Hi there! Congrats on the gift, but yeah, I can definitely understand how big of a surprise it is when you realize that fish can be just as hard to care for as cats and dogs! Although...probably still less expensive lol.

Yes, absolutely use the Malachite Green, best thing for treating Ich! Is it just a bottle of Malachite Green or is it something like Quick Cure?

Honestly, the salt isn't going to do anything for the Ich, Ich can survive many different types of situations, salt is one of them. All it will do is aggravate the slime coat on your fish which is thought to be able to knock off the parasites, but it's just a little simpler to kill the parasites with Malachite Green first than to mess with the fish's slime coat

Not knowing where you live, if you live near a wal-mart, you can get a glass Thermometer for a dollar and a half! Nice and cheap! I use them all the time an good to help you gauge the water temperature for now. I doubt the water is at room temperature, generally it ends up cooler than room temperature so I'd say it's somewhere around 78, which is great for a Betta anyway

And last, if the bottle isn't Quick Cure, can you post a picture of what it looks like so we can figure out the dosages?

 

It would be better for him to be in his normal tank. Going from a 5gal to a small bowl is stressful, and treating for 5 gallons would be much easier to measure out then 1.6, since most medicines go off of per 10gal. Unless you have tankmates in that 5gal, in which case keep him in the bowl. (my below measurements for the medication are for a 5gal though... really the 5 gal is preferable.)

You need a thermometer so you can be sure that the water is 80-82*F and that you're not just exposing your fish to medicine that wont work. if there's a petstore near you, they probably have $2 sticky thermometers for the outside of the tank. It's better then nothing. I'm sorry, but you really need this.
There are ways to heat up a tank with no heater, but you absolutely want a thermometer for this as to make sure you do not boil your fish.

While aquarium salt is good for the immune system, (your fish's immune system has to be weak in the first place to get ich) the amount you a dosing yould be much safer in a 5gal. Do not continue with AQ salt after the fish is better. For a 5gal 2tsp of AQ salt will be okay.

Once you know that your temp is at 80-82*F you can use malachite green in the 5 gal. One one website I read it was 1ml of mg (malachite green from now on because I'm lazy) - 1ML of mg per 10 gallons, and it said to apply on 3 alternate days, in your case, you would use .5ML- keep the tank lights off, as mg is photosensitive, keeping the lights off will help the treatment. Be very careful as mg is toxic to humans, and do a 25% water change before each dose.

For this entire thing, I've been researching and jumping through tabs reading articles, since my fish never have gotten ich. Remove any carbon from your filter in the 5gal as it will clear out medication.

Very soon, I hope you get an heater, as this will help prevent ich from happening again. If there's anything you are unsure of then do not follow my advice, as it is just what I found from the web a few minutes ago.

I'm not quite finished but I'll post the rest in a bit because I have a finnicky mouse that will lose entire pages. Its that sensitive and goes back a bunch of pages.

 

Aw i was typing that for like, forever XD. Okay its good to know that salt would mess with the slime coat, so what I read was wrong.

 

I have another question - you said you don't have water conditioner??? You cannot keep your fish without one. Chlorine, heavy metals and other additives are in the water and they can seriously harm your fish. You also cannot leave your water out for a day or so for the Chlorine to evaporate. In the old days, yes you could but now the chemicals that get added to your water do not evaporate out.

 

Thank you so much all for your replies!! I really appreciate it !! I have been a nervous wreck not knowing what to do!!! I don't want to make a mistake..I have never had fishes... only dogs...My sweet dog Misty is very confused as to why am I fussing over a bowl of water instead of her!! hehe... Thankfully I discovered this website!

I will attach a picture of the Malachite Green that I have. It just says Malachite Green F on the bottle and comes with no instructions!! :-? Also I will definitely try and get a thermometer as soon as possible. We don't have stores like Wal-Mart here only small pet stores and none of them kept a thermometer!!!I don't know why would they sell fishes and then not keep any supplies for them! But I am making a list and ordering everything I need online.

Also as you say I will move him to his 5.5 gal tank then. The tank is only for him and he doesn't have any tank mates.

I did not have the water conditioner either but I ordered that and just received it today. I ordered the Seachem Prime.

I have attached the pictures of both Malachite green and Prime.

Again thank you all so much for responding!!

 

ok. for future reference. putting fish in a tank without water conditioner can kill them.

 

Ok... Thank you so much... I will definitely keep that in mind!

 

Actually, it's best to keep them in an hospital bowl/tank while you're treating with Malachite green, it's good at staining silicone so don't use it in the 5.5 unless you want green silicone lol

I've actually got to go and I'm having a difficult time trying to find dosing measures for the malachite green! I'll commment more later!

 

Thank you...I really appreciate your help...

 

Sorry I never have sick fish, and totally did not realize about the dye. This is the website where I found the dosing at: http://www.argent-labs.com/malachitegreen.htm

After lots of searching, that's the only one I could find about dosing besides 'follow the directions on the bottle'

 

Thank you so much!!! That actually helps a lot! Now I at least have a fair idea about how to use the malachite! Thank you sooo much!!

 

The only issue I have with that site, is that it's not RQ which is the brand. Each brand has a different concentration of Malachite Green in it and so thus, different dosing directions. For example, Quick Cure is 1 drop per gallon but if you're using straight up Malachite Green, which this might be but I don't know for sure since it doesn't say anything on it :-/ you'd use a fraction of a drop for 1 gallon, I think it was like 1 drop per 5 or 10 gallons for pure malachite green. That doesn't help of course.

Does it have anything else on the bottle? Any percentages or anything?

 

No... It has absolutely no information on the bottle. :-( I used just a teeny tiny drop though since I wasn't sure about the dosage. And the good news is I see only a couple of spots on his body today!! YAY! :-D I hope the Malachite is working... How many more days should I continue with this treatment?

I have one more question... I am trying to assemble a medical kit of sorts to keep handy just in case he falls sick again... I am trying to order some medications and keep it with me since ordering them online once he is sick might be too late... which is the best medication for Ich... I have seen Seachem's Paraguard and also Kordons Rid Ich... Which would you suggest... or is there anything else that is even better?

And one of the online stores here stocks Seachem's KanaPlex... I have ordered that just in case I need it for any future issues...Hope it is good...

 

Cut and paste directly from darkmoon sticky in disease section. Personally I have used aq salt at 1 tablespoon per 5g in all my water and have not seen any sign of Ich since doing this change. Since it is already established I would try the conservative treatment recommended by darkmoon and if proven ineffective try the Malchite green which can be harsh if used in high concentration or for too long a period of time.

Ick
•Symptoms: Betta has white dots (looks like he was sprinkled with salt) all over his body and head, even eyes. Lethargic, No appetite, Clamped Fins, Might dart and scratching against decor
•Treatment: You can treat Ick either conservatively or with medication. Ick is a parasite. Because ick is contagious, it is preferable to treat the whole tank when one fish is found to have it. Ick is temperature sensitive: Leave your betta in the community tank and raise temperature to 85 F. Then you can choose to treat with salt or medication. Conservative: Add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Perform daily 100% water changes to remove fallen parasites before they can reproduce. Replace the water with the right amount of salt. Do not continue this treatment for more than 14 days. If it fails or you do not want to use salt, treat with Jungle’s Parasite Clear, API Super Ick Cure, or Kordon Rid Ich Plus. If your betta lives in a jar/bowl, then it can be difficult to heat the water. There are heaters for smaller containers, but you can also float the quarantine container in a larger heated tank during treatment. Do a full water change every day and add an appropriate amount of medication to the water.

 

I tried the salt one day and the Malachite for two days... not sure what worked but I see only a couple of spots on his body today... Since I don't have a heater I just quit the salt and used the malachite...

 

ParaGuard is great for preventative measures. Rid Ich is okay but salt in that case combined with heat would be better.

If you have access to SeaChem stuff, I like to have KanaPlex on hand since it's a fairly decent antibiotic and good at crushing bacteria when it comes down to it.

 

Glad I ordered that then... Will try and get hold of Paraguard next...

 

Also sorry but I have one more question... How many days should I continue with the treatment even after the spots disappear? Since I read that just because we don't see the spots doesn't mean that the parasite is completely gone... As I am treating with Malachite(from that unknown strange bottle)... I don't want to overdo it either... I have already used it for two days now... One tiny drop in 1.6Gal...And from being almost covered in spots I see only a couple today... Sorry for so many questions!

 

I go a full week after I do not see the spots any more, it may take two weeks though.

 

Alright... I will do that! Thank you so much everybody for all your help... Hope he gets well really soon