best method for fighting ick in a reef
- Thread starter larry joe
- Start date
iluzhun
New member
I had an ick problem a few years ago. I used a UV sterilizer in combination with garlic on my food. my ick problem went away. Since I have become a big fan of UV and run it on all my tanks. Also a healthy fish that is unstressed generally will not sucomb to ick. I would take a close look at your tank and make sure there is nothing stressing out your fish. Just my $.02
best bet is to catch all fish, transfer to a qt and treat with copper or hypo, if you cant catch the fish ensure the water is top quality and food plentyfull, if the fish is otherwise healthy it stands a better chance with decent water quality and lots of decent nutrition, but qt is the very best chance the fish has of long term survival.
returnofsid
New member
As Michael said, remove all fish from display tank, treat ALL fish in Qt, FOR 8 weeks, with hyposalinity. During this same 8 week period, display tank must remain fishless. This is the only way to guarantee to rid your display of Ich. After this, QT ALL fish, prior to putting them in the display, for at least 2-3 weeks, while observing for any signs of Ich.
new2salt09
New member
while it is commmion practice to remove & QT infected fish I have to question the pratice now
a few mounths back I had a problem I was able to catch 1/2 my fish the ones I was able to QT died
the 1/2 I was unble to move to QT survived not long after this I found a thread pretaining to the stress of moving fish from tank to tank.
with that being said IMO its a roll of the dise Tangs are ick magnets they get it every time something stress them including lack of food
now with using UV will help keep it from returning
in order for UV to work 100% it should be plumed in line on drain or return with 100% ofthe water flow passing through it(.1 posable con to UV is that it may remove the benafical bacteria that corals feed on)
that is hear say I do not run a UV unit.
IMO garlic on foods keep the fish fat and happy and check for things that may cause stress ( stray volage from pumps heaters ) and temp swings through out the day (very commion and over looked)
good luck
a few mounths back I had a problem I was able to catch 1/2 my fish the ones I was able to QT died
the 1/2 I was unble to move to QT survived not long after this I found a thread pretaining to the stress of moving fish from tank to tank.
with that being said IMO its a roll of the dise Tangs are ick magnets they get it every time something stress them including lack of food
now with using UV will help keep it from returning
in order for UV to work 100% it should be plumed in line on drain or return with 100% ofthe water flow passing through it(.1 posable con to UV is that it may remove the benafical bacteria that corals feed on)
that is hear say I do not run a UV unit.
IMO garlic on foods keep the fish fat and happy and check for things that may cause stress ( stray volage from pumps heaters ) and temp swings through out the day (very commion and over looked)
good luck
returnofsid
New member
If you QT properly, AND treat ALL fish, AND keep display tank fishless, Tangs are not an Ich magnet, because there's no Ich to catch.
I also quarantined my fish when i had an outbreak a while back, I quarantined and treated my fish with cupramine while leaving the display fallow for 2 months. No fish casualties during treatment and never saw ick again. A fish that dies in quarantined most likely would not have made it. Any new fish I bought, I treated the same way, to prevent ick from entering my tank. My powder blue along with my other 3 tangs never had ick because of this, not even when my heaters went out and the temp dropped to under 70, nor when my tank would get to 83 degrees in the summer. Before I quarantined I had my tank crash two times in a 15 month period. After that I stopped making excuses and quarantined everything; the best decision I ever made, Just my .02. Good luck with what you decide to do.
rangerD275
Member
There are a few schools of thought here but scientifically if you QT properly, there should not be any ich in your tank.
however, most people do not quarantine properly and as a result will more than likely lose a fish if you do not have an established QT and keep the fish there for an extended period of time.
I believe your question is more geared towards, "I have ich, what do I do now?"
Ich is a parasite that a healthy fish can fight off. As others have said, check your water params and adjust accordingly. Soaking your food in garlic will help immensely. I recommend PE Mysis soaked in garlic + or some other garlic supplement.
You have to understand ICH is already in your tank, and on your fish at this point. It is my opinion that chasing that fish around with a net and throwing it in a strange tank, or freshwater will only stress it out further. I have seen more fish die from this than ich itself. If you fix your water, and feed your fish well they can fight it off. Also, you should make sure that no other stimulus (fish, hands in the tank) are stressing the fish out. If other fish are attacking the Hippo which is a generally non aggressive tang then it would help to separate them. Which is the one instance I would recommend removing the fish.
however, most people do not quarantine properly and as a result will more than likely lose a fish if you do not have an established QT and keep the fish there for an extended period of time.
I believe your question is more geared towards, "I have ich, what do I do now?"
Ich is a parasite that a healthy fish can fight off. As others have said, check your water params and adjust accordingly. Soaking your food in garlic will help immensely. I recommend PE Mysis soaked in garlic + or some other garlic supplement.
You have to understand ICH is already in your tank, and on your fish at this point. It is my opinion that chasing that fish around with a net and throwing it in a strange tank, or freshwater will only stress it out further. I have seen more fish die from this than ich itself. If you fix your water, and feed your fish well they can fight it off. Also, you should make sure that no other stimulus (fish, hands in the tank) are stressing the fish out. If other fish are attacking the Hippo which is a generally non aggressive tang then it would help to separate them. Which is the one instance I would recommend removing the fish.
returnofsid
New member
Garlic has absolutely NO benefit for Marine Fish. It's thought that it "might" stimulate appetite. However, it has absolutely no health benefits, or immunity benefits, for marine species. It has been shown to possibly be an immunity booster for Freshwater Fish. However, once again, Garlic has absolutely NO benefit for Marine Fish.
a british scientist living in america tested several tanks with clownfish living in them, one was fed with garlic enhanced food, one plain fish food and one with ginger, the one with garlic enhanced lost a few clowns over the feeding period, its an interesting experiment, i will have to find the results and post them up
these are his results and his words
Well, personally (and I've tried it myself) I don't think garlic or ginger triggers an improved feeding response either in speed of eating or amount eaten. Certainly when compared to squid oil which is a well known appetite stimulator for fish and is often used to trigger feeding responses in fish.
My experimental design was
tank 1 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml garlic extract
tank 2 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml ginger extract
tank 3 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml squid oil
tank 4 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml RO water
all tanks Fed 3 times per day all fish were full siblings all tank were run simultaneously
Growth was assessed as the increase in weight for the populations over 4 weeks compared to the control tank (tank 4)
Tank 1 -2%
Tank 2 -3%
Tank 3 +18%
Tank 4 control fish 0%
so in this quick and dirty trial there was no benefit from the garlic or ginger in terms of growth. Indeed there was a small decline in weight in these groups which is probably due to the fish finding the feed unpalatable due to the garlic and ginger in the feed, at least initially. the squid oil grew best, but that may not be due to increased appetite but simply because the squid oil added more calories to the diet than the garlic or ginger.
So that is all the data I have on garlic and ginger as appetite enhancers in this trial they were no different from controls (if fact slightly worst) therefor they did not act as appetite enhancers.
On post mortem fish in group 1 had 62% liver damage and fish in group 2 had 68% liver damage. Groups 3-4 had normal livers
Well, personally (and I've tried it myself) I don't think garlic or ginger triggers an improved feeding response either in speed of eating or amount eaten. Certainly when compared to squid oil which is a well known appetite stimulator for fish and is often used to trigger feeding responses in fish.
My experimental design was
tank 1 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml garlic extract
tank 2 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml ginger extract
tank 3 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml squid oil
tank 4 50 tank bred clowns @ fed 2g Of a commercial UK made flake food + 0.5 ml RO water
all tanks Fed 3 times per day all fish were full siblings all tank were run simultaneously
Growth was assessed as the increase in weight for the populations over 4 weeks compared to the control tank (tank 4)
Tank 1 -2%
Tank 2 -3%
Tank 3 +18%
Tank 4 control fish 0%
so in this quick and dirty trial there was no benefit from the garlic or ginger in terms of growth. Indeed there was a small decline in weight in these groups which is probably due to the fish finding the feed unpalatable due to the garlic and ginger in the feed, at least initially. the squid oil grew best, but that may not be due to increased appetite but simply because the squid oil added more calories to the diet than the garlic or ginger.
So that is all the data I have on garlic and ginger as appetite enhancers in this trial they were no different from controls (if fact slightly worst) therefor they did not act as appetite enhancers.
On post mortem fish in group 1 had 62% liver damage and fish in group 2 had 68% liver damage. Groups 3-4 had normal livers
Chiefsurfer
New member
Thanks for finding that great garlic non-use resource. Having read everything I read, I had already discredited garlic as any true health benefit, however thought it might be an appetite stimulant. From this, I will swear off it for any reason.
As to the OP, you do not necessarily need to keep your tank Ich Free. I am in a small apartment, and my landlord will not let me have anything except my 6-gallon countertop FW, and my 20 g Tall reef tank. I cannot have a QT. Therefore I am not fearing Ich, I know at some point I will get it. Just feed well, keep fish happy, keep your water clean and healthy, and the fish(most) can fight the parasite just fine. If your Tang is showing symptoms(the white spots) every other day, something is stressing him. If it is TRUELY at that much of a consistent, regimented pace, I would say it HAS to be something you do. Either feeding, water-changes, top-off, dosing of something, etc. If you just used it as an expression to mean very often, then it could be any number of things in the tank.
Few things, how big is the tang? How big is the tank? What are ALLL your parameters? How much LR do you have in the tank? What other livestock, fish, coral, or otherwise, are in the tank? What, if anything, are you dosing? Answer some of these questions and maybe we can figure out what is stressing him out, and then you can decide whether to QT fish, or live responsibly with Ich in the tank.
As to the OP, you do not necessarily need to keep your tank Ich Free. I am in a small apartment, and my landlord will not let me have anything except my 6-gallon countertop FW, and my 20 g Tall reef tank. I cannot have a QT. Therefore I am not fearing Ich, I know at some point I will get it. Just feed well, keep fish happy, keep your water clean and healthy, and the fish(most) can fight the parasite just fine. If your Tang is showing symptoms(the white spots) every other day, something is stressing him. If it is TRUELY at that much of a consistent, regimented pace, I would say it HAS to be something you do. Either feeding, water-changes, top-off, dosing of something, etc. If you just used it as an expression to mean very often, then it could be any number of things in the tank.
Few things, how big is the tang? How big is the tank? What are ALLL your parameters? How much LR do you have in the tank? What other livestock, fish, coral, or otherwise, are in the tank? What, if anything, are you dosing? Answer some of these questions and maybe we can figure out what is stressing him out, and then you can decide whether to QT fish, or live responsibly with Ich in the tank.
lordofthereef
One reef to rule them all
If you can get the fish out I would do that. You can keep the tank fallow while the fish are in a QT being treated.
good advise
good advise
[Thanks Mr.Ranger man.The QT idea is impossible due to all the corals also in my tank and extreme because she (dori,my Hippo)has it every week but never severely,its a annoying problem,here today gone the next.Im going to go buy a UV sterilizer and some Garlic Rx.
good advise
[Thanks Mr.Ranger man.The QT idea is impossible due to all the corals also in my tank and extreme because she (dori,my Hippo)has it every week but never severely,its a annoying problem,here today gone the next.Im going to go buy a UV sterilizer and some Garlic Rx.
Chiefsurfer
New member
Larry, just because you have corals does not mean you cannot QT. I don't understand why you think it would. You take the FISH out, not the corals. Leaving the tank Fallow only refers to it not having fish. The coral cannot and will not keep ICH alive. QT is done in a SEPERATE tank, and cost is very low because you do not need MANY of the things a Display tank will need.
Also, if dori has it one day and not the next, as I explained, she ACTUALLY has it all day, every day. Once they have it, unless you kill the parasite, it does not die. Also, the UV CAN be a good thing to have, however it will ONLY kill free-floating parasites. Once you see it on your fish, it is no longer free-floating. Once your tank is ich-free, the UV sterilizer will help keep it that way, but I doubt it would do enough to RID your tank of Ich. Just trying to keep you from buying needless equipment.
Also, if dori has it one day and not the next, as I explained, she ACTUALLY has it all day, every day. Once they have it, unless you kill the parasite, it does not die. Also, the UV CAN be a good thing to have, however it will ONLY kill free-floating parasites. Once you see it on your fish, it is no longer free-floating. Once your tank is ich-free, the UV sterilizer will help keep it that way, but I doubt it would do enough to RID your tank of Ich. Just trying to keep you from buying needless equipment.
returnofsid
New member
Once again, Garlic, including GarlicRx, will do absolutely nothing.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/sp/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/sp/index.php
epstein
New member
Some say Garlic will ...Some say it wont ....There are those of us who have seen fish qt'd and hypo'd only to be returned to said tank and ich up..... So Some of Us (myself included) are of the mindset to just allow a fish to fight it off and Garlic acts as an appetite stimulant at the very least.......
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