Some aquarists use only heat and salt, but this method is much slower than using a chemical treatment and cannot be used if you have any live plants in your tank.
It is always best to treat your tanks for at least one additional day after you have seen the last spots on your fish to be sure the parasite has been eliminated. After treatment, return the charcoal to your filter if using and do a partial water change, being sure to try to clean the gravel to remove any reproductive tomont that might remain.
And, as an added bonus, studies have shown that fish who survive an Ich infection show full to partial immunity to further infections. But of course, as with all aquarium illnesses, prevention is the best action. Please remember to quarantine all new fish for one week to monitor for signs of illness before adding them to your tanks.
But if stress causes an outbreak or a new fish escapes detection and you find Ich in your tank remember not to panic. Ich is not a death sentence. Higher temperatures accelerate the cycle while lower temperatures will extend the parasitic activities. The three day duration of the tomite stage is the only stage in which the parasite is vulnerable and can be treated with medication. This limited vulnerability explains why it is necessary to repeat the treatment to assure that all parasites have been eliminated.
Not completing the treatment due to no reoccurring symptoms white spots, etc. This rather small number nevertheless accumulates to a 10 fold increase of parasites per week.
All fish are vulnerable and pose as potential hosts. Some species are more, some are less susceptible, depending on the slime coat and overall health of the fish. Ich in nature is very rare and without the problems known in aquariums and closed aquatic systems.
Due to the close confinement, Ich exploits the conditions of captivity in which it can easily spread. Most fish have a particular nightly resting spot from which the parasite moves off to form the cyst the cyst building trophonts and the tomites released from them occur at night.
Once freed from the cyst the tomites find a host ready in waiting. The quarantine tank or a fish dip is the best preventative measure to avoid introducing the parasites by aninfected newcomer. Some aquarium fish may be more sensitive to ich infection than other species, but no fish species has complete natural resistance to ich.
Ich is a ciliate parasite that has three developmental stages, a parasitic trophont, a reproductive tomont, and an infective theront. The host provides the parasite with food and other necessary substances for growth.
The mature trophont leaves the fish, attaches to the sides and bottom of the aquarium, and secretes a cyst wall to become a reproductive tomont. Each tomont divides from one cell to two cells and then undergoes multiple divisions to produce to 1, theronts within a single cyst.
Infective theronts then bore their way out of the cyst and swim actively in the water in search of fish to attack.
Theronts can swim in the water for two to three days and will die if they cannot find a fish to attack. However, once they find a fish to attack and burrow into its epithelium, the theronts become trophonts and feed on surrounding host tissue until they reach mature size.
Whenever any white spots are seen on the skin and fins, fish are most likely infected by the parasite ich. Immediate treatment is required in order to save the infected fish. The best time to treat infective theronts and reproductive tomonts is when they are still in the water and before they penetrate the fish as trophonts.
Most of the anti-ich chemicals contain formaldehyde, malachite green, copper sulfate, a combination of formaldehyde and malachite green, or a combination of copper sulfate and malachite green. The infected fish can be moved to a quarantine tank in order to avoid treating healthy fish, and less chemical is needed in a smaller tank. Other methods, such as adding salt, increasing water temperature, and changing the water are also used by fish hobbyists to treat ich infection in an aquarium.
The treatment may need to continue for five days to one week in order to remove the parasite from the infected fish. As is usually the case with disease, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best method for controlling ich infection is prevention. White spot disease can be mistaken for other non-serious issues. Fin ray fractures, or fractures to the cartilage of a fin, can look very similar, but are not life threatening. Breeding tubercles on male goldfish, producing multiple white bumps on the operculum and pectoral fin, also look identical to white spot disease, but are normal anatomical variations.
Lymphocystis , a viral disease in fish, can produce similar white bumps but can be differentiated by your veterinarian.
The most common cause of Ich is failure to quarantine a new fish addition to the aquarium. Since it only takes one infectious Ich parasite to reproduce and then spread through an entire tank or pond, most fish will "look okay" and not act sick at all until a few life cycles of the parasite are complete, which can take a few days to a few weeks, depending on your water temperature.
Safely quarantining all new fish will prevent the spread of Ich to your main aquarium. Additional causes may include:. For treatment to be successful, you may have a veterinarian to examine your sick fish to make a correct diagnosis. Remember, there are other things on fish that can look remarkably similar to white spot disease that will require different treatment.
Once a diagnosis is confirmed, there are treatment options available for prescription through your aquatic veterinarian and fish store. Monitoring and maintaining your water temperature is critical to ensure the parasite is completely eliminated from your system.
Many over-the-counter "treatments" do not take this into account and if not properly used can severely hurt your fish in addition to not completely treating the Ich. Many online forums will recommend manipulating your tank temperature to speed up or immobilize Ich. Unfortunately, in doing so, you will stress out your fish and make them more susceptible to death from secondary causes.
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