Ich and Glass Cats

mambee · Post by **mambee** » 04 Jul 2007, 20:46

I had 5 Glass Catfish and my tank was stricken with Ich. I used standard Ich medication containing malachite green. However, the Glass Cats did not stand the treatment well, and I lost 2 of them.

I'm not convinced that the tank is Ich free, but I don't want to kill my remaining Glass Cats.

What treatment can I use that is safe with them?

Mike

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 04 Jul 2007, 21:28

There is probably no medication that is 100% safe in all circumstances. The best choice is to use a lower dose of the current medecine if that is working to cure the illness - half dose is often recommended for catfish, and usually a good compromise between danger to the fish and strength to cure the disease.

--
Mats

Post by **medaka** » 05 Jul 2007, 19:34

Try raising the water temperature to 80˚F, the glass cats will take the temperature.
What happens with ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) is that it can only be cured at a certain stage of its life cycle, at lower temperatures this cycle takes quite a while to come about, and therefore a longer duration of treatment is called for in order to eradicate this protozoan. By raising the temperature, the life cycle is completed in a lesser time duration making it quicker to eliminate .

mambee · Post by **mambee** » 05 Jul 2007, 21:27

Thanks for the advice. I really need to find room for a quarantine tank. It seems like Ich has become much more resistant to antibiotics. The only problem is that I cannot keep an empty tank.

Mike