Ick is a common ailment found in ornamental fish. Ich parasites that feed on skin and gills destroy fish in aquariums. If you find Ick in your fish tank in time, you can cure your fish easily and economically.
Ick , also known as white spot disease because it looks like a white spot on the skin of fish, is a parasite that is generally present in goldfish. When fish get infected with Ick , they start running fast around aquarium rubbing against each other. They die after few days if you do not treat them properly.
When fish are healthy, they can keep parasite under control because their immunity system is strong enough to fight against them. If you maintain your fish tank well, you can reduce the spreading of parasite in ornamental fish.
However, when their health become fragile, they immunity system become weak exposing them to diseases. The health condition of the fish becomes weak due to several reasons: poor water condition, overcrowding and poor nutrition. When aquarium is unsuitable for fish, parasite become strong and starts to multiply.
Before you treat fish for Ick , you must find out why fish become weak. It can happen due to several reasons: incorrect PH value, incorrect level of ammonia or nitrate in the water; and insufficient aeration. Figure out what cause the fish susceptible to Ick.
As the fist step, you have to empty the tank and refill it with fresh water. Then, you must restart filters and add ammonia. When you increase the temperature of the tank to 75 F, Ick parasites start to dies. They cannot live at this level of temperature. But their eggs may survive hiding under gravel and places; therefore, you have to maintain this temperature about 10 days to completely eliminate parasite from fish tank.
When your fish tank is completely free from Itc, change the water in the tank. Then you have to test PH level, ammonia and nitrate level and return to normal temperature. When your tank is quarantine, you can add new fish to the tank
Some recommend increasing tank temperature to 75 F while fish are in the tank. It can be effective if you find the disease at early stages. However, if you increase the temperature more than 75F, your fish dies. If you apply this method, you have to do it with a great care.
Fish store employee may give expensive medication to treat Itc. If you do the above treatment, you can save your fish with no cost.
Some use chlorine bleach to disinfect the tank. They scrub glass, ornament and gravel to make the tank safe for fish. However, chlorine destroys biological filter that is necessary to ornament fish; therefore, It is not effective method to treat Ick.
When you are going to buy new fish, examine them with a magnifying glass to ensure that they are not infected with parasites. If you see any sign of disease, do not buy them. Once you add new fish, quarantine fish tank with formalin parasite-killer.
Ick is a parasite that kills ornamental fish in tank. Well maintained aquarium can protect fish from this disease. However, if you fish tank get infected with this parasite, you have to completely remove Ick from the tank to protect your fish.