How to Cure Ich With Salt

Ich is a parasite that can attack fish in aquariums. Ich is also called White Spot Disease because of the small white spots that show up all over the body of the fish. Ich can spread from fish to fish and will eventually kill the fish in your aquarium if it is not treated. One method used to kill ich is salt. You must use the salt correctly, however, or you will harm the fish.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium salt
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Instructions

    • 1

      Turn the heat in your aquarium up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the temperature needed to stop the ich from reproducing. Once you do this, you will be ready to treat the ich that has already infected your fish.

    • 2

      Take any live plants in your aquarium out of the tank before you begin to use the salt. The plants may not survive the salt treatment.

    • 3

      Turn your aerator up a little. The higher heat setting will reduce the oxygen level in the water. You need your fish to be able to breathe properly if they are going to stay healthy.

    • 4

      Find out how many gallons of water are in your aquarium. You will need 1 tsp. of aquarium salt for each gallon of water. That means if you have a 10-gallon aquarium, you will need 10 tsp. of salt.

    • 5

      Use a cup to remove some water from the aquarium. Add the salt you measured out in step four to the cup of aquarium water. Mix until the salt has dissolved.

    • 6

      Add the salt water slowly to your tank over the next two hours until you have poured all of it into the tank.

    • 7

      Repeat these steps each day until you see the white spots have disappeared from your fish. This should only take a few days.

    • 8

      Change at least 25 percent of the water in the aquarium daily for at least a week after you have stopped the salt treatments. This will get rid of the salt that was used so your aquarium can be brought back to normal.