Ich

Ich (ick) is the most common disease of all freshwater and marine aquarium fish. Anyone that keeps fish for any period of time will eventually have fish that develop ich. Many hobbyists consider this disease to be just a common nuisance, but the reality is that ich is probably responsible for more fish deaths than just about any other disease. There are several effective treatments for ich, but if they are not administered correctly, they can cause serious problems with your fish and tank inhabitants.

They cycle of Ich:
The life cycle is direct. Encysted trophozoites (trophonts) leave the fish and settle to the bottom of the tank. The trophozoites (tomonts)divide into numerous tomites (theronts) that are released to infect the skin of the fish. The life cycle takes approximately 4 days to complete. However, it can be sped up by increasing the water temperature.

Symptoms:
Fish will become hyperactive at first. You may notice them flashing and cutting against rocks or sides of aquariums. As the trophozoites enlarge they cause hyperplasia of the epidermis and form white spots on the skin and gills. Severely infected fish may have respiratory problems and die. When infected, fish may not eat or may become lethargic.

Treatment:
The only way to treat the disease is by interrupting the life cycle of the parasite. Removal of the infected fish from the infected water for 3 days (77°F) will usually interrupt the life cycle (Tomites live only 48 hours at 78.8 °F). You must also treat the water to kill the tomites to prevent spread of the disease. Malachite green, formalin, methylene blue, or KMnO4 are all medications that are effective at treating ich. Only treat the tank as directed on the package and be careful with your measurements. Be sure to remove any carbon that you may have in the filters as it will make the medication ineffective. Remember, these treatments only kill the tomites and not the trophozoites that are encysted in the fish. You can only kill the parasite when it is in the theront stage.

Another proven treatment is the salt/heat method. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 5 gallons of water. You can use aquarium salt or kosher salt (some use table salt, but I never have, and therefore cannot recommend it). It is best to mix the salt in a pitcher of tank water and add slowly over several hours. The temperature of the tank should also slowly be raised to 84 °F over several hours. With this method, as well as if you use medication, you should also add aeration to the water. Medications, salt, and heat all make it more difficult for the fish to breath, so you will want as much air in the water as possible to lessen the stress on the fish. When treating the tank with salt/heat, it is best to treat for a minimum of 10 days, performing partial water changes every 3 days, and only adding the amount of salt back in that was removed.

Be sure to remove any carbon that you may have in the filters as it will make the medication ineffective.
That is semi true, carbon will 'suck up' medications in the water. It won't make them ineffective per say just remove them.
But you do need to use carbon after any treatment of a tank with meds to remove the remainder of the medication from the tank.

Good writeup!

Thanks for the addition Fern! :) I knew I was forgetting something.

No problem Just doing my job

nice write up