MatsP wrote:NO CATFISH has scales - Otocinclus are catfish, so they don't have scales. Loricariiade (which includes Oto's) do have bony scutes under the skin, which makes it look like they have scales, but as opposed to scales, they are UNDER the skin.
Heat is definitely a good idea, along with strong aeration of the tank (to compensate for the high temperature which leads to lower oxygen levels in the water). Salt is good way to kill Ich, but I'm not so sure it's good for the fish - there certainly is NO salt anywhere you find Otocinclus species. I'd personally recommend a good Ich-medication, if possible one that is "recommended" for sensitive fish such as "Scaleless fish" - and read the instructions with "scaleless fish" in mind, because often you have to reduce the dose to half for these.
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Mats
Oh dear, jaidexl, I am sorry you are getting confusing/conflicting information.
Using salt for treating ich with freshwater fish is perfectly safe and the preferred treatment since it is entirely naturally occuring in most waters of the world. The difference, obviously, is concentration.
Your oto is from the Orinoco river in South America and the water has naturally occuring salts and some not so naturally occuring pollutants.
South American "freshwater" fish are the only fish I keep and I use salt regularly to keep my fish healthy. In fact, for the fish I am not breeding, I put 1 tsp/10g of salt in their water all the time. Even for the breeding fish, I will put a little in.
As for increasing the heat to about 85F this is to speed up the life cycle of the ich so that you can go through the treatment process more quickly. A moderate amount of water flow or air bubbling will be sufficient to keep the water oxygenated. While your oto does water-breathe through gills, he can also breathe air. Too much water flow will jostle your oto about and may wear him out if he's not feeling well. Place a clean rock or plant in the tank so he can hide if he wants to.
Now the key is getting your oto adjusted to the salt and higher heat (1 tsp salt per 10 gallons should work fine - just make sure the salt is entirely dissolved - any salt crystals could hurt your fish). This should be done slowly, over an hour or two.
The best way to adjust your oto is to take him out of the tank with a good amount of water in a container (with a handle that you can hang over the side of the tank is most convenient). Place the container in the hospital tank (already salted and temp at 85F)- be careful that the container does not tip over into the tank. Let the container sit in the tank water until it reaches 85F. Once it has, start dripping water from the hospital tank into the container. When the amount of water has doubled, discard half the water in the container and drip to double the amount again. Then net your oto and put him in the hospital tank.
Keep the hospital tank dark and very clean for 7 days. Do a water change every day using the same concentration of salt (doing it by the gallon is obviously easiest) and be sure the water your using is the same temp also.
Feed him sparingly, algae wafers are probably the easiest because after a few minutes you will need tosuch out what he does not eat so his water stays very clean.
If it's just ich that's the problem, this will take care of it. Please avoid using chemical medications as repeated exposure can increase the tolerance of certain bugs (bugs you may not be treating for at the time). They also get into our own water systems when you discard it. Salt is so much safer and cheaper.
If you wish to verify this information, please contact a moderator on this forum for assurance.
Good luck and keep us posted about what you do and your progress
