Treating Ich The Old Way

Nasty Stuff
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Back to Illness 		-Ich dislikes warm water, so I immediately bring the water up to 85-88 degrees.
- Since warm water cannot hold as much oxygen as cool water, I also increase the aeration by adding air stones. Another reason for added aeration is that ich infects the gills of fish as well as the outer skin. We only see ich on the skin of fish, and assume that's what's making them so sick. But my personal belief is that gill infestation by ich is the main cause of suffering and death in aquarium fish. I believe this damage to the delicate gill tissue suffocates fish, which either kills them outright or leads to lethal secondary infections. An increase in dissolved oxygen brought about by vigorous aeration may mean the difference in life or death to your fish.
- Along with a temperature change and added aeration, I usually add about one teaspoon of canning & pickling salt per gallon to the water to help the fish recover from the stress caused by the disease by reducing osmotic pressure, enabling the fish's own immune system to fight back. Salt is also harmful to ich.
- Water changes are extremely important in fighting ich outbreaks. Using a gravel washer, I do a 50 percent water change on a daily basis. This eliminates a great number of trophozoites and tomites from the aquarium.
- While I prefer not to use chemicals to treat any disease, developments over the past few years have left me little choice. The ich we contend with today are particularly virulent strains because, in my opinion, so many hobbyists, and, more importantly, pet shop owners/employees; have used chemicals and antibiotics instead of good hygiene to treat disease. What I refer to as hygiene is simply hard work: i.e. water changes, heat, added aeration and salt. When that is insufficient, I use Rid-Ich, which is a commercially available medicine consisting of zinc-free malachite green and formalin. I've found this to be highly effective in treating ich.
-If your fish recover from ich, they may not get it again. There is evidence that fish become resistant to ich after they survive the initial infection, so fish which recover from an ich infestation should be less likely to contract the disease at a later time. However, I would still recommend a three-week quarantine period for all newly purchased fish.