Reddit reviews API AQUARIUM SALT Freshwater Aquarium Salt 65-Ounce Box

Sorry to hear about the ICH problem. The 1st time I got ICH I had no idea what to do and had to do tons of research, so I thought I’d help you out.

I went the natural healing route and not the chemical route. They make chemicals specifically for ICH, but a lot can be harmful to scaleless fish like clown loaches which I have as well. Once you spot ICH in your tank you’re going to need to treat your entire tank regardless if you quarantine, so I just treated my entire tank rather than quarantining. If you catch it early enough you can quarantine and treat, but it was too late for me.

Here are some good links that helped me. It’s good to understand the life cycle of ICH so you know when it can be killed.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2160&aid=2421

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php


Step 1: Remove all decorations (Optional, but makes it easier to clean the tank which you will end up doing every couple days)

Step 2: Kill the lights. ICH grows faster in light so I had my lights off the entire time I was treating. I turned on when I was cleaning, but that was it.

Step 3: Slowly raise the temperature. Not too fast though as a quick temperate change can shock the fish. They are already stressed enough with ICH so I would raise a degree every few hours. I went from 78-86 in 2 days. Ideally I believe you want to get above 81. 84-88 degrees if your fish can handle it. This temperature kills the ICH when it’s in its free floating stage.

Step 4: Add Aquarium Salt. Add 1 TBSP for every 5 gallons of water you have. Here is a link to aquarium salt (http://amzn.com/B0010P0ZJK). I had an extra wave maker and bucket so I would mix the aquarium salt in water with that.

Step 5: Routine Water Changes. I did a water change every 2-3 days, but you can every day. I did 2 days to keep stress levels down. If you change every day do about a 10% water change. If you do every 2-3 days do around 25% water change. Also if you can try to vacuum out the substrate when you do the water change so you can suck up the free-floating ICH.

Repeat steps 4-5 as many times as needed until fish look healthy for a few days. I added aquarium salt right after I did my water changes. Once I noticed all the ICH was gone I continued treatment for 4 more days just to make sure everything was gone.

Step 6: Once ICH is completely gone do a complete tank clean. I cleaned everything! I cleaned my decorations before I put them back in, cleaned the glass, did a good vacuum of the substrate, replaced carbon, and replaced filters. Finally do a 25-50% water change with clean water and not Aquarium Salt water.

Step 7: Start lowering the temperature back down to your preferred temperate.
None of my fish died and they have been healthy and ICH free ever since. It sucks treating for ICH, but your fish will thank you for it :)

Tips: If you can try to add an air stone or wave maker to break water tension. The increased temperature in the tank will decrease the oxygen levels.

If you don’t already, once you’re ICH free look into setting up a quarantine tank. I have since setup a quarantine for new fish that I monitor and treat for 2-3 weeks just to make sure they are not sick, then I add the new fish to my Main display after that. I have yet to get another case of ICH.

If you have any questions or need some advice feel free to PM me.

Hm. If you can, please try to buy an API liquid test kit right away. They're at any pet store that carries fish stuff, or you can get one on Amazon with prime shipping. Sometimes they go on sale even cheaper on other pet websites if you google around.

It's absolutely crucial that you have a way to test for these levels since they affect your fish's health.

Read this quick explanation on cycling so that you have a better understanding of what is going on in your tank, and what these chemicals mean for your fish. Most fish or pet stores will test your aquarium water if you bring a sample in, for free.

(And no problem with the cast, I had to wear a cast once so I know the struggle! Good on you for trying to help your fish anyway!)


It's possible he ingested gravel, but more likely he just needs clean water and time to heal. You mentioned in the post title you were using a medication, which medication is that?


Sometimes it's better to hold off on meds and put him in a hospital tank, like you have done, and treat him with aquarium salt. The general dilution is 1 tsp per gallon, and you do daily 25-50% water changes with freshly conditioned water. Don't do salt treatments for longer than about 10 days since it's a little hard on them but it helps with wounds and with general illness. When you do a salt treatment, dissolve the aquarium salt in a cup of tank water before pouring and mixing it in, it doesn't work as well if you just sprinkle it in solid.


Either way if he's in a smaller tank you'll want to do 10-25% water changes daily because their food and poop releases ammonia, which makes them sick. I just got a new betta and am keeping him in a 1 gal quarantine tank floating in my main heated tank, and after a single day the ammonia jumps up to 0.1 ppm. You want it to stay 0 and never ever above 0.25 ppm. It's a lot of work doing these water changes but you typically see a huge improvement in their health - you're acting as a river flushing out old water and letting new water flow in.

I would actually establish his 5-gallon tank with a fishless cycle, and set him up a small temporary "hospital tank" to treat the fin rot in the meantime.

I always prefer to move my fish to a small, bare tank for medication that doesn't have an established filter, because medication can crash your cycle. So for his permanent home, I would start on a fishless cycle by setting everything up with the gravel, filter, etc and add some ammonia like this to get the fishless cycle going. You can follow the directions on the bottle and use your water test kit to test for ammonia in the water to determine when the cycle has established, and ammonia levels are safe again.

While the tank is cycling, set up a medicated hospital tank (in fact you can do this now before you set up his man tank so that you can start treating his fin rot before it gets too severe.) Set up a small bare tank with a heater set to about 80 degrees fahrenheit/about 26 celcius. Add a little freshwater aquarium salt, and dose an antibacterial medication like Melafix for the fin rot.

Hospital tanks shouldn't have carbon filters, since carbon will just remove medications. You simply need to do daily water changes with clean, treated water (I recommend Seachem Prime for dechlorination and removing heavy metals. Even better if the water is also carbon filtered.) Remember when you change water you have to add medication and salt back in. You can add a small sponge filter to a hospital tank if you want just to keep water flowing and to filter out debris, I use this little filter for my hospital tank.

Lastly, but still very important: When you move him, you'll have to acclimate him slowly. Bag him up in a Ziplock bag with the water from his vase. Float the bag in the hospital tank (preferable already at 80 degrees) so that he can slowly acclimate to the temperature, and add a little bit of the hospital tank water to his bag every 5 to 10 minutes. I would take about 30 minutes to let him acclimate before releasing him in the tank. Acclimation is important because temperature and parameter change can cause shock.

What a tough little guy. I'm impressed he's been able to pull through in these terrible conditions. That water must be absolutely toxic. Best of luck to you in helping him pull through!

Another thing you can do (besides keeping the water clean as you've been doing) is to add aquarium salt that you should be able to find in any local pet store. Just follow the directions on the package for your tank size, and make sure to completely dissolve it before putting it into your tank. Salt is a good broad range treatment that can help with several common ailments.

The only other thing I may suggest is hold off of feeding for a few days (goldfish can go at least a week without food). This way if it is constipation, they can clear their systems before eating again. After a few days if they seem to have improved, start with 1 or 2 shelled cooked peas, see how that goes, and return to normal food in the following days. Just remember the rule of thumb that their "stomachs" are about the size of their eye and try to feed accordingly.

Best of luck, I hope they get back to feeling themselves soon!

First days got up to 89, then down to 86 for a couple days and then back to normal temperature. Do this only if your fish can tolerate high temperatures otherwise 86 will work it’s just not as effective. I did a partial water change after but kept the salt content about the same. Salt actually has benefits for a lot of freshwater fish believe it or not! I highly recommend aquarium salt not just for killing the ich but maintaining a healthy tank. I haven’t had any deaths or ich breakouts following the heat/salt treatment (this was 6 months ago). link to salt I bought- no copper, safe for crays.

Melafix is snake oil. It's actual been proven to be ineffective according to studies. What it does look like though is fungus. Get an anti fungal, aquarium salt, and a quarantine tank for the fish if you want to give them a chance at survival.

You have to test them with a testing kit. If you're not really sure what you are doing, buy a gallon (or your country's unit) of SPRING water and PH test it. If the PH is good, use that brand with a bit of aquarium salt and your bettas should live for years with changes.