Ich-folluwup

Question
Hi Chris, I turned up the heat in my tank and added salt, and it has worked. Sort of.  I had around 17 fish before but I only have 8 now, but I know it could have been worse, they could have all died. All my remaining fish have been spot free for about 5 days now and are acting normal again. My tank is looking very empty, how long should I wait before adding any new fish? I know I have to decrease the temperature again and get the salt out of the water, which will take time, but how long would it take for the ich not to be a threat to any new fish I put in there?

Thanks again,
Julianne

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Followup To
Question -
Hi, my whole tank has come down with ich over the past couple of days! One of my fish (a rummy nose tetra) had a lot of those awful white spots, and since all the shops in my area are still closed for Christmas, I can't even get any medication. I found it dead this morning. Most of my other fish, (tetras, platies, otos, tiger barbs) have a few spots as well. I treated the tank with some algae control stuff I have (it had copper sulphate in it, better than nothing I suppose) until I got some salt. I didn't want to use table salt because of the iodine content and anti-caking agents, which I read can be bad for fish. The pet shop is still closed, so I bought some pure rock salt in the supermarket. Will this be as effective as Aquarium salt? It's all NaCl right? Should I even be using salt in a tank that has tetras in it?

Thanks,  Julianne
Answer -
Hi Julianne;

Yes, the pure rock salt is just fine. First turn up the heater in the tank and watch to be sure it gets to 82 degrees. Ich hates heat. It will take several hours so while you are waiting for that, make a 25% water change and then add the salt at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon. The water change reduces the number of parasites in the water. Leave the temperature up for 10 days, not adding more salt. Ich hates both heat and salt so you don't need any medicine for it. Medicine will burn their skin and make them more miserable anyway. Once the pet store opens, get an extra air pump with hose and an airstone. The higher the temperature, the lower the oxygen level in the water. The extra air also helps keep them from attaching to the fish so easily in the moving water.

You may not see improvement for another couple of days. You may even see more spots at first because the ich parasites that are digging into the skin today will not appear visually as white spots for 2 days or so. They are protected while embedded in the fish so the salt can't get to them there. Even medicines can't kill them while still embedded in the fish. They have to get to the next stage and become free-swimming "tomites" before anything kills them. So, just hang in there! It'll work!

I hope they feel better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Answer
Hi Julianne;

That's a shame to lose so many. It can be a very devastating disease.

Just to be sure there is no more ich activity going on, maybe wait another 3 days. Then, turn the heater down until it is 76 or 78 in there (tropical fish temperature). You want it to drop slowly, no more than 2 degrees a day. Once the temperature is low again, make a 25% water change every day for 4 days after that. If they seem okay, add some new fish slowly. Add one or two for every ten gallons of tank water every week so the beneficial bacteria can adjust to the new population.

You didn't mention what size tank you have so here is an article on stocking your tank so it doesn't get over populated;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/a/fishcalc.htm

I hope everything continues to get better for you and your fish......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins