).

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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