On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 00:33:53 -0600, "Margolis"
wrote:

"Dave" wrote in message
...
35 gallon tank full of swords and anubias. Quite a few cardinal tetras
and
blue tetras plus a few loaches, plecos (zebra) and a rubber eel. I've
noticed a few of my cardinals have what appears to be ick (white
spots)....and they are also not very active.

I see my problem as 2 fold. First of all...it's a planted tank and from
what I've read treatments for ick can be harmful to plants. Is this
true??

Problem# 2 - if I'm not mistaken Quick Cure is lethal to rubber eels
(caecillian). I've got this stuff called Copper Safe...anyone know if
this
would be safe to treat the tank with keeping the rubber eel inside?? If
there's nothing to treat ick that isn't harmful to my rubber eel then I'll
take him out and throw him into my 90 gallon cichlid tank while I treat
the
35G. I don't think my eel has been effected....and I don't want to risk
losing him while treating the tank because rubber eels are somewhat rare
(I
live near Toronto and I finally found some in Tonawanda, New York).

Problem# 3 possably - aren't cardinals more sensative to ick medication??
I've got around 20 of them. Should I lower the dosage??

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Kind regards..
Dave




just raise the temp. I never recommend medications for ich, they are just
not worth it. It is too easy to treat just by raising the temps to a steady
80-83°f. That should take care of it in 24-48 hours.

the thing is, what caused the ich in the first place? healthy fish that
aren't overstressed do not succumb to ich. Are you keeping the water warm
enough and at a stable enough temperature for the tetras? It should be in
the range of 78-80°f. Are you keeping the water clean with regular water
changes and decent filtration that is clean?

Plus it sounds like the tank is a little overcrowded which could be
contributing to the stress levels causing the ich.

I have read this temperature suggestion before. I tried it once while
waiting for ich medication to be mailed to me. I didn't get any
improvement. I agree that healthy fish don't get ich. I once
received 6 Clown Loaches that had ich. I tried treating the tank with
RidIch+, but only 2 of the 6 improved. I finally killed the four that
were obviously losing strength. I also noted that none of my other 60
fish had caught the ich, so I quit medicating and the 2 CLs continued
to improve and are still alive and doing fine 14 months later.

My understanding of raising the temperature has nothing to do with
killing the ich. As I understand it raising the temperature speeds
the cycling of the ich. There are 3 states and the white spots is
just one that is visible. Speeding the cycling allows the ich
medication to kill off the ich when it is in the state that is
vulnerable, the free swimming state, I think.

I would focus on the water quality. Change 20% daily and try shift
some fish out of the tank if possible. You may have over populated.
Is it possible you are overfeeding? It wouldn't hurt to not feed for
a day or two along with the water changes. I don't know that fish die
from ich, but weak fish that break out with ich will die from what
ever is the underlying cause.

These ideas are the result of my experience, and things I have read.
I am definitely not an expert.

dick