How To Prevent And Treat Ich Without Killing The Fish

Before we could prevent and treat Ich, we need to understand what Ich is and how it attacks our fish mercilessly. Now we look at ways to identify Ich in our community tank.

The presence of white modules on the skin, gills and fins of fish are symptoms that they may have been infected with Ich. They appear as though they have been dusted with salt.

In the early stages of the disease, the fish are likely to flash about and rub themselves against objects to get rid of the irritation the parasites are causing. During the later stages, the fish become lethargic and spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank.

Ich commonly affects koi. The characteristic white spots are usually not noticeable and very difficult to spot during the early stages in this fish. Thus, it is a good idea to do a skin scraping analysis when you suspect your fish has been infected. Confirmation of the disease and immediate treatment will prevent the problem from taking root.

7 Ways to Prevent and Treat Ich

1. Check the water quality. Normally, fish can do fine with a few Ichthyophthirius in the water, but when they are stressed, they become more susceptible to parasitic attacks.
2. Do a 50 per cent water change, just to be safe.
3. Add aquarium salt to your tank. This reduces the osmotic stress the infected fish is experiencing due to damage caused by the invading parasites, and may adversely affect the parasites as well.
4. An effective treatment is one that breaks the life cycle without stressing the fish. Consult your aquarium dealer to get the appropriate Ich medication. For malchite-containing medication, half the dosage is usually recommended if you are treating small catfish or tetra.
5. Raise the temperature in the tank (if that doesn’t do any harm to your fish) for three to four days. This will help accelerate the hatching process, enable the medication to take effect, and break the life cycle. Gradually adjust the temperature back to normal afterwards.
6. Ich can fatally re-inflect fish that are weak and stressed. And while healthy fish do not show spots, they can be carriers. Therefore, it’s best to move the fish to clean tank after seven days. This reduces the chances of re-infection by the tomites (the young parasites) that remain after the initial rounds of treatment of have been completed.
7. It may be necessary to continue treatment over 12 to 15 days in order to get rid of all the tomites when they are at their most vulnerable.

That’s all you have to do to keep Ich at bay!

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