My procedure to get rid of ich disease

[minajaguar]

My procedure to get rid of ich disease :
i emptied my tank and intend to start it over
so i empty it from water and then i add a 40 c degree temp fresh water to cover only the sand ,i guess it may burn ich in sand ????
then now i will remove all water from the tank and let it to dry ... i guess also that ich can't survive without water ????

then i will start it again but without removing the sand i tried to burn it and cover with fresh water to get rid of ich

What do you think about this steps while i know that i will lose great of my beneficial bacteria ,but i have no choice because i suck from ich 2 months ago with no use >>>>

 

[DaveK]

I think you could use a much better process.

As you state, your process will kill all your beneficial bacteria. That means you'll be starting from scratch, and need to reseed everything.

If you just leave the tank running for about 8 - 10 weeks, with no fish in it, all the ick will die from lack of a host. This would preserve your bacteria, and would be a much less invasive approach. Then use a quarantine tank, and quarantine any new fish for 4 to 8 weeks.

Now if you have a case where you really do need to kill off everything, because of other difficult to control diseases or conditions, then I would use bleach. Put in FW and then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach per 10 gal or so. run the filtration system and stir up the sand bed. This will kill everything, including things that FW alone will not. Then make several changes of FW until you can no longer smell the bleach. Then add a chlorine remover such as Prime, stir everything up again, and wait a day. Change the water again, and reset up from scratch. VIP Note - This is a last resort process, to be used only when nothing else will do it.

 

[sk8rdn]

Why not just leave it fallow?

....Secret Super Hero....

 

[dmatt88]

How do u get water to dry?

Leaving the tank void of fishies for 10 weeks will zap ich

........... we cut living things into pieces. sheez

 

[sk8rdn]

It'll take just as long to do all the washing, drying, rewashing and then have to recycle it too...

....Secret Super Hero....

 

[major fish]

I am in the 8 week club for leaving a tank fallow to rid it of ich.

I have just done this and treated my fish with copper and hypo. During the process I came across an article about ich with extracts of a study paper. I should have kept a note of the link. It is possible to leave a tank fallow for 16 weeks and still have the ich return, depending on which strain it is. Some are capable of becoming dormant for long periods if the water conditions are not correct.

 

[Singlefin]

I have a friend with a 300g. That got ich. Too much fish to leave it fallow. Swears by garlic soaked food.


Slow your roll..

 

[ddelozier]

Ich is a Parasite. THe only way to be rid of it is to deprive it of something required to survive. That means understanding its Life Cycle. There is no Magic cure for Ich. Rinsing the sand several times gets rid of the Ich, but kills the sand. So you have 6-8 weeks to Re Cycle the tank. Parasites by their very nature require a host. +1 on leaving the tank up and running empty 10 weeks, with one Addition. Throw in some fish food once a week..or a Shrimp, just like when cycling. Bacteria require food too.

You can add a UV Sterilizer to help, but also may be killing the benificial bacteria floating in the water.

You can use more invasive approaches to get rid of it, but the systs will only hatch and start over again. Flea's in a bottle will die of starvation. Ich in an aquarium without fish...same thing

 

[kmaintl]

I think you could use a much better process.

As you state, your process will kill all your beneficial bacteria. That means you'll be starting from scratch, and need to reseed everything.

If you just leave the tank running for about 8 - 10 weeks, with no fish in it, all the ick will die from lack of a host. This would preserve your bacteria, and would be a much less invasive approach. Then use a quarantine tank, and quarantine any new fish for 4 to 8 weeks.

Now if you have a case where you really do need to kill off everything, because of other difficult to control diseases or conditions, then I would use bleach. Put in FW and then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach per 10 gal or so. run the filtration system and stir up the sand bed. This will kill everything, including things that FW alone will not. Then make several changes of FW until you can no longer smell the bleach. Then add a chlorine remover such as Prime, stir everything up again, and wait a day. Change the water again, and reset up from scratch. VIP Note - This is a last resort process, to be used only when nothing else will do it.

+1 agree and if your tank is fish only and no inverts, you can copper your tank.