Ich exists in nature but because of the ratio of water to fish, it willnot cause much of an infestation. But in an enclosed system like a fishtank where there usually is more fish than in nature, this results ininfections that can be truly damaging.
Among all the disease that may afflict aquarium fish, fish ich is the most common. But how much do we really know about this disease?The term Ich is a shortened version of Ichthyophthirius which is the genus of a ciliated protozoa. Like germs in the air, Ich can always be found in fish tank water although in small quatity. It is only when a fish's resistance is significantly lowered usually due to stress or sudden lowering of temperature that they become vulnerable and catch the disease. Another very common way that Ich can spread rapidly is when a new fish is placed into the fish tank with your other fish.
Ich swims freely in the water before attaching itself to a fish that it happens upon. It is easy to notice Ich even under low microscope resolution, looking like a round mass. Once it finds its victim, it will attach itself to the host's skins outer layer. It then forms a hard cystic like shell and will then start feeding on the bodily fluids of its victim. Through the naked eye, these cysts look like white specks and as it begins to spread, it makes it appear as if the fish is covered in salt. Upon maturity, the cysts will pop and the Ich fall from the fish, falling onto the gravel, ornaments, plants and anything else.
At this stage they will start to reproduce into the free swimming Ich and the cycle starts again.
Ich exists in nature but because of the ratio of water to fish, it will not cause much of an infestation. But in an enclosed system like a fish tank where there usually is more fish than in nature, this results in infections that can be truly damaging.
One very important fact to remember when treating fish ich is that while it is in its cyst bubble, it is shielded from any medication so treating it then is a waste of time, it is after it has falen from|left] the cyst and is swimming freely that it can easily be killed. In general the fish ich life cycle takes approximately three days so to effectively heal the fish you would have to conduct treatment for four to seven days.
Instead of using harsh medication like what many aquarists do, there are more natural methods for you to conduct your treatment as follows:
Firstly, increase the water temperature to between 85 to 88 degrees, since ich do not reproduce well in water that is warm.
The next thing to do is to increase the aeration in the water by increasing the nuber of air stones to provide more oxygen for the fish. Fish ich also infects the gills thus limiting the ability of the fish to breathe.
Thirdly, add one teaspoon of canning and pickling salt to each gallon of water to reduce the osmotic pressure. This aids the immunity system of the fish to effective combat the ich. The salt in the water is also harmul to the ich.
Then, perform half tank water changes on a daily basis. This removes a large quantity of the Ich that is swimming freely. Water changes are extremely important in fighting ich outbreaks. And vacumm the gravel every other day.
Lastly, even though I would rather use chemicals as much as possible, if the fish ich persists use a proper treatment specific for ich such as Rid-Ich which you can find in most fish shops.
Once your fish have won the batlle against ich, they generally develop an immunity to it and will not be troubled by future outbreaks. However to ensure that it never ever recurs, simple aquarium maintenance will do wonders and regular water changes are essential. Also, always quarantine fish that you have just bought for a couple of weeks before mixing them into your established aquarium
, no matter how healthy the fish may seem
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