The Puffer Forum

How I believe my 16 gallon planted community tank has ick/ich and I was wondering what the best method for treating the whole tank would be?
I have 6 neon tetra's, 6 glowlight tetra's and 4 kuhli loaches and several random snails in the tank. As for plants I have Eel grass, sword plants and Anubias.
My water is currently at 80F which is the temp it is always at and the water parameters are normal (I just did a water change (25%) yesterday). From what I have read about treating ick that the salt and heat method would be the best for my tank.

So following this method I would thinking of doing the procedure this way, let me know what you think:
1.) Do a water change around 25%, not filling the tank all the way up so the water from the filter creates a fall allowing for more O2.
2.) Raise the temp to around 86F.
3.) 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, adding the salt (aquarium salt) and water mixture slowly to the tank (Any detailed advice on this part would be helpful).
4.) Wait a week before another water change 25% and replace salt that was taken out during water change
5.) Wait another week (Treating for a total of 14 days)and then do smaller water changes everyday to remove the salt from the water.

The treatment is supposed to be for a month, not 2 weeks. There's also no need to do a bunch of changes at the end to remove the salt. It shouldn't harm anything.

You're also supposed to do water changes every day to suck up any parasites but that's very difficult on a planted tank. I just did large weekly changes (about 80%) and vacuumed the surface of the substrate. Worked for me You need to do it for at least a month though, we did it for 5 weeks just to be safe.

I can do a month! Whatever it takes it get rid of it without destroying my fish and plants.
Would it be ok to do two water changes a week at about 40% instead of one big one?

Yep. What we did was measure out a certain amount of water and then placed a piece of tape at that point. That way we knew where to do the water changes to and exactly how much salt we had to replace. Our tank is high tech and it was just too complicated to do more frequent water changes unless necessary.

You're supposed to be doing 80% WC every other day, trying your best to clean parasite eggs out of the substrate. The salt may "soften" some of your plants.

I still a little confused about adding the salt to the tank water. Could you explain that to me?
What I understand is that 1 tablespoon should be used for every 5 gallons which means I'm adding 3 tablespoons.
What I don't understand is how much water do I use to dissolve the salt in before adding to the tank and how slowly to add the salt mixture to the tank.

Also what is a good way of cleaning/sterilizing aquarium equipment between uses? I have heard of using vinegar.

For FW, it's 1 tbsp/10g. Pour it into your filter.

Oh ok! Are you also recommending this treatment for a month?
Ick is such a bummer with all the water changes but I love my fish and I'm willing to do anything to ensure their health!!

This should answer most of your questions
library/hospital/fwich/

Haha...I guess I should have checked there first. This forum's library is amazing!

In the article it says 1tablespoon for every 5 gallons but you stated 1 tablespoon for every 10 gallon above.
Would doing every 10 gallons be better for my plants?

Yes

This may seem dumb but I'm still confused about adding the salt mixture to my tank and about the salt mixture itself. My confusion may be in part from my overly cautious nature...I pretty much won't do anything until I fully understand what I'm doing.

I know I need to 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons which means I'm adding about 1 1/2 tablespoons to my tank.
Unfortunately I don't have a bucket that fits 10 gallons so would it be ok to add 1 1/2 tablespoons into say 2 gallons of water (letting it dissolve) and then add it to my tank?

Myself, I'd just dissolve it in a pitcher of water I scooped out of the tank, stir until dissolved, then slowly pour it in.

Does it matter what size pitcher? I think I'm totally making this process much more complex than it really is. But I really appreciate everyone being patient with me and answering my questions.

Also do I need to take the filter media out during this treatment or is that just with medications? Oh ya....when the temp is the tank is higher the article (from the library) says that an air stone will be needed to oxygenate the water. Would lowering the tank water level so that the filter water stream becomes a waterfall be enough or should I purchase an air stone?