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Ick Information and Symptoms
By Rachel Hunt (Mushi)
A Betta with Ick - Image © Danelle
Ick symptoms are fairly
straight-forward and easy to recognize. Ick will manifest itself visibly
as white dots on the fish (generally the spots will start on fins and move
towards the body, but not always). The spots will be about the size and
consistancy as a small grain of salt. Fish will often "flash" or scratch
themselves quickly and repeatedly on objects in the tank in an effort to
dislodge the Ick cysts. Some fish will continue to act normally even when
infected with Ick, but others will have clamped fins, color loss and
lethargy.
Ick Treatment
Ick is highly contagious,
therefore if your betta is in a community tank, remove and isolate him. If
you can move him to a tank with a heater, this will make treatment easier
and faster - warmer temperatures will cause the cysts to fall off faster,
which is the only time that they are vulnerable to medications (when they
are not attached to the fish). Turning the temperature up to 84-86 degrees
F will not harm a betta for the short duration of Ick treament, and will
increase the speed at which the fish will be cured. Do not try to put a
heater in a small isolation bowl/jar, as you may end up boiling your fish.
If you can't heat the isolation container because it's too small, try to
place the container in a warm area of the house and allow treatment to
progress at its own pace.
There are a bunch of medications on the
market that will successfully treat Ick, which you use is more a matter of
how available it is for purchase than anything else. Most medications
geared toward Ick treatment contain Malachite Green or copper. Commonly
available brand names are: Malachite Green, Coppersafe, Quick Cure,
Aquarisol, and Maracide. Pretty much any treatment that says it treats Ick
probably will. Be aware the some of these medications are fairly harsh on
plants and invertibrates, so make sure you do your homework before
treating in a planted tank or one with snails/other invertibrates. Also be
aware that stong copper-based medications can eventually lead to
poisoning, so water should be changed frequently after treatment to remove
the medications, unless you are treating in a container that gets 100%
water changes.
Ick Prevention
Clean water, steady
tank temperatures, and keeping your fish happy and stress-free fish are
the easiest ways to prevent Ick. If you are adding new fish to a community
tank, always quarantine them for at least 2 weeks to reduce the chances of
the stressed-out new fish introducing diseases to your healthy fish.
Always try to keep the tank temperature as stable as possible - heaters
are the best way to do this if your ambient air temperature fluxuates a
lot. I've personally found that rapid temperature changes are the biggest
culprit when my fish come down with Ick - heat the tank if you're having
severe temperature changes daily, and if your tank is too small to heat,
buy a larger tank that can handle a heater. As with most of the other
diseases, keeping up with your tank maintenance (ie keeping the water
clean) is arguably the number one thing you can do to keep your fish happy
and stress-free. Do not underestimate the power of clean water.
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