Fresh Water Dip???? YES or NO??

^ It takes a lot more time than 1-2 weeks; more like 60-90 days for that method to be truly successful in eradicating it.

 

True, depending on the stage it is in and the temp of the tank. If you can get your DT temp higher without harming anything it will speed up the process. If you catch the ICH in the trophont stage it will take longer for it's life cycle to complete. Usually at 80° the ICH can complete it's life cycle in a week. Without a host to attach to and restart the cycle it will die off until the parasite is reintroduced into the tank again. I've used the method to rid my 90 of the parasite within a 2 week span. Maybe I just got lucky that it was gone that quickly? lol

The temp is the main factor on the life span. At lower temps it can take months for it to mature and die off.

 

tgood, do you remember what your sal was at when you was treating your tank?

 

I didn't treat the DT but I had the SG low at 1.021 while my fish were in the QT. The QT was actually even lower at about 1.018. If you do lower the SG do it slowly. Same with raising it back up to where you normally keep it, do it slowly. I keep my current tank at 1.025 and just got my first fish last Saturday. No signs of problems yet!

 

Don't freak out. Don't make any hasty moves. Keep it in there and feed with Selcon. Thats all you need.

 

A 5" trigger is basically the same size as a 5g tank and placing it is such a small tank will cause it even more stress... sorry I don't shop at a BS LFS that puts their fish in microscopic tanks for any length of time. Infact the smallest tank my LFS uses is a 50g. IMO a responsible LFS that actually cares for the fish and not just 100% about trying to turn them for a profit will do the same.... Heck my LFS will refuse to sell to you if you don't have the proper size tank or knowledge to keep a fish alive.

 

how can you confirm there is no longer "ich" in your tank? all scientific reports, show that the cycle is much longer than that, no matter what the temp. Just curious how you know its "gone".

To the OP, generally you need to leave your tank fishless/fallow for at LEAST 6 weeks. 8-10 is the more accepted for total eradication.

 

I never said the OP had to buy a 5 gal aquarium as a must, only threw it out there as an example. i use 20 gal personally. as the OP already has a fish with issues i was trying to provide sone insight on an easy and cheap way to isolated the sick fish. You're missing my point and getting a little too overheated about it. Sounds like a quality LFS maybe you can ask them about home QT procedures.

 

I heard the temp thing is only effective for the fresh water version of ich? I could be wrong though. I have never had to treat for it. Just let my fish beat it on their own.

 

Temp doesn't work for saltwater ich.