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I need help! I'm worried about my Pl*c...he's quite important to me. We bought the 90 gal. for him and then I bought a twig catfish that the two of them are like buds. But then I bought two clown loaches from PetSmart and in two days they were infested with ich. I appreciate quaranteen tanks but I didn't have one and though I knew loaches were prone to ich, I still bought them...my mistake and now I'm trying to rectify. I'm really worried about Pl*c most...had him for a year now...he's at least 10 inches and is still looking good...no white spots. But once I introduced the ich into the aquarium, I know it's there even if I got rid of the loaches...so trying to maintain and the loaches show me the ich that's in the tank. I don't have a tank for Pl*c and even if I did, I still would have to worry about Ich on him cause he's been exposed. It's been a week...I've increased the temperature to 86 degrees to start and then to 88. Our house temperature has varied throughout the week which effects the temp. in the aquarium...and without adjusting the heaters, the temp has fluctuated from 86 to 90. Pl*c has survived so far. I've also put 26 tbsp of aquarium salt into the tank over three days. With the increased temp., been trying to have some room on top for the filter to allow oxygen and have about two to three inches of substrate...it varies based on Pl*c's travels. I figured out it works to about 70 to 75 gal. of water. It took two days for the tank to heat up to 86 and another day for it to get higher. It took me 4 days to slowly bring the salt content higher...probably should have done it faster but it just seemed like so much salt for freshwater fish...but it's there now. Every day, I would add salt and watch Pl*c and my twig to make sure they could handle it before adding the next day. One of the loaches looks fine now but the other one still has Ich but it hasn't gotten worse from the first day I spotted it. I have medication I can put into the tank and appreciate that it is at half volume cause the loaches are skinless. But Pl*c has an armour and I thought I should try to get rid of Ich with temp and salt. If I do a half dose of Ich medication, will it be enought to make sure Pl*c will be okay? Or do I need to get rid of the loaches and do a full medication to keep Pl*c safe? You guys have been great for me. You've given me so much information before ...this really means a lot to me to keep my Pl*c safe. Thanks for being here,
Shar

I think you should just "keep at what you're doing". If you have added salt as a medication, then don't mix in other medications.

You may want to do thorough gravel vacuuming to get rid of any resident Ich.

By the way, you probably didn't introduce Ich with your clown loaches - it is almost always present in all tanks, it's just a question of "luck" if it breaks out or not, particularly likely to happen if sensitive fish are introduced.

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Mats

I wont put the medication in then. I'm not worried about my plants...not sure about the temp and salt and what it does to them (some are starting to look like it's fall and turning yellow). I am really worried about my Leopard Pl*costumus. He's so beautiful right now and he loves his tank and swims around and shows that big dorsal fin of his! I don't know how much heat he can handle nor how much salt. If I do a major water change, I then get rid of the salt I've put in gradually? Pl*c still doesn't have any white spots on him but I read that they attack the gills and he has a definate armour coating so would it show on him? I've seen other pl*costomuses that did get Ick on the web...but not my big boy? Not sure about the twig catfish...but I think it too has an armour coating and I don't see many pictures of him on the web. I really want to keep my Pl*c .

Thx,
Shar

Almost all types of fish can get Ich. Think of it as a "cold" in humans - it's almost always around, sometimes people get it from others, other times it's "OK". Stressed fish are more likely to get it, which is why it usually turns up on "new" fish [hence the common misconception that the "new fish introduced ich"].

In human terms, that's also true, if you are under some sort of stress situation, colds and other illnesses are more likely to take hold and "get to you" than if you are in happy, unstressed situations.

Anyways, doing larg water changes will reduce the salt levels. That is a good thing on the longer term. If you want to do water changes during the treatment, you should replace the "lost" salt by adding it to the water you're filling with. If you use a bucket to fill with, it makes it easy - just add the salt to the bucket. If you fill with a hose in some way, then you probably need to measure how much water you're adding, and then replace the salt to that level.

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Mats

Thank you, I will in the morning!

Shar

It looks like the water temp and salt worked. The clown loaches are free from white spots. I will continue the heat and salt bath for another week. Pl*c has survived so far...he looks fine...never got any white spots on him. I tried to measure him today...he's close to 12 inches...in one year! My twig appears to be more active that what I've read. He is about 6 inches but really skinny. I did read that he could have problems with bigger catfishes. He and Pl*c seem to have a common bond...actually, the twig likes to be next to Pl*c on the aquarium wall. Pl*c seems to ignore him. I love my tanks and watching all my fish. My Blue Betta and my Pl*c were my first fish...they lived together for awhile...I think I'm getting too old for my anxieties about their health...but I am totally committed to them. I think I have the Ich under control but can you tell me about my big common pl*c with my new twig catfish....are they compatable?

Thx,
Shar

Been 12 days and no ich spots on the clown loaches. I didn't do any medication just temperature and salt. Now doing daily 10% water changes to get rid of the salt but cause I don't want the temp. to reduce drastically, I will wait for a few days before I reduce the heater...I don't want to stress the fish more. This coming Sunday, I plan on changing the filter stuff one portion at a time...throughout the next couple of weeks. I plan on doing the carbon first but first dipping it in the "tank water that has been removed"...not sure if that is okay...with the time period and the temp. in the tank, I can only hope I don't add the ich back to the carbon. I've had my other two clown loaches in a 10 gal. tank to eat the snails...plan on moving them to the 90 gal tank in a month or two. I need to know if the 90 gal tank is okay to accommodate my common Pl*c, my skinniy twig catfish, the original 2 sick clown loaches with an addition of two healthy ones? I don't know how fast clown loaches grow. i think the twig is full grown? It's been over a year now that I started all this aquarium stuff with my first betta fish. Appreciate the help you've given me through that time. Have now spent so many hours on the internet trying to learn...but you're forum has helped me immensely. Thank you!

Shar

You can wash all the filter media in old tank-water if you like. But if you are replacing the filter pads, then it makes sense to wash the new ones in as dirty tank water as you can get.

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Mats

Please forgive my ignorance, but I have a number of reasons for the question;

if the salt was good to help the health of the fish, why would it be important to remove it.

I know they are "freshwater" fish, however, don't most fish handle a relatively high salt content. I have heard that most fish could actually swim in the seas, but not necessarily the other way around, and that the salt water usually produces healthier fish.

Comments? I would really like to hear from someone who "knows for a Fact" the effects of salt, long term, on freshwater fish (in this particular case I have a good number of Channel Catfish and am considering Basa Cat's as well).

Thanks,
Mathew

Good question Mcummings! I think it is something worth asking the specialists. I've kept the temperature and the salt content up for three weeks. I'm in the process of changing the water every two days by 5 gal. (very slowly). The temperature has maintained at 86 cause I thought I would start the change in their environment first by getting rid of the salt and then by reducing temperature. The common pl*c, the twig and the clowns have never lost their appetite, are always active and do no strange things. They don't seem to have any problem with the conditions they are in. So should I maintain that salt content...2 tbsp per 5 gal. Also, are they happy with 86 degrees? I can still do water changes and keep adding salt? Can anyone answer the valid question Mcummings asked?

Thank Corysrus for a link to your site. I read it but I have to be honest and say that the salt helped in my case. I intially increased the heat as soon as I saw the spots. Three days later I started putting salt into the aquarium. It took me 3 days to get it up to 2 tbsp per 5 gal. Afraid I have been so upset with myself cause I knew better but bought them anyway. I bought these two clown loaches and knew they were susceptable to ich...there was a dead loach in their tank that looked like a caterpillar, incased in white fibers...I was this stupid woman that asked about the floating dead loach and the employee told me not to worry...it happens everyday and the two I was buying were active and therefore fine...I knew I shouldn't have bought them but I had this 90 gal tank with only a common pl*c and a twig...my mother-in-law was coming to visit. I had already owned two clown loaches killing off my influx of snails in a 10 gal. that I planned that after they did their job, I would transfer them to the 90. But I thought I wanted a total of 4 in that tank and bought two more that I put into it. (going to be some time before I do it now). I was vane and stupid. The good news is that with armoured catfish and no scale clown loaches, the salt and heat worked. I had two different types of fish...half of an ich medication, I wasn't sure if it would protect my pl*c. Now, I think Mcummings had a good question. All the fish are doing fine in their environment with extra salt and heat. I brought the amount up slowly and maybe they can adapt better than we think. If I maintain the amount of salt and temp, will that keep that nasty ich off forever?

Sorry for the disertation...

Shar