# Rubber Lip Pleco and Ich



## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

This poor little guy. I feel so bad for him. You can tell he is just not happy. I've added a few new fish to my aquarium. I don't have the space in my apartment for a quarantine tank. I think I infected the tank. I've been trying to do some research around curing ich and I don't want to affect the plants I have with aquarium salt. I did get some ich medication at the store but thought I should use it as a last resort. Question is, will turning up the heat to 85 be enough or do I NEED to couple that with aquarium salt or the medication. I'd love it if the heat would be enough. I have it at 85 degrees right now. Any help would be appreciated. I did search everywhere. Just wondering if heat is enough on its own and can't seem to find that answer.










pHluid13


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Kordon Ich Attack, herbal formula. Double dose. Harmless to everything, so no reason not to use it. Won't hurt snails, plants, random aquatic bugs, or anything but nasty little ich-bugs.
Heat only is best used for mild cases. That is the worst case I've ever seen. Poor little thing has to be incredibly uncomfortable... I suggest you get the meds as soon as possible and start using as much as is safe. That level of ich can easily be lethal.


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## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

Well I just so happened to buy some ick guard tablets on the way home today to have on hand just in case. I dosed the tank and removed all carbon. Worried about the staining that some complain about. But better a little blue stain than a dead fish that I've come to love after having for a few years now. Thanks for the reply. I'll get some of that kordon ich attack for future reference in the event I need it in the future as a replacement to this ick guard instead. 


pHluid13


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

In general, when there's an infection/infestation/etc that's gotten that bad, it's best to go all-out with treatment. Possibly-less-effective methods are best reserved for minor issues. Do keep the heat up, though, it'll help. 
Be sure to treat for at least a week after the last of the spots are gone, to be sure the last of that nasty stuff.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Kordon Rid Ich is the way to go. Heat alone will only speed up the cycle of the ich, you need the salt or meds to kill the free floating bugs. Ich cannot be killed until it is free floating so it is best to turn up the heat as much as you can to get the ich off the fish faster but you will either need meds or salt to finish the parasite off or it will just go through their life cycle and new ones will show up on your fish again. Rubberlips don't like it that hot but any increase in temps is good. In your case I would opt for meds as well rather than salt. Hope he pulls through. I had 3 out breaks of the bug in 14 years and it is easily treated. I always used medicines to treat with good results and I have many plecos, all survived the treatments.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Would add extra aeration for temps needed to combat the ICH.
Less oxygen at warmer temps.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

All good advice above.
Add air some how(lower water level to create splash,or add air stone).
Be careful mixing treatments(heat and whatever).
The heat alone can work,MUST be over 87 to kill.
I'm, all against salt if there is another choice(it is a chemical for all who ask why!),and have had such good results with Kordon rid ich plus(not herbal) that I recommend only ONE other thing.
KNOW THE ENEMY;
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/ichthyophthirius
This is a must read for those who want to easily kill ich.You HAVE to kill it!
Good luck that pleco is heavily infested and needs real treatment as quick as possible in the tank with all other fish.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Excellent point. Rubberlips come from fast flowing, cooler rivers. 87 would be too much for him. An extra air stone or even two would definitely improve the situation.


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## RugburnTanks (Mar 31, 2015)

Also water changes will help. Another method is to get the ich out. HOWEVER, do not make this your only treatment.


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## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you posted as to how things are going. I angled both of my returns up over the water line and turned up the airstone when I raised the heat. Good to know that heat alone doesn't kill it off. Thanks again!


pHluid13


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Poor thing. He looks pretty miserable. 

I've had a bad outbreak of ich a few months ago. My treatment wasn't with any chemicals, just salt, heat and water changes. I didn't lose anything besides a few plants from the high temperatures. 

Here's what I did:
1. Bring temperature up to 86 over the course of a day and add two air stones.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt PER 5 gallons of water.
3. Wait two days, then perform a 15% water change. Be sure to vaccum the gravel/sand *heavily.* Also, make sure the new water you're adding is the same temperature.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt PER 5 gallons of water.
5. Follow this regimen until one week of treatment is over, then perform a 50% water change... Again vaccuming the gravel/sand well and making sure the water is the same temperature as the tank. 
6. Add 1-2 tablespoon of aquarium salt PER 5 gallons of water. 

For the final salt dosing(#6), I only did 1tbs/5g but, if your pleco is still showing physical signs, I would suggest doing 2 tbs/5g. After this, almost all physical signs of ich were gone from my fish. But, I did not stop treatment. I kept the heat up for _at least_ another week. Finally, I did another large (I think I did 75%) water change at the end of two week treatment. 

Never have seen it since, even with the addition of new fish.


Good luck! Keep us updated!


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## navarro1950 (Jul 25, 2014)

A few of my rummy nose tetras had ick and I read on another forum the garlic could cure ick. So I also read that an aquarium product called Garlic Guard could also cure ick, so I tried the Garlic Guard and it worked. I have plants as well and the ick meds kill plants and that's what we don't want , so try garlic guard but first read about it for your self first.


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## navarro1950 (Jul 25, 2014)

With the Garlic Guard you soak the fish food in it and feed the fish as would normally do and also raise the temp up to 86 or just a little more for 2 weeks or until the ick is gone. I still add Garlic Guard to the food at twice daily just as a precaution . I read about the garlic and Garlic Guard on Fishlore just in case you wanted to read it for yourself .


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

navarro1950 said:


> With the Garlic Guard you soak the fish food in it and feed the fish as would normally do and also raise the temp up to 86 or just a little more for 2 weeks or until the ick is gone. I still add Garlic Guard to the food at twice daily just as a precaution . I read about the garlic and Garlic Guard on Fishlore just in case you wanted to read it for yourself .


Ich is know to die at 86 degrees or over for 2 weeks.
The garlic did nothing,but encourage the fishes appetite (which is always good when sick).


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Best treatment for Ich:

Quarantine ALL new fish EVERY time. 

Then, when Ich breaks out (and it will) you will be working with a single species in a bare bottom tank, and can see it right away, when it is just a couple of spots.


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## dindin (Mar 4, 2009)

Temp up + airstones + DAILY water changes, as much as you dare. Keep it that way for up to 2 weeks. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Rubberlip plecos cannot handle temps high enough to kill ich for that long of a time. Meds are needed in this case. I understand that just increasing the temps may be great for some fish but it could very well kill a rubberlip pleco. If the ich does not, the high temps could. Rubberlip plecos can tolerate a temperature up to 78 for most of them but if it is a L187B, the high end temperature is 73 according to Planetcatfish.com. So please stop saying that just increasing the temperature would be enough because in this case that is bad advise. Unfortunately the pleco in the picture of the original post is so covered with ich spots it is impossible to tell what species he is. But most of the ones sold at Petsmart are L187B.


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## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

Thank you for the further advice. I do appreciate it. The main question was whether heat ALONE was enough to treat ich. The answer has been given already that heat was not enough. All the other methods of treating ich; heat, water changes, airstone, etc. have already been discussed ad nauseam on these forums. Please standby for further updates. I've established a plan of heat and kordon ich attack with an airstone. I'm going to stick with it and so far things are looking good. I don't want to change the plan midway as that might further stress the fish. Also I did a search for L187B and my pleco does look like that exactly. I have maintained a temp of 78 in my tank for two years with this pleco and he's always been happy and healthy. Planetcatfish may be incorrect with its statement of 73 degrees. Again, though, thank you for all the advice. Let's keep this thread as brief as we can now to make way for updates and keep the thread useful to those who may need it in the future. It makes it easier to find the information when there are more straight and to the point threads. 


pHluid13


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## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

I know it's a bit difficult to see the difference but they are coming off and he seems to be less uncomfortable. So it is working. I imagine this case will take some time since it's so bad. Been monitoring him almost all the time when I'm home to ensure he's not going lethargic on me. So far so good. 











pHluid13


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Looks much better already.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Definitely an improvement. Now he doesn't look like somebody battered and fried him.


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

Great improvement. Keep up with those small water changes. Now that they are free floating it's an optimal time for a water change.


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## phluid13 (Mar 24, 2015)

Yesterday I noticed that a few of my sunburst platys were eating the ich spots off of the pleco. It was weird to watch because usually the pleco will get antsy when other fish are nearby and scare them off. But he just lay there and allowed it. He was a bit antsy but mostly allowed the platy to eat it off of him. Almost all the spots are gone now. Sorry for the low light picture. He was under the driftwood. Gonna keep up the ich attack and water changes and heat for another week. Fingers crossed!











pHluid13


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

He is going to make it. 
You are a good fish parent, lol.


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