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Jenn
Lv 5
Jenn asked in PetsFish · 1 decade ago

Goldfish with ick and using Wardley Ick Away?

My goldfish have ick and I have been treating them with Wardley Ick Away. We are currently on day 4 of the 9-day treatment cycle (with treating every 3 days). My question is will it get\look worse before it gets\looks better? My fish seem to be handling it ok. Eating great and still active. Thanks.

3 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I never use that stuff on my goldfish. They have had it twice in the past 4 years. This is usually due to either poor water quality (tanks not big enough, not doing water changes properly) or it could just be from stress. I used the salt and heat method. What i would do if i were you, is do a 40% water change, to get the dead parasites on the gravel that the medicine already killed, and go to your store and get aquarium salt, and a heater if you don't have one. Heaters are a bit pricey, but it is worth it in the end. The salt and heat method is the most effective because it gets rid of the ich in a week! But you still have to wait another week to make sure they are all gone. Raise the temperature in your tank to 82º. Then, add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons. Raising the temperature speeds up the life cycle of ich. Ich cannot stand salt so they fall off the fish and usually die. Once they are all off of the fish, that's when you use the chemical you have now. It is very powerful, and only kills free floating parasites, it doesn't target them on the fish, where as salt does. If you have any questions just send me an email and ill be glad to answer them. Ich really isn't a hard parasite to deal with, a lot of people just over react. The name is deceiving.

  • ?
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    I have never used Wardley Ich Away so I can't comment on its effectiveness (or not). You want to treat for 3 days past when you last see symptoms, so he may actually look fine but that doesn't mean he is quite yet. I say that because a lot of people understandably stop when they don't see white dots anymore, not realizing that parasites have three stages, the last of which is when they're in the water and not longer on the fish and cannot be seen by the human eye. And some advanced infestations have treatment periods as long as 14 days, so I'd call the company and ask if you can do another round if needed.

    Source(s): I'm not an expert but have been rescuing sick, injured, old, handicapped bettas from Wal-Mart, PetSmart, etc. for five years. Most vets don't do much with fish, so I had to learned through experience and research. I've gotten pretty good at diagnosing things because I've seen most betta health issues at this point.
  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    do a 25% - 50% water change before adding the quick cure, this will get rid of some of the parasites in the water. do NOT stop treatment until he has been ick free for a week, even if the directions say to stop before then. it may be too late, but you won't know unless you try.

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