ichy fish

Q&A about cichlids from Africa other than from the rift lakes

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kurt keeton
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Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:25 pm

ichy fish

Post by kurt keeton »

hi pam just wanted to know if and when you do water changes on the tank can you still use or should you use salts and cichlids salts togather i have not been doing this just useing ciclids salts but i seen some of your post that talk about rock flicking or rubing was not sure if this would help in keeping the ick out or dorment my fish look healthy no spots there all eager to eat when its time i,ve used some meds but there are still doing it temp is about 78 to 79 not sure what to do or what steps i need to take to cure this problem ;(
Pam Chin
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Re: ichy fish

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Kurt,

Sorry for the delay in your reply, as I have been in Atlanta for the ACA convention....

First off "salts" and "cichlids salts" can be two different things.... Salt which adds salinity to your tank has long been a used as a preventative as well as a first step to prevent and treat ich. This is a highly debated argument! You have you salt lovers and your salt haters.... I used to use salt like a crazy women, adding each time I changed the water. I quit it cold turkey, however, if I do notice any ich (see white spots) I do add salt and increase the water temperature before I resort to using meds. I really walk the fence on this argument, as I don't think adding salt hurts your fish, but whether it is doing any good is debatable. Most people use 1 - 2 tablepoons of Salt per 10 gallons of water.

Cichlid Salts are mixtures that help increase your pH and the hardness of your water. They do have some salt (salinity) in them but it is not as concentrated as say rocks salt. Usually these are a blend of baking soda, epsom salts, etc. It is good to know your water, everyones is different, you may not need to add any Cichlid Salts to your tank if your pH is high enough out of the tap. It is really trial and error, I think it is best to take a gallon of your water and add your Salts and then see if you are reaching your desired levels, if not add more. Then take that amount times the gallons of actual water your have in your tank or the amount of water you are changing, and that will be your own custom recipe.

If you use both, you need to add them each time you are doing a water change.

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