Tank Ich

[adares]

I noticed about 24 hrs ago that my betta has Ich. I immediately took action by raising the temperature to about 85 degrees and added aquarium salt as per the sticky instructions. The spots have drastically reduced on his body. Will the aquarium salt be enough to kill the ich or will it still be present in the tank after 10 day treatment? Also if it is still prevalent in the tank, how do I get rid of it for good?

I have a 5.5 gallon with my male betta, filter, heater, and plenty of silk plants.

Also (probably the reason he contracted the Ich) I added a pleco which I am getting rid of shortly, that since I added has increased the Ammonia levels to about 0.5 ppm; which I know is not good. What can I do to decrease the ammonia levels and keep them down even with water changes?


Thanks,

Angela

[shellieca]

Heat is typically enough to get rid of Ich. Water changes with a good vacuuming. The temp should be 86-88 & you'll want to leave it up for at least week after the last spot is seen. I'm not sure salt & a Pleco go together. A 5.5 is not big enough for multiple fish let alone a Pleco, return or rehome as soon as possible. The only way to get rid of the ammonia is to get rid of the Pleco, in the mean time water changes & lots of them using a good water conditioner like Prime. Or add another filter to help.

[adares]

I took out the pleco before adding salt to the tank, thank you for letting me know! I will be returning it asap.

In terms of the Ich, if I clean all ornaments and gravel with hot water, will that get rid of the possible Ich that could be stuck to it? Also how often should I be doing water changes during the treatment?

[LebronTheBetta]

Shellieca pretty much covered it all. Ich is present 24/7 in all tanks, it just strikes once a fish is in stress. Cleaning all the decor will certainly help plenty. Ich (Any parasite really) will die with no host, but that's just a little tip for you to know. (;

[shellieca]

To add one little tid bit, it can take 2-3 wks to get rid of the Ich using heat. So have patience, I'd do at least a 50% water change every other day.