# Super Ick?



## cjs500 (Sep 23, 2010)

It's not the first time I've had Ick in the tank. I tried to act on it immediately with a more natural way of treating it. I've used meds in the past and it's always been somewhat hard on the fish ending up killing them. This time seems to be different. This is what I have done:

- Raised temp to 82 F, removed carbon filter, treated with Pimafix and Melafix. This just accelerated the infestation (lost 1 fish)
- Read up on tempature treatment. Raised to 86-88 F + salt, no change after 4-5 days. Seemed a bit worse.
- Started with half dose of API Super Ick cure since I have clown loaches. First treatment seemed to decrease the Ick a bit but didn't cure it (following directions on bottle).
- Did a water change (25 %), waited 24 hours, started process again. Used 1/2 dose each day for 4 days. Did 25% water change, waited 24 hours and started again.
- Round 3, added full dose then 2/3-3/4 for 4 days, 25 % water change. Temp has been slowly increased to 91 F. Water is dropped a few inches and filter on high to airate the water.

The fish are handling fine so far. The Ick spots have decrease a bit but they are still cropping up with new spots. Some of the clowns are almost clear of it but they do have a few new spots. I think I have it on the decrease now but I have my doubts. At the very least my Clowns are full of life again. They weren't looking too good for a while.

Anyone have this before?


----------



## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

I had a continuous ICK battle for over a month!
I can't even explain why! I left the temperature around 82-84! They constantly came back after a week! No new fish added, no fish wuz left unattended, and also did treatment! It wuz a battle over the course of more than a month until I got rid of everything!
Also had perfect water parametes that I took it to two more pet stores for them to check and they couldn't explain it neither! I've ended up using several treatments and still couldn't explain why it kept coming back! But after awhile it stopped coming back... so i got a UV Sterillizer now... just incase that ever happens to me again!


----------



## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

It sounds as though you treated it late. Melafix and Pimafix wont fix Ich. They are both antibacterial. You are probably in the middle of a few cycles of the parasite and the Super Ick cure is just catching up now. Continue the course of treatment and you will get through it. When you raised the temp and treated with the antibacterials, you sped up the life cycle of the parasite. Since it was not treating it, naturally it got worse.


----------



## seanyuki (Apr 22, 2010)

Try to raise the water temperature gradually to 90 F and maintain it for 24 hrs to kill the adults parasites.

here's a link about ich and treatment for it.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA00600.pdf


----------



## cjs500 (Sep 23, 2010)

The temp is currently at 90 F now (has been there for about 48 hours, about 88 F for the last week before). The link to the doc says raise to 90 F for 24 hours, reduce to 70 F for 48 hours and then raise again to 90 F 24. Repeat for 2 weeks to clear infection. Gravel vacuuming can help to get rid of the spores and reduce the cycle. Also a note about making sure the fish can handle it.

I think I would be more concerned about stressing the fish too much. Could I just leave the temp at 90 F for about 2 weeks or so if the fish show no signs of stress at the current level? Frequent water changes?

Thanks for your feedback!


----------



## ngo911 (May 19, 2010)

Make sure you add extra aeration if you haven't already. Higher temps = less oxygen.


----------



## cjs500 (Sep 23, 2010)

Update: 
I've left my tank at about 91 F for the last 4 days, dropped the water level about 2 inches and have the filter on high which creates a lot of bubbles in the tank in addition to the air pump. I've stopped using any meds since the Ick has been reduced significantly. There are still some spots on the fish but it is definately decreasing in numbers.

I would say the temperature method is the way to go with this. Slowly increase the temp over a few days so you don't stress the fish. If the Ick is really bad I might consider meds. Since I have clown loaches I only did a half of the recommended dose from API Super Ick Cure. This might not be a bad idea in general and raise the dosage if the fish are handling it OK. If any fish die they are probably too far infected to recover. I was licky enough to only loose 2 in this process out of 17.


----------

