"It will look like somebody took a salt shaker and sprinkled it all over your fish." - speakman10227 (YouTube)Ich (white spot disease) can be deadly if given enough time, so it's best to treat it early before the disease spreads and parasites infect more fish.
Today I wanted to discuss a natural ich remedy you can use: the heat and salt treatment. It is proven to be highly effective for many fish hobbyists. Plus, you don't need to rely on any commercial remedies to foul up your water (or impact your biological filter).
- The first step is to raise the water temperature to 86 °F (30 °C). This will speed up the ich life cycle, allowing you to kill each parasite during the free-swimming stage a lot faster.
- Next, make sure your aquarium is well oxygenated. The high heat reduces oxygen levels in your aquarium, so you want to increase surface agitation as much as possible (put in a few air stones if you need to or lower the water level in your tank).
- Add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt for every gallon of water. Both the heat and salt will work together to exterminate nasty parasites.
- Continue treating your aquarium for at least 10 days. Once you stop noticing signs of white spot disease, keep treating your aquarium for three days more to ensure you've gotten rid of all the ich.
- Reduce the water temperature back to normal. You now should be free of those nasty parasites! But don't stop there. Consistently monitor your aquarium to make sure pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are where they should be.
The author of the video below does a great job explaining how he treats ich in his aquarium.
Quality goldfish care is an ongoing process to promote thriving, healthy goldfish.
