High temps "truly" kill ick?

[wnehez]

So I have been battling ick for around 2-3 weeks now. Kick Ick seemed to be working but I had to stop treatment recently because I had a huge ammonia spike that killed two of my fish. It was my fault because I tried to clean the sand and mixed up all the bad stuff in the sand. Very depressing knowing I was the cause of their deaths.. But anyway, back to the question. I have been reading many things and "cures" and treatments regarding ick and have come across a couple places that say if you keep your temps up to about 82-84, ick cannot live in that temp. has anyone actually had success with this method or is this more of a myth?

 

[bif24701]

I would like to know some info on that as well.

 

[disc1]

That is true so long as you take all the fish out of the tank. As long as you have fish in there, the ich will survive. It only takes a few individuals to set off another infestation.

 

[fshaqrmman]

From what I have heard...the purpose of the high temperatures is to speed up the life cycle of ich.

 

[wnehez]

ok... That sucks... Its not like I have another 75 g tank laying around that I can qt my fish in... and I dont even know where I would keep another tank that size... I guess I am going to have to stick with Kick Ick and just hope for the best...

 

[disc1]

How many fish you got that you would need a clean 75 to hospital them for six weeks?

Sorta makes you wish you had done a quarantine doesn't it?

 

[wnehez]

I only have 4 fish but I know they cant be in smaller than like a 55g tank.. is it ok to keep them in smaller tanks for just the hospitalization of them and to rid my tank of ick? I just didnt want to stress them out moving into a smaller tank, having to get caught, and end up killing them because of it like I have heard ppl say happened to them when they tried to qt them for ick. Alot of ppl say to just let them go and feed and feed and they should fight it off which I havebeen trying...

 

[wnehez]

and yea, I wish I would have qt the one when I first noticed him scratching and did a qt when first introducing them. Now your supposed to qt new fish for two weeks right? to keep an eye on them and make sure they are ok?

 

[disc1]

QT time depends on species and how they are doing. Anywhere from a week to six weeks on new fish. What kind of fish do you have? Most of the fish they tell you not to put into a small tank, will be just fine there for six weeks while the ich dies. You just don't want a permanent home that small.

 

[wnehez]

Ooo ok.. that makes sense. Kind of like how the fish are ok at the pet stores till someone buys them.. Gotchya.. I have a small juvinile blue hippo who is the worst. he started it all.. I then noticed a cpl spots on my naso and then what appered to be a spot or two on my russel lionfish tail fin. Im not positive if the others have it but I am thinking thats what it is just from looking at the hippo...They are all still eating fine and breathing normal but the blue hippo has had it for about two weeks now maybe longer. I just recently moved which I think caused it to get worse. I really would like to take them out, qt them, and copper them since I know that works alot better than other treatments... I just dont want them all crammed into a small tank for six weeks...

 

[rholguin]

Why not get a plastic container like a tote from Walmart or Target. I have used those to qt fish and are cheap.

 

[snorvich]

From what I have heard...the purpose of the high temperatures is to speed up the life cycle of ich.

Exactly. Your tank must be fallow in order to rid your self of cryptocaryon irritans. The length of time can be reduced somewhat by raising temperature. Doing so with fish in the tank will have no effect on ich but it will reduce the oxygen content of the water which exacerbates the effect of the ich in the gills.

 

[ed102475]

Why not get a plastic container like a tote from Walmart or Target. I have used those to qt fish and are cheap.

+1 dont put them all in the same tote.

 

[jimmyj7090]

So I have been battling ick for around 2-3 weeks now. Kick Ick seemed to be working but I had to stop treatment recently because I had a huge ammonia spike that killed two of my fish. It was my fault because I tried to clean the sand and mixed up all the bad stuff in the sand. Very depressing knowing I was the cause of their deaths.. But anyway, back to the question. I have been reading many things and "cures" and treatments regarding ick and have come across a couple places that say if you keep your temps up to about 82-84, ick cannot live in that temp. has anyone actually had success with this method or is this more of a myth?

Elevated temp ("82-84") will not kill ick, it just makes the life cycle happen faster. This is useful if you are running the main tank fallow (with no fish whatsoever) to let ick die out. The elevated temp will simply speed up the process slightly.

Elevated temp alone is not a way to kill ick.

 

[lordofthereef]

It hasn't been specifically mentioned, so I will do so.

Raising your temp to 84 does not killthe parasite. It simply speeds up the life-cycle, hence shortening the length of time your tank needs be fallow (fishless).

 

[Lmart]

From what I have heard...the purpose of the high temperatures is to speed up the life cycle of ich.


Ditto on higher temp= faster life cycle of the ich parasite

 

[Pallobi]

Alot of ppl say to just let them go and feed and feed and they should fight it off

its almost comical at this point... the people out there who say "this is all you have to do"... like you do this and POOF, no more ick... doesnt work like that... though the lazy, corner cutting peeps will continue to say this like it is actually effective...

remove your fish, and do PROPER qt procedures... for 6 weeks minimum... kick ick isnt gonna do anything worthwhile or effective... jus cuz you cant see the parasite, does not mean it isnt there... there is only one proven way to irradicate the disease, and one proven way to keep it out... GL

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I have heard that the high temps cause the parasite to come off the fish and into the water column where people use UV sterilizers to kill it. That is Petco's theory, but it never really eradicates the ich.