# ick



## leech123 (Nov 22, 2004)

can someone tell me how to get rid of ick because i cant seem to get rid of it ive added salt to the water and tried meds.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

scroll down a bit

how long have you been trying the salt method, it awt to take around a week or more

to completely get rid of it


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## skelator (Sep 12, 2004)

Along with salt, up the temperature in your tank.

The only time one of my fish had ick was a little over a year and half ago. I simply upped the temp to aprox 88 degrees (a couple of degrees at a time over a few hour period, not all at once). My fish were more aggressive than normal with the high temp, but the ick was gone in aprox 36 hours.


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

skelator said:


> Along with salt, up the temperature in your tank.
> 
> The only time one of my fish had ick was a little over a year and half ago. I simply upped the temp to aprox 88 degrees (a couple of degrees at a time over a few hour period, not all at once). My fish were more aggressive than normal with the high temp, but the ick was gone in aprox 36 hours.


 thats a little hot! 84-86 degrees would be hot enough

so salt and warm water and it should be gone soon if its a mild case


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## Mack (Oct 31, 2004)

Not to be a smart-ass or anything, but its Ich, not ick -- it's an acronym.


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## skelator (Sep 12, 2004)

shutter13 said:


> thats a little hot! 84-86 degrees would be hot enough


 Yeah, that was quite a while before I found this place to know...









I had heard through unreliable sources at the time that 90 degrees would be fine, but I didn't want to push it quite that high (like I said, at the time I didn't know a whole lot better). I knew the P's were hearty fish, and assumed that for such a short period of time, it was for the benefit of getting rid of the *ICH*.

I now know better, though I can tell you that it seemed to have no side affects at the time, other than the somewhat more aggresive nature of my fish. They ate and swam like normal, before and after I raised the temp.

But after finding this site, I realized my mistake. Live and learn....


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

shutter13 said:


> skelator said:
> 
> 
> > Along with salt, up the temperature in your tank.
> ...


 At 84-86 all you're doing is speeding up the life cycle. At 90 degrees it cannot reproduce and you're actually treating the disease


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

elTwitcho said:


> shutter13 said:
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> > skelator said:
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but piranhas cant be in water that hot for along time.... so what temp should it be at?


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

In addition to what's been said about the heating and salt, here's one thing to remember: the warmer water gets, the more it looses it's ability to hold oxygen. Piranhas come mostly from rivers, which are high oxygen environments. If your tank doesn't have a lot of flow and you're cranking up the temp, consider adding a powerhead to create some surface ripples for gas exchange. An air stone wouldn't hurt either.

Also, if you're using meds like such as Clout or Quick Cure, go easy on it. Characins are sensitive to it. And one thing that people almost always seem to forget about using meds: remove all carbon/purigen/whatever absoption product from the filtratrion system. Carbon will just absorb all the medication.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

shutter13 said:


> elTwitcho said:
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> > shutter13 said:
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 I know a few people who've treated ich that way with piranhas. They'd should be able to handle it for a short period of time


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## leech123 (Nov 22, 2004)

will ammo rid in filter absorb meds too? also i was using super ich plus but didnt seem to do much and u cant use clout on piranhas it says right on the box do not use with them but now im usint that jungle brand the tablets you put in the water


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