ich goldfish

Question
Your question was

"It's so frustrating I bought 2 goldfish from local pet store and ended up with both having ich...go back to store noone there knows how to treat water change, no water change salt vs   medication....can't get a straight answer so I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 small goldfish I have a wonderful filter system and do frequent water checks with "dipsticks"

presently I have been using rock salt I first did 50 water change and then prediluted the salt and slowly added to tank, I placed the tank near window to increase temperature

every other day I have added 2 Tb salt and did some more water changes about 20 (because i understand the parasites "fall off and are at bottom of tank and can "reproduce?" then I was told I was doing too many water changes I'm terribly confused to date only one fish has remaining visible white spots and they are acting more active I have been doing the salt tx for about 1 week now any advice on am I doing the right thing? I was told salt was more beneficial than medications for Ich because ich stresses the fish and salt was more natural and less stressful I'd appreciate any guidance. thanks Barb"


Answer
Hi Barb,
Ich is common with new fish, it's usually due to stress weakening their immune system obviously.

You can certainly try the Heat and salt treatment method for treating your goldfish. But I'm not sure if it will work with just using the window to heat the tank. But I do understand your situation and never getting any reliable advice.

It might help for you to read this great article on treating ich and various methods...
http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

I would recommend deciding on either the heat and salt treatment or using medication. You might be better off using the heat and salt treatment, Using a heater would be best to keep the temperature at the ideal level for getting rid of the ick.

Also, large daily water changes help along with treating ick. Not only does it help relieve stress on your fish, but also removes excess parasites.

Please read the article I listed above as it explains ick's lifecycle and treatment methods much better than me explaining it here.

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck!
Karen~