Help with Ick

[Palue]

Have a real stupid question. Can plants carry ick??:confused:

My Discus has ick and there are no new fish in the tank, water changes are done religiously, the only thing new in the tank is some live plants.


So with that can I treat the tank for ick with these live plants or will it kill them??

[Evan]

Yes they can.

What temp is your tank?

Ich cannot survive at the the temp discus are usually kept? It might be something else.

[Palue]

Tank is 80

Should I raise the temp more??

I have always kept my tank at this temp but I can raise it if needed

[rick.c]

sould be 84 to 86 ,i keep my tanks at 88

[Palue]

So if I raise it slowly will I still have to treat for ick or just wait and see what happens??

There are a few spots on the tail and the fins, nothing showing on the body yet.

The plants I have in there are: Vallisneria, Ludwigia & Cabomba (which is beautiful and bushy)

Darn this makes me mad....:mad: This is my baby......:angel:

[rick.c]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=28906 try this it worked for me ,i didnt have plants tho

[brewmaster15]

A really effective treatment for Ich in a planted tank is a product called Ich clear, by Jungle labs.. It works well and doesn't seem to have any effect on plants....that plus increasing the temp should take care of things.


hth,
al

[Palue]

Well I have raised the temp and will see how this does over the night and into tomorrow.

I also ahve that Ick Guard by Jungle, is the stuff you are talking about blue??

It does not say anything on the bottle about damaging plants but if I can avoid using it I will.

By the way, back to the plants. How does the parasite live on plants out of curiosity??

:angel:

[brewmaster15]

Hi palue,
Thats not the med...the one I am referring to is a tablet that dissolves.

The parasite can survive without a host for less than 48 hours...so if you bring plants home from a LFs and its in the water or on the leaves... its possible to spread it to your tank...though not as likely as if it was on new fish.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA006

hth,
al

[Dolphin Dip]

Well I have raised the temp and will see how this does over the night and into tomorrow.

I also ahve that Ick Guard by Jungle, is the stuff you are talking about blue??

It does not say anything on the bottle about damaging plants but if I can avoid using it I will.

By the way, back to the plants. How does the parasite live on plants out of curiosity??

:angel:

after a fish becomes infected white lumps cover the ich parasite.
the parasite then falls off and into the substrate [this is where it gets a bit hazy for me] and somewhere along the line reproduction takes place. so for a short time, the parasite is in the substrate and on plants/ornaments until they find a new host.

[White Worm]

after a fish becomes infected white lumps cover the ich parasite.
the parasite then falls off and into the substrate [this is where it gets a bit hazy for me] and somewhere along the line reproduction takes place. so for a short time, the parasite is in the substrate and on plants/ornaments until they find a new host.

I found this good explanation and this is why they can hang around and be a nuisance.

After approximately one week of parasitism, mature trophozoites leave their host, settle to a substrate and secrete a cyst. The encysted cell, called a tomont, undergoes rapid division over approximately twenty-four hours to produce 600-1000 daughter cells called tomites. Once these reach maturity, they exit the cyst and develop into a theront stage, which is highly mobile. Theronts then infect new fish, digging their way into exposed parts, under the scales, or more commonly into its gill plate. The entire life-cycle takes about seven to ten days to complete.

They dont do well at higher temps and higher salt levels.

[FishLover888]

Set your water temp at 88 and you will never have ich.

You need to keep the temp at >88 for at least few weeks to get rid them all. I'd say at least 4 weeks.

After that, keep your water temp at 85 or higher. Most nasty things don't do well over 85F. You will have much less problems with that kind of temp in the tank.

Of course, most plants don't do well in water temp over 85F. That's why I don't have much luck with plants. I figure that my discus are more important to the plants.

[Dolphin Dip]

I found this good explanation and this is why they can hang around and be a nuisance.

After approximately one week of parasitism, mature trophozoites leave their host, settle to a substrate and secrete a cyst. The encysted cell, called a tomont, undergoes rapid division over approximately twenty-four hours to produce 600-1000 daughter cells called tomites. Once these reach maturity, they exit the cyst and develop into a theront stage, which is highly mobile. Theronts then infect new fish, digging their way into exposed parts, under the scales, or more commonly into its gill plate. The entire life-cycle takes about seven to ten days to complete.

They dont do well at higher temps and higher salt levels.

lol, that's almost exactly what i read way back when... i just more trouble trying to recall it. :p

[Palue]

Okay things are the same this morning, should I treat for the ick?? I don't want this Discus to get sick, there is no more spots than yesterday but I want to get rid of these buggars......:mad:

Or just leave the heat to take care of it??

:angel:

[Apistomaster]

I really recommend you follow Al's advice ASAP. The meds won't harm your plants and you can use the 88*F for a week or so then maintain them at ~85*F. 80*F is too cool for Discus maintenance.

[Graham]

As a point of interest. There are reports out of the U of Fl about strains of ick that are not affected by high temps. They are quite capable of survivoring and thriving at 90*...so use meds and crank up the air

G

[Rod]

Graham, Your information is right up to date.
At one time it may have been true about white spot and heat, but over the last 5 years or so there has been some wicked strains of ich about which heat and formalin based meds won't touch.
If you come across this strain then i would recommend copper and triclorfon blend as an effective cure.

Rod