Ick!

[fishies12 0]

Ok so i have my 3 goldfish for about 2 weeks now and on my orange fantail there is 3 spots of ick.

I have never ever had to deal with ick and no nothing about it so

1.) what do i treat it with

2.) should i move him out of the tank

I no nothing about ick so all things u can say would help!

ammonia=0

nitrate=0

nitrite=0

ph level=7.4

i feed my fish tetra's goldfish flakes (twice a day) and freeze dried bloodworms(once a week) and peas (once a week) and a fresh veggie (once a week)

i have 3 fish about 3in 2in and 2.5 in

the tank is a 26 gallon and it has been running for 4 weeks

i change the water when it needs it and about 30%

i have 2 undergravel filters and 1 tertra pf150 power filtar

we add aquasafe easybalances and backteria

the fish seems to be swimming ok and doing fine

[emmahj 5]

Hi Fishies12

First of all, are you sure it's ich? The spots aren't just on the gill covers are they? - because those are usually just breeding tubercles.

If you're sure it's ich, then I would suggets the following treatment: salt, heat and darkness.

Salt the tank to .3%: add three teaspoons of salt per gallon in increments of 1 tsp per gallon every 12 hours. You can use any salt (except Epsom) as long as it does not have anti-caking agents; dissolve it first in a little tank water before pouring it into the tank.

NB: Treat the fish in the main tank - don't remove it to a hospital tank because ich has a free-swimming stage in its lifecycle so the whole tank will already be infested as well as the fish. You need to clear it out of the tank system too.

Keep the salt at this level until the fish has been completely ich-free for 6 days (which may take a couple of weeks), then reduce it over the next two weeks by water changes and very thorough gravel cleans (to help remove any last few ich organisms lurking in the substrate). If you need do water changes in the meantime then remember to replace any lost salt, e.g. if you change 2 gallons, add 6 tsps of salt to the replacement water.

Increase the temperature of the tank to 80F. You must also make sure there is very good oxygenation in the tank, as warm water carries less oxygen than cold (lots of surface agitation is the key).

Keep the tank lights off and the tank covered up with a towel or similar.

Keep the water parameters perfect.

This should clear up the ich quickly and safely. Good luck!

[fishies12 0]

I turned up the heat and put towels on my tank and then 2morrow (today) i was going to get salt but then today mirculosly my goldie is free of ick!