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Ich and high temps
Jeff wrote:
>The tank was 86o (yes, that warm) and the ich prospered. <snip>
I never_ever_ though I would see ich in a Discus Tank (or any tank that
warm). The wide-spread assumption is that Ich dies at 80o+. Ich can live,
and even
>thrive, in these temperatures.
Colin wrote:
I don't know which plants you have in your tank, but ich is sensitive to
heat. Try bumping the temperature up to 80+ degrees for about 4-5 days, that
should do the trick.
High heat WILL NOT kill Ich. In fact, you are asking for a large outbreak
if you raise the temperature and don't medicate. The reason behind the high
temperature is to speed up the metabolism of the ich parasite, causing it to
leave its' host (our fish) quickly and drop to the bottom to propagate.
Only when the parasite has left the protection of the fish's slime coat can
it be killed by the medication that you have placed in the water. The
parasite cannot be killed while it is living on the host. If you raise the
temperature and do not medicate, the ich will propagate faster and infect
more fish in a shorter period of time. Medicating at a higher temperature
however, means you do not need to medicate for a long period of time. The
lower the temperature, the slower the ich's metabolism, the longer you have
to wait for it to leave the host to propagate, and the longer you have to
medicate your fish and plants! High temperature + medication = a faster
cure! (In the past, I have safely treated for ich at a temperature of 90
degrees F.)
By the way, I have had one past success with using quarantine some new
arrivals, and paid for it with an Aquarisol for treating ich in a planted
tank. I didn't outbreak of ich. Be warned though, others on this list did
not have favorable outcomes medicating with aquarisol.
Michael Laflamme
spicolte at hotmail_com
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