Possible Ich outbreak

[Jeff1192]

So I think I'm dealing with the early stages of an Ich outbreak in my 90 gallon cichlid tank. I haven't dealt with this in a long time so I'm looking for advice.

The fish are all low energy, mostly hanging out at the top, not eating much. I few are rubbing on the ground and rocks. I dont' see much in the way of white spots but there are a couple fish that might have some white spots on their backs.

So far I'm slowly raising the temp up to the low 80s and I was going to dose extra aquarium salt once I get the temp up.  Any other suggestions? How often should i do water changes while doing this?

Thanks

Jeff

[tanksalot360]

While it may not be the most direct answer, I'm pasting this here

First - if water tests are off, attempt to correct.
Next, is the heater(s) working? (Ich is usually started with a temp swing, or other stress)
Then....

As for treating ich...there are a few options, I'll do My best to cover them:
1. the safest med to dump into the entire tank would be seachem Paraguard (or Kordon Ich guard)
1b. A small quarantine tank set up with tank water, seeded media etc. can save on medication and can help to hold additional fish if they start to show symptoms - but it's not always necessary. If a QT is used, a combination of aquarium salt and paraguard or malachite green works well.
2. The next best "natural" method would be to increase the temperature to 82-86F, for max 7 days, any longer plants tend to melt/fish can stress out. This speeds up the parasite life cycle so it drops off the fish sooner - but it's still potentially dormant in the gravel. (Combine with meds for 1-2-punch).
3. IF you can catch them easily I would highly recommend a medication bath - using aquarium salt and malachite green (nox-ich or API super-ich cure) prepare an ice cream pail (1gallon) solution of aquarium water with of a 2-3x dose (ie. 2-3 drops nox ich, or divide the API powder into 4 portions) with 1 tsp of aquarium salt. "Swiftly" catch the fish and place in this water for up to 5 min, then return them to the tank. Monitor for surface gasping and stress- return to a container of regular tank water to recover before returning to tank. Repeat this with a new solution twice- 3x a day.
4. Aquarium salt treatment (1-2 tbsp per 5 gal)

There are other combinations but you get the idea.

That should apply to just about any situation. There are other methods involving copper or multiple jars, but the above should cover it. (Additional care should be taken with scaleless fish/invertebrates)

Removing carbon when using meds, and flushing the system with 30% Water changes after treatment helps dilute the meds and improve the conditions. Recommended after each course of treatment (With meds it's ~3 days).