Ick Diagnosis And Treatment

Question
Tank: 35 gal, artificial plants, running for 3 months now.
Fish: 5 giant danio, 2 bosemani rainbow, 6 lemon tetra
Water: 74F, Ammonia: 0.25, Nitrate 20, Nitrite 0, Hardness=120, Alkalinity=0, pH=6.4


Two days ago, I found the clown pleco floating dead. Today, I noticed a tetra with a large number of white spots located mainly above the eyes. The spots look like salt crystals, and I believe this is ick.

I read your advice on using salt to help get rid of the ick, but others warn not to use salt with tetras because they are sensitive to it.

Can I use the salt treatment with tetras, or should I go some other way? I like the idea of using a more 'natural' treatment than dumping lots of medication in the water.

Thanks.


Answer
Hi Brian;

I've heard of so many fish supposedly sensitive to salt too but I've never had a problem using it to treat ich, even in those fish. In my opinion, the parasite and the harsh irritating/burning medicines used are worse than salt. You might want to add an airpump with an airstone to help agitate the water and give the fish more oxygen. When you raise the temperature to 82 in treating ich, oxygen saturation reduces. The airpump will help greatly as well as moving the water more, keeping the parasites from being able to attach to the fish as easily as usual.

It would be a good idea to make a 25% water change in the tank first and vacuum the gravel at the same time. Also stop feeding them for a couple of days. I noticed the ammonia levels are elevated. It may simply be from the dead plecostamus, but it would best not to take any chances of further stress. They will not starve, so don't worry. Healthy fish can go for more than 2 weeks with no food at all. Right now they aren't feeling well and may not digest as well as they normally would anyway. It will reduce the waste a bit and help the biological system recover from whatever caused the ammonia spike.

Remember too that you may see more spots at first. The parasites that have just attached to the fish before you added salt are not showing as spots yet. The parasite has to burst and let loose little "tomites". They leave the protection of the fishes' skin and are killed by the heat and salt in the water.

I hope your fish feel better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins