I have encountered a lot of Ick/Ich during the time I've had the fish. I would have to say that Ick/Ich seems to be the most predominant of all the different diseases that fish get.

When you fish had Ick/Ich it looks like someone has sprinkled them with salt. It is little teeny tiny specks of white. Most of the time these specks show up on the fins and tails first. They do not have a raised appearance and are flat against the fish. However, when they are covered with these in the advanced stages of Ick then they do have a raised look to them.

Ick/Ich is always present in your tank, in your fish. Stress is the main cause of Ick/Ich. Your fish can get stressed as a result of many things. I have found that Ick/Ich seems to show up most often when I add new fish to the tank. Almost every time I bring a fish home from the store and add them to a tank within a few days not only does the new fish develop Ick/Ich, but several of the other fish as well. Very frustrating.

Fish purchased at the store have had a large amount of stress. They have left their happy home, been transported to a new environment, then you buy them, transport them again and put them in another new environment, all within usually a matter of a few days. At first I was very worried when this occurred, but after all this time I have come to expect it and watch new fish very, very carefully.

Another way that stresses your fish is moving your fish from tank to tank. I, with 8 tanks, tend to do this on a fairly regular basis for a variety of reasons; compatibility issues, Cichlids getting so large that the smaller fish are in danger, fish getting larger and outgrowing a smaller tank, etc. Most of the time I don't encounter much of an Ick/Ich problem doing this, but it does happen upon occasion. The third reason would be dirty water. When the water gets cloudy or contains too much ammonia or nitrates this will stress the fish out a lot thus causing Ick/Ich.

TREATMENT

I use a product called Quick Cure by Aquarium Products with very good success. This seems to have worked the best for me. I tried Rid Ich once and had no luck with it.

I always use this for a full 14 days. Usually it does not take that long to cure it though. It is very important that you treat with the Ick/Ich medication for a full 14 days. The bottle says that it can cure Ick/Ich in 2 days, but it is best to continue the treatment for the 14 days. Ick/Ich is a parasite. The parasite lays eggs in your tank continually. The eggs that are laid will continue to hatch out for a full 14 days. By using Quick Cure for the full 14 days you will kill any of the newly hatched Ick/Ich parasites. This is the only real way to cure the Ick/Ich for good. NOTE: If you have any fish in the Tetra group you use one half (1/2) the dosage of this medication.

The second medication I suggest is CopperSafe by Mardel Laboratories. If you use no other medication in addition to the Quick Cure use CopperSafe. It is a very good all around treatment and can be kept in there for a month. I like it a lot and have had good success with it. CopperSafe treats for the following diseases: Ick/Ich, Flukes, Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan Diseases and other freshwater parasites. In addition to treating these diseases it also aids in stimulating the appetite in sick fish.

I strongly recommend that you use CopperSafe for the full 30 days. This will also aid in eradicating the last of the hatching parasites. I have heard that some fish hobbyist keep CopperSafe in their tank all the time as a preventative measure. I would not recommend doing this however. The parasites will build up a resistance to CopperSafe and it will not be effective against them in the future.

The third medication I use is Maracide by Mardel Laboratories. Maracide can be used for a full 10 days. I always leave it in the tank for those full 10 days. Maracide treats Ick/Ich and other common parasites in Fresh Water Fish. In addition it treats Chilodonella, Trichodina and Velvet/Protozoan Diseases.

SECONDARY BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

Ich, Fungus, Parasites, etc can also result in bacterial infections. The body resistance to disease is naturally down when they get ill in other ways. Whenever I treat for a parasite I ALWAYS treat with an antibiotic. When you fish is in a stressed or weakened condition from the Ick/Ich, many times he will pick up a secondary bacterial infection as well. This can end up killing him even though he no longer has Ick/Ich. In the beginning I would only treat for the Ick/Ich, but found I would still lose the fish. Since using antibiotics as the same time, I have not lost any fish.

I use either or both Maracyn and Maracyn-Two by Mardel Laboratories. Though the names may make you think that these are the same medications they are really quite different. Maracyn treats GRAM-POSITIVE bacteria and Maracyn-Two treats GRAM-NEGATIVE bacteria. As in humans fish can get either type of bacterial infection.

I ALWAYS use the antibiotic for at least 7 days. This is very important! I relate this to our own medications that the doctor gives us. A doctor rarely gives you medicine for less than 7 days and most often 10 days. It takes that long to get every last little bit of the bacteria that lingers on. I used to have a farm and raised many different kinds of animals. The same held true there. Always give a medication for a minimum of 7 days and I recommend 10 days. By giving a medicine for less you can end up having a bacteria that becomes resistant to the drug you are using and it will no longer work for you. If you experience deaths and all signs of Ick/Ich are gone, continue on for a full 14 days.

You can use ALL Mardel products along with the others with no ill effects. They were designed to be used together. They also do NOT destroy your natural biological filter.

I will mention this however, your water will turn cloudy and change color. The medications tend to change the color of the water as well as make bubbles on the top, depending on how much agitation you have in your water. Once you are done treating and clean it out, it will go away. You will probably still have a wee bit of discoloration until you change the water the next 2 times or so, then it should get back to clear.

Remove the charcoal filters from your tank or the charcoal will remove the medication. When your initial treatment with the Quick Cure and the antibiotic is done remove as much water as you safely can. Add enough CopperSafe to bring the level back up to full strength. Do NOT put the charcoal filters back in your tank.

After the 30 days is up, again remove as much water as you safely can and put your charcoal filters back in to remove the last remnants of the CopperSafe.

There are a lot of products out there on the market you can try. If one product does not seem to be working, get another product and try it. However, don't give up too easily. It can take the full 10 days at times to cure it. If it does not work in that length of time, then the particular strain of Ick/Ich you are encountering could be resistant to that particular drug. BE SURE AND CHECK the ingredients of the Ick/Ich medicine you buy. See what it contains. For instance: Quick Cure contains Formaldehyde and Malachite Green. Maracide contains Tris Aminomethane, Aniline Green and Dibromohydroxymercurifluorescein. You want to make sure that if you use 2 or more products in conjunction with the other that you don't use two products that contain the same ingredients or you will be doubling the dose of the medicine and thus over dosing your fish.

QUARANTINE

If at all possible, it is a good idea to have a hospital or quarantine tank. Remove any fish showing signs into the quarantine tank. I try to keep an empty 10 gallon tank available for this purpose. It is also advisable to quarantine any new fish brought home. If I do have an empty tank I put all new fish in there for a week to 10 days before introducing them into a tank full of fish. My quarantine tank always has CopperSafe and salt (See below) in it. If the new fish show signs of Ick/Ich, then I treat as explained above.

I keep salt in all my tanks at all times. Ick does not like salt. Thus the salt works as an excellent preventative. I don't buy salt at the pet store because it is way too expensive. I buy regular table salt at the grocery store. Make sure you use only NON-IODIZED or PLAIN salt. The iodine will kill the fish. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. The salt also aids in repair damaged fins, etc. It is a really good thing to use. Your fish do not have to be salt water fish to use this. Regular tropical fish are just fine with it. It does not hurt them at all. Since using salt for over a year now, I have had only one case of Ick and it was cured in 2 days, though I treated for the full 5 days.

When you add salt the first time to your aquarium you use 1 Tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. When you do a water change or perform a tank cleaning then you need to add enough salt to bring the concentration back up to full strength. In other words, if you take out 10 gallons of water then you add 2 Tablespoons of salt; if you take out 20 gallons of water then you add 4 Tablespoons of salt; and so on. Don't worry about getting too much salt because it won't hurt a thing.

DO NOT dump the salt right into your tank if you have fish in it. We did something that almost killed our Tire Tread Eel, Mic. Mic tends to burrow under the gravel and since he's a brownish color he is very hard to see. We did a water change in our 50 gallon tank and I was adding the chemicals and the salt to it while my fiancee was filling it with water. I started dumping the salt in and never noticed that Mic was right under the gravel where I was dumping the salt until it was too late. All the salt landed right on top of him. He was getting burnt. He went into convulsions and curled all up. I thought I killed him. We directed the water right on top of him and after a bit he started moving around and swimming erratically. That was about a year ago and he is back to normal now. So it is very IMPORTANT the you either dissolve the salt in water before you pour it in or wait until the tank is full before you add it and make sure no fish are in the vicinity. You can sure bet I'm going to be more careful in the future.