Treating Ick without harming fish.

The following gives details of treating fresh water fish infected with ick.

Source of Ick

Fish get ick infection from the ick parasite a protozoa called Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. This is very dangerous if not treated in time and will kill the fish eventually.


Ick Symptoms:
Ick will manifest itself visibly as white dots on the fish (generally the spots will start on fins and move towards the body, but not always). The spots will be about the size of a small grain of salt. Fish will often "flash" or scratch themselves quickly and repeatedly on objects in the tank in an effort to dislodge the Ick cysts. Some fish will continue to act normally even when infected with Ick, but others will have clamped fins, color loss and lethargy.

To treat Ick, one needs to understand the cycle of the ick parasite.

Ick cycle:
Ick lives through 3 cycles in its life and is susceptible to treatment at only one stage of the life cycle. Awareness of the life cycle is important to properly treat this.

Adult phase - it is embedded in the skin or gills of the fish, causing irritation (with the fish showing signs of irritation) and the appearance of small white nodules. As the parasite grows it feeds on red blood cells and skin cells. After a few days it bores itself out of the fish and falls to the bottom of the aquarium.

Cyst phase - after falling to the bottom, the adult parasite forms into a cyst with rapid cell divisions occurring.

Free swimming phase - after the cyst phase, about 1000 free swimming young parasites swim upwards looking for a host. If a host is not found within 2 to 3 days, the parasite dies. Once a host is found the whole cycle begins all over again.

These three phases take about 4 weeks at 70º F but only 5 days at 80º F. For this reason it is recommended that the aquarium water be raised to about 80º for the duration of the treatment. If the fish can stand it, raise the temperature even higher up to 86º.

The free swimming phase is the only time treatment is effective. Raising the aquarium temperature to 80º F will greatly shorten the time for the free swimming phase to occur. These cysts do not survive over 86ºF. So if you can raise the temperature to about 88ºF without stressing the fish, it will be more effective.


Ick Pre treatment:

Ick is highly contagious, therefore if your affected fish is in a community tank, the tank should be treated as well. Keep the water at 86 degrees F or higher. One may have to raise the water temperature slowly so as not to shock the fish. Warmer temperatures will cause the cysts to fall off faster. When the cysts have fallen off, this is the only time the parasite is vulnerable to treatment. When attached to the fish, the medicine/treatment does not get to the parasite, since it is embedded in the skin of the fish.


Ick Treatment using salt.

This is very effective way to treat the fish.

Treatment is most effective when started early, then the cure is early too. But this can be done at any stage of the ick infection.

Raise the temperature of the aquarium to 86 degrees F (slowly over a period of about 5 to 6 hours). Add about 1 tablespoon per gallon of aquarium salt (non iodized salt available in fish stores). Mix the salt in the water and gradually add this to the tank. Observe the fish for stress when doing this. If fish is getting stressed reduce the amount of salt. The free swimming ick parasite cannot survive in salt water. This kills them. That is why salt water is used as treatement. The freshwater fish can survive for a couple of days in salt water and elevated temperatures without any issue.

Keep fish in this tank for atleast 10 days till the ick is eradicated.



Ick Treatment with medicine

This is not recommend because the salt water treatment is highly effective. But if you have to treat with medicine, read on.

There are lot of medications on the market that will successfully treat Ick. Most medications geared toward Ick treatment contain Malachite Green or copper. Commonly available brand names are: Malachite Green, Coppersafe, Quick Cure, Aquarisol, Rid Ick and Maracide. Malachite green, tends to stain the plastic and silicone in the aquarium. Most of these medications are fairly harsh on plants. Strong copper-based medications can eventually lead to poisoning, so water should be changed frequently after treatment to remove the medications. Follow the instructions on the medicine bottle fully to cure ick completely.


Ick Prevention

When adding new fish to a community tank, always quarantine them for at least 2 weeks to reduce the chances of a diseased fish spreading ick to the tank. Note that ick does not come from the tap water. It comes along with the fish. The parasite may be affecting the gills of the fish, where it is not visible by the naked eye. Quarantining the fish is a good way to keep the parasite out of the main tank.