south american tank

Question
hello,i have a 46 gallon tank with south American cichlids, silver dollars, and catfish. My tank had ich so i salted it and i didn't put the heat down from 82 degrees. when i lowered the temputure my fish got ich. i got rid of the ich but i am hesitant to lowered temperature. will my fish be comfortable in 82 degree water.thanks

Answer
Yes, your fish should be fine in 82.  Don't lower heat.  Higher the heat, the faster the Ich mature and hatch, giving the salt a chance to work better.

The only time the salt can penetrate and kill the Ich is when it's in the free-swimming stage.

In egg form, and while embedded under scales, Ich is resistent to medication and to salt.  SO, the idea is to speed up the life-cycle and therefore catch them during the swimming stage, and hopefully by raising heat up to 82, that will speed up that process.

Happy fish-keeping and I certainly hope to hear back some good news.  Write anytime.