# ich in my planted tank



## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

my old friend ich has returned - hes on my pictus catfish - so - what to do ? i cant crash my tank or plants - any advice ?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

Well if you can catch him, its best to use a Q tank. if not you can use some of the ick cures on the market.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

the last time i did that - it threw my tank into a cycle and killed all my fish - although my plants loved all that ammonia - hahahahaahaha


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## Karebear (Oct 6, 2008)

I use ap pro quick cure. I've used it in my planted and non planted tanks with no issues for several years. 1 drop every 2 gallons.


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## intothenew (Aug 1, 2008)

I just went through this a few weeks back. I cranked the heat up for ten days. If you can keep it above 86, you stop the reproduction cycle. If you can make it to 89, you can hear the screams as the adults burn in................


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

ok - i'll get a larger heater and roast em


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## intothenew (Aug 1, 2008)

Take your time in going up, only 2-3 degrees a day. The ten day clock starts only after you have reached 86. Bring the temp back down slow also. This method takes a while, but it works and you don't have to dope.


Good luck.


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## monkeyruler90 (Feb 27, 2008)

i agree with intothenew, its better to try and raise the temp in your main tank inorder to kill off the baby ich particles. if possible try and catch the fish and set him in a qt tank and treat him with high temperature and salt. 

how did you get ich? did you introduce a new fish to the tank or did you forget to do waterchanges?


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

oh - i have no one to blame but myself for the ich - hahahahahahahaha - slapped a 400 watt heater on it - i hope they die a painful death - i also added a little salt - its really ticking me off - always seems to be something


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## wkndracer (Mar 23, 2008)

surpera1 said:


> oh - i have no one to blame but myself for the ich - hahahahahahahaha - slapped a 400 watt heater on it - i hope they die a painful death - i also added a little salt - its really ticking me off - always seems to be something


Use care with the salt as it can bother some plants. Also double check to make sure all the fish you keep will be happy with the heat. I finally added a UV unit on my main tanks this last year trying to smooth the odd speed bump. Hope your screaming ick issues clear up.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

i went real light with the salt - 1 spoon per 10 gallons - i figure a little might be helpful


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## intothenew (Aug 1, 2008)

monkeyruler90 said:


> how did you get ich?


Mine showed when I adopted ten Von Rios from a trusted LFS. It only showed on the Von Rios. I actually watched them for ten days before purchasing, not enough time. I lost two (early), but the rest, and every body else in the tank withstood the heat wave.

I think I'm clean, I think I'm clean, I think I'm clean.

It's been three weeks since I dropped the temp, I'll keep chanting for another couple of weeks.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

oh yeah baby - 88 degrees has been achieved - i can only hope its real painful for the little f-ers
- hahahahahahahaaa - so - 10 days at 88 degres hunh ? i can do that - i still think my tank needs something though - i just upped the light to 110 watts and started with some ferts - just no good growth yet


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## demen45 (Mar 6, 2009)

Ich can be a real pest. Just went through this 2 weeks ago in my planted tank. It depleted my team of 11 neon tetras and 6 rummy nose. What I did was crank up the heat to 88 degrees and use the recommended dosage of API Super Ich. Treat it twice in a 10 day period and the ich will go away. The medicine will turn your water color to blueish green but I could live with that to rescue the rest of my fish. With water temperature that high, your fish will suffocate a little bit because of the lack of oxygen. Make sure you run a little air stone or turn up your water flow a little bit. Good luck.


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## monkeyruler90 (Feb 27, 2008)

oh yeah, thats another thing. make sure to have an airstone running. i did it in my QT tank so i just let the water go down a little and let the HOB make a waterfall. hope the tank gets better


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

the high temp thing is working great - i did dope it a bit because my cats were absolutely covered with ich - it was real bad - a dose of salt and some malachite green with the high temp - plants suffered a bit - but i salvaged my fish - didnt lose a single one - they all look clear - but i'm gonna keep that temp up for 2 weeks total - that should wipe it all out


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## intothenew (Aug 1, 2008)

surpera1 said:


> the high temp thing is working great - i did dope it a bit because my cats were absolutely covered with ich - it was real bad - a dose of salt and some malachite green with the high temp - plants suffered a bit - but i salvaged my fish - didnt lose a single one - they all look clear - but i'm gonna keep that temp up for 2 weeks total - that should wipe it all out


I can hear the vermin screaming from here. Please make sure to go back down with the temp slow, 2-3 degrees per day.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

ok - you guys are great - i'm doing a bit of a water change today - to clear out the last of the salt and meds - the temp should finish off any stragglers - i added a potting soil substrate with some lime a while back - talk about a leap of faith - i also stopped my filters to stop the surface agitation - but i have an eheim cannister i'm thinking about hooking up for some circulation


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

my cats have never looked so good - that high temp thing worked out really well for me


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