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i have a goldfish tank. the fishes were fine in summers but now some of them got ick. i treated them for a week with sendha salt and heater and then they all were fine so i removed heater from their tank.. but again after 20 days they again got ick..is this due to cold water???

What is the temperature in your tank now? The main cause of Ich is a type of protozoan. Its life cycle in up to 20 days. So you have to continue the remedy up to 16-20 days. You can use Methylene blue. If not available in the market, go to medical store and brought REZ-Q tablet. This tablet contain Quinine sulphate salt. Use it direct in the aquarium 10mg/litre. We use this tablet in malaria.

Goldfish & carp are actually cold water fish. they arent really meant to live in our tropical temperate waters. they will live in warm water but the life span is drastically reduced from an average of 60 years to maybe 20 years.

From what you describe, you need to deal with the issue of the ich protozoan. What works best for me is raising the water temps up to 4 degrees over the highest water temp i know my tank reaches by increasing the temp 1 degree every 2 hours & add an airstone cos warm water has lesser dissolved O2, add 2 teaspoons of rock salt (un iodized salt will work as well) for every 5 gallons of water. 1 gallon : 3.84 liters.

I keep these temps for a period of 5 days. change the water on day 6 and do a proper gravel vac and run the heater for another 20days. from day 21, i start lowering the heater by 1 degree every 2 hours.

i resort to medicines only if the outbreak is bad. As far as possible, i try and not use medicines.

i have never had a return outbreak using this method.

treat the cause not the symptom is my motto.

SCORPIO wrote:What is the temperature in your tank now? The main cause of Ich is a type of protozoan. Its life cycle in up to 20 days. So you have to continue the remedy up to 16-20 days. You can use Methylene blue. If not available in the market, go to medical store and brought REZ-Q tablet. This tablet contain Quinine sulphate salt. Use it direct in the aquarium 10mg/litre. We use this tablet in malaria.

sir, temp is around 23 here. REZ-Q is an alternative for methylene blue? can i use rez-q for other fishes also? and if use req-q then there is no need to use salt??

Zakk wrote:Goldfish & carp are actually cold water fish. they arent really meant to live in our tropical temperate waters. they will live in warm water but the life span is drastically reduced from an average of 60 years to maybe 20 years.

From what you describe, you need to deal with the issue of the ich protozoan. What works best for me is raising the water temps up to 4 degrees over the highest water temp i know my tank reaches by increasing the temp 1 degree every 2 hours & add an airstone cos warm water has lesser dissolved O2, add 2 teaspoons of rock salt (un iodized salt will work as well) for every 5 gallons of water. 1 gallon : 3.84 liters.

I keep these temps for a period of 5 days. change the water on day 6 and do a proper gravel vac and run the heater for another 20days. from day 21, i start lowering the heater by 1 degree every 2 hours.

i resort to medicines only if the outbreak is bad. As far as possible, i try and not use medicines.

i have never had a return outbreak using this method.

treat the cause not the symptom is my motto.

thanks zakk, for finrot we can use this procedure also?? i made a mistake i removed heater after 7 days when i did water change. and i treated all the tank not only the fish is it right? i used 1teaspoon salt for 1 gallon..

Finrot cannot be treated in this method. it requires the fish to be quarantined and treated with meds.

most of the fish disease including itch result as a result of stress and temperature fluctuation can be a major cause for stress. though gold fish are cold water fish and thus won't require a heater but using a heater at low temperature setting will ensure lesser temperature fluctuation throughout the day and thus can be beneficial for the fish.

i agree 101% with Zakk

Salt and raised tempeartures cure ich without drugs. i once had a wonderful oranda, totally world class (got by fluke from a shop in munirka dda flats). when it developed itch, i got a separate tank for it and gave it the regular drug dose. all wasted, the new tank and the medicine. the fish didnt eat in the medicated water and i dont know to this day if it died of the ich or starvation!

now i just use higher temperatures (as described by ZAkk, or just 30--32 degrees celcius), and sometimes just salt or just elevated temperatues cure the fish!

raising the temperature shortens the life-cycle of the parasite with then enters into a free floating state and this is when they can be removed from the tank by frequent water change.

thanks to all..