ich and mollies

Question
Hi David,

I'm not sure if you can help but I'm hoping that you can! I have a male black molly and he's got ich. I can't really tell if my female has it..she's a dalmation molly and already has white spots! ;) I also have three babies in a breeder. The female is about to give birth again.
I've read so much about this and there are so many different things to do with Ich. I've used the "quick cure", I've added aquarium salt and done the 25% water changes. The male seems to be better after a few days of treatment..but once I stop using the drops, he starts getting more white spots. Am I doing too much or not enough? I'm afraid if I keep treating the tank that I'll kill the babies. My tank also stays cloudy being that I have to remove the carbon during treatment. Help!!

Answer
Hi Mitzi:  ICH has a nine day life cycle... so the three day treatment of quick cure is not long enough... further when ich is under the skin of the fish host it is not vulnerable to the medication as the fish's skin protects the ich parasite.  raise the water temp to about 75 degrees keep the aquarium salt and treat the ich for 9 days... the only time ICH is vulnerable is when it is in its free swimming stage... hope this helps and please keep me posted... dave