Ich present in quarantine tank, how would you treat?

[Rowdy Hotel]

I actually haven't had to deal with ich for years, the last time I had it I removed the fish to a quarantine tank to treat with Rich Ich and cranked the heat up in the display tank to 90 with no fish for a couple of weeks.

This time I acquired some fish from different sources and placed them all in this quarantine tank before dispersing them to other tanks. The tank is a 29 and contains some juvenile Ancistrus of two species as well as some Acestridium dichromum which I would hate to lose seeing how I have never seen these fish for sale before. The tank had been sitting for months with no fish and I let algae cover the sides in preparation for quarantine fish.

There are also plants and snails in the tank.

How would you treat these fish for ich if you had an outbreak? Currently the tank is at 80F and am waiting until tomorrow to get some treatments. Salt I already have on hand but this is my first venture into L-Cats other than some commonly kept cories and I've never had to treat catfish for ich in the past.

Are they truly more sensitive to chemicals? Would you dose with malachite green and formalin AND do salt + heat?

[Linus_Cello]

Increase temp to 84, add extra aeration (airstone), keep the tank dark (and maybe a little salt). No chemicals.

[Barbie]

Salt and heat actually counteract the efficacy of malachite green and formalin. If the quarantine tank had no fish in it for a month, you're going to be most apt to cause a small cycle and spike of ammonia or nitrite, which will then lead to an outbreak of parasites, IME. I regularly use a pond product called Proform C for numerous species of catfish with great results.

Barbie

[Rowdy Hotel]

I've been following Dr.Pleco's protocol for ich which is 86F, 3TBSP of salt per 5 gallons, and instead of Rid Ich + which is no longer sold in stores here I've used Quick Cure according to the instructions. So far so good, haven't lost any fish and all are eating more voraciously than before due to the higher temps. Have not noticed any additional presence of Ich.

The quarantine tank should have plenty of bacteria due to the fact that it had sort of ceased to become a quarantine tank over time due to me not adding to my collection and had been transformed into a potted planted tank to which I occasionally added ammonia and other ferts.

I may have unwittingly contaminated my second quarantine tank with the use of a net which contains a group of newly acquired Sewellia lineolata.

I'm sure these loaches are more sensitive to Ich treatments than my catfish but I've decided to treat them for Ich, despite the fact it is not present on any of them. I have raised the temperature up to 79F and have added 3 TBSP of salt per 10 gallons of water (half of the pleco dose). I was going to put a full 3 TBSP per 5 Gallons but decided to add only half the amount and then possibly add the other half unless someone convinced me that the concentration of salt would be to high for Sewellia. I am also unsure of raising the heat up to 86F due to these being a temperate species.

I am unsure if this concentration of salt (3 TBSP/10 Gallons) is enough to eradicate it and I am considering doing more water changes to bring the salt back down to "0" and just treating their tank with Quick Cure. Perhaps Quick Cure at a half dose (1 drop / 2 gallons per day) which is what is recommended for tetras and others (but not loaches) as opposed to the regular dose of 1 drop/ 1 gallon for 3 days.

[Rowdy Hotel]

Which single treatment would be most stressful for the loaches?

- Raising temperature to 86-87F
- Raising salinity to 3 TBSP per 5 Gallons
- Using Quick Cure at half-dose (treatment recommended for sensitive fish and should be enough to eradicate Ich)

I normally keep this tank at room temperature which is currently in the high 60's F.

[rupertoooo]

If my loaches contracted Ich I would start with the standard protocol of turning off lights, increase aeration and bump the temp to 86. If the loaches were introduced to cooler water prior to the bump in heat I would increase 1 degree an hour until a temp of 86 is reached. Since loaches are more sensitive I would half dose salt (1tbsp for 10G) as well as half dose medication to start. If fish show no signs of stress you can bump up the medication. My personal preference for quarantine medication is Seachem Paraguard. Good luck.