Treating Ick with heat and salt

[DOOB]

pops is right on the money. we ve done it in our tanks before without meds. we turned the temp up to 89F for a day and nite. the next morning throw the vortex diatom filter on the aquarium and remove the now free floating ich outta the water with it. I still use my vortex today. out dated..... but one hell of a filter for polishing water aand removing parasites from aquariums

 

[DOOB]

pops is right on the money. we ve done it in our tanks before without meds. we turned the temp up to 89F for a day and nite. the next morning throw the vortex diatom filter on the aquarium and remove the now free floating ich outta the water with it. I still use my vortex today. out dated..... but one hell of a filter for polishing water aand removing parasites from aquariums

 

[Lilyann]

I have used Paraguard with Otos at full strength as proactive treatment with no ill effects.
Salt and Otos are not a good mix, however, it would add stress to a soft-water fish whose immune system is already compromised by the parasite. Now, if it was a Platy or Molly, sure- added salt would be very beneficial. But, with fish endemic to low/ to almost no salinity waters, the only time I would say salt is appropriate is in the case of nitrite toxicity ( to counteract "Brown Blood disease".).
There is a heat- resistant Ich variant that is becoming more and more frequent in ornamental fish. because of this, I use medications. There are no Ich variants resistant to malachite/Victoria green, the active ingredient in most proprietary blend Ich medications. If the med was ineffective it was user error or a misdiagnosis in the first place.

 

[Rocksor]

Salt ... would add stress to a soft-water fish whose immune system is already compromised by the parasite.

Not necessarily true.

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA00600.pdf

A slight increase in salinity can help decrease osmoregulatory stress caused by the damage to the external tissues of the fish. At warmer water temperatures (75–79°F), use of 4–5 g/L (= 4–5 ppt) salt (sodium chloride) in a prolonged bath for 7 to 10 days is another effective treatment in smaller systems, provided the fish species can handle

the salt concentration. Because theronts are intolerant to increased salinity levels of 3–5 ppt, salt is often added to aquaria or tanks that are being treated with formalin to enhance the response to treatment. Most freshwater fish can tolerate 5 ppt salinity for several weeks and many can live

in 3 ppt permanently; however, it is important to know the specific tolerances for each species to be treated.

 

[Lilyann]

Not necessarily true.

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA00600.pdf

There are many qualifiers and generalizations in the above statement ( so, I guess the "not necessarily true" is fitting) .
Qualifiers such as "Provided the fish can handle," "Most freshwater fish ( what does this exclude?) can tolerate ppm salinity for several weeks and many can live.
I am assuming each of these assertions include a chain of evidence that demonstrates this and explicit shows what the "most" and "many" means and what is excluded.

What is important here that is often not considered by those who recommend salt for treatments is this, which the author states explicitly: " it is important to know the specific tolerances for each species to be treated". ( so, yes, your "not necessarily" is apt. )