treating ich with marine salt

Question
Hi Susan. id like to say i appreciate your time in advance. We have had 3 green spotted puffer fish for about 3 weeks now. Last week i noticed a white spot on a fin in one fish. after some simple research on the net i came to realize that the two other fish had a symptom of ich too. 1 was scratching on a log while the other was panting and breathing out of one gill. our ph, ammonia, nitrite levels ect are fine. sg is now up to 1.006. ive managed to get the tank up to 82degF. My question is will marine salt kill this thing or are we in for a rollercoaster in your opinion?

Answer
Hi John,
Do they appear to have more spots on them now?

Salt is often a great remedy. But depending upon how far the ich have settled into the puffers system it may or may not be the best cure. If the ich is settled in too heavily on the fish positive outcome for successful treatment can be slim.

You should really read this article about heat and salt treatment. It has a lot of great info!
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php

Just be sure they truly have ich because oftentimes just a single white spot doesn't mean anything other than a little bump where the little fish was injured at some point. Sometimes a broken fin ray can turn white and be a raised bump. This would heal and look better with time. However, panting out of one gill is never a good sign. Oftentimes it is a sign of poor water quality. Are you for certain that the ammonia and nitrite levels are where they should be at zero?

Scratching on the bottom of the tank or on decorations is a symptom of high ammonia or nitrites irritating their skin. As well as a symptom of parasites.

Be careful because some water conditioners can produce false readings on your test kits. I'm not sure how long your tank has been setup but its possible pollution may be playing a huge factor here.

I'd do a 50% water change (with more brackish water) and see how they do. Also perhaps maybe you raised the salinity level too fast? I'm not sure how you went about it but it is possible.

These are some things to consider but I'd definitely change their water and see how they do.

Let me know how your puffers are faring!
Good luck!
Susan~