Ich - when to cut down the treatment dosage

I almost put this in the emergency section, but where this is not an actual emergency at the moment, I did not want to bump a real one!

I thought it would be a good idea to have the "know how" when treating ich with different types of fish.

Cutting the dose in half is often recommended for loaches and cories (and anyone else deemed to be 'scaleless'), but I am wondering if this is also the case for any other types of fish? I feel like I read somewhere on here that tetras can sometimes react badly to a full dose of ich treatment - but I can't find that post now, so perhaps I dreamt that I read that?   

When I first got my glo tetras back in the Fall they all turned up with ich. I recognized it from photos, and treated with malachite green and formalin, the only thing I could find in local stores. Everything I had read said to half the dose for Tetras, i did and only lost one little one who had already lost almost his whole tail.
Three others missing more than half their tails survived and quickly recovered.
I only had to treat three days and was very happy with the half dose results, since I expected to lose most of them.

nyleveiam wrote:When I first got my glo tetras back in the Fall they all turned up with ich.  I recognized it from photos, and treated with malachite green and formalin, the only thing I could find in local stores.  Everything I had read said to half the dose for Tetras, i did and only lost one little one who had already lost almost his whole tail.
Three others missing more than half their tails survived and quickly recovered.
I only had to treat three days and was very happy with the half dose results, since I expected to lose most of them.

Thanks - phew, I'm not losing it (well, that could be debated!). I did an online search but couldn't find anything about tetras. Plus, I looked on the back of the bottle of Ich-X we have here and it only mentions scaleless fish.

I'm getting hubby to pick up some Nox-Ich on his way home as it seems like the ingredients are a little less extreme, and there is more malachite green in it when compared to Ich-X. We are just preparing for the worst with the black skirt tetras - they are okay for now, but with all of the banging and cold temps occuring in this house over the last week, we want to be ready...just in case! Hopefully the bottle will remain unopened!

The product I found was called quICK Cure made by AP, whoever or whatever they are.  It has GREAT directions, even about removing the carbon from filters, but the only fish warning was about the tetras, and also about marine fish and treating them outside their tank instead of the whole tank because it is harmful to invertebrates and live rock.  
I bought it BEFORE I did any research and was happy that most of the stuff I found on the internet recommended malachite green in one form or another. I chose it because it DID specify to cut down for certain fish, it had directions I could read and understand, it was mid range in the price category and didn't have too many ingredients. Guess I got lucky on that one!!!
I moved one of my tanks last weekend and somehow, someway forgot to plug the heater back it. It was the one with the tetras, and was only 66 f when I discovered how cold it was. I immediately found my ick treatment as I was SURE they would all have it again since not only did I move them but I chilled them as well. Been five days, so far, so good!!

So glad to hear you finned-children are not showing any ill signs - five days in sounds promising, for sure. We forgot to turn the heater back on in the mosquito tank last week after their water change...I only noticed it yesterday - so I can relate to that one! Their water only dropped a little, from about 71 to 68, which is not too bad considering we had a hole in the house upstairs for an entire day! Luckily most of the tanks are in the basement in a room that is on the other side of the house - opposite all of the chaos from our chimney rebuild (except for the poor tetras).

I've heard quick cure is good, I think Gary may have mentioned it before (maybe?)? Hubby could only find ich-x, nox-ich, and something called 'liquid super ich'. He got the nox-ich...hopefully we won't need it!

Fish should be able to take a gradual fall of 3c without problems, unless they are heat sponges from the deep tropics. Your mosquito fish should be happy down to 12c or lower, as long as the fall is gradual.

I have never shorted the dosages. I don't like loaches, so they have not been an issue. When I had clown loaches, they found other ways to die than Ich. With tetras, I go full dosage and it has never caused them any visible distress.

Hopefully, you won't need any treatments, but it's always good policy to have some on hand. Fish usually get Ich after the stores close on Sunday evening.