"ICH FREE TANK" Quest Begins

[water`bug]

pclausen,

What a *beautiful* Yellow Tang!

Hyposalinity was VERY hard on Sir TJay and I's YT. He began getting alot of brown on his head and his belly got to be very lumpy. We were scared we were going to lose him. In fact, it has taken him 3-4 weeks in the main tank to recover and he still isn't 100%. (Though he thinks he is) lol

I'm with Sir TJay on this one, I'd watch him close and see if more spots appear. ONLY THEN would I put him through the hypo process.

(Can't believe I just said that) But that spot looks EXACTLY like the spot on our Blonde Naso and it ended up NOT being ick.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

donna in New Orleans

 

[Triggerfish]

did the spot all of a sudden just appear,, or did it get increasingly noticeable overtime?
yeah,,if it stays there for a duration of couple of weeks it could be lymph which normally can go away on its own.
since the fish is already in the tank...you mind as well just leave it in there...if that is an ich spot then it looks like it is ready to release any day now... i don't think it's ich though..

 

[pclausen]

Trigger, the spot just showed up out of nowhere.

I'll definitely keep my fingers crossed and hope this one spot will go away so that I can leave him be!

tjay, he's been in my display for 2.5 weeks. I first spotted him at the lfs 5.5 weeks ago and checked up on him 3-4 times before picking him up. The white speck did not show up until 3-5 days ago.

 

[fc.pride]

actually, i am in the midst of an ich outbreak. my tank was previously fallow before to rid parasites. i left it for 6 weeks. however, i suspect the problem lies in the new fish i got not the tank. in any event, here comes round 2 of my fight against ick.

i'm thinking that b/c he is leaving the main "fallow" for 7 weeks that he removed the fish due to an outbreak?? and has chosen copper for treatment..

i agree that 3 week treatment is probably best - (what i am doing now)
after the 3 weeks you can just use carbon to remove most of the copper.
worse off? it depends,,how were they before?

i think most corals will be fine for 4-5 weeks with regular pc lighting.
if you are getting inverts from a system that contained fish, then it is best to quarantine them for at least 4 weeks in a non-fish QT. or you could by inverts only from systems that do not contain fish..

also, if you can..try to stretch the fallow time to 8 weeks...

 

[markcasto]

Ok, so even if there is ich in the display at the moment, any parasites will be killed instantly as the sg is lowered to 1.009 prior to being added to the QT?

I held my salinity at 1.009 for 4 weeks.When it was raised to 1.011 after the 4th week the ich came back.GO for the full 6 weeks hypo to be sure or use copper instead and a test kit to make sure you dont overdose.

 

[water`bug]

I held my salinity at 1.009 for 4 weeks.When it was raised to 1.011 after the 4th week the ich came back.GO for the full 6 weeks hypo to be sure or use copper instead and a test kit to make sure you dont overdose.

We held ours at 1.009 for 6 weeks and it worked, thus far. Been back in the main display for a month now with no ick... (knock on wood)

donna in New Orleans

 

[parkavenuereef]

Let me give you a little advice on my ick situation i had a few months ago... Forget chemicals, unless you have a hosp. tank, get yourself a overkill UV sterilizer and your ick issues will be history.. Solved my problem 10x over. no issues since and crystal clear water. Ebay 35.99 plus shipping for a 18W system... 36W system about 50 dollars... Awsome product by jebo.. Works excellent!!

 

[tjay]

I dont think that UV has been proven as a soulution to ich. It may control it but I would wager it wont cure it.

 

[leebca]

You'd win the wager, tjay.

 

[chillyfishie]

The recipe for success for me has been soaking food (frozen, flake and live) in metronidazole and adding garlic drops daily for 10 days. Feeding regular for 5 days and going back on treatment for another 10 days.

This has worked for me numerous times in different applications. Of course water quality must be exceptional.

My last treatment this way was on a tank with a YT, King Angel, Puffer, damsel and Giant Hawk. (Please no comment on the inhabitants...I took over this tank and had to make many modifications, including treating all fish before I could reorganize...whew...it was a mess and the protozoan had a strong, visible hold on all fish but the damsel! )

Anyway...all fish pulled through and are doing great!!

Chilly

 

[markcasto]

UV sterlizers if they are the correct size for the tank will help of that I am sure but they cant be as effective as a QT tank there are some things that uv wont kill such as unwanted anemomes and worms.Fitted to the QT tank though they would be a good aid to destroying ich. As for garlic and other such treatments if your happy with doing it that way fine but my money is on a fallow tank for 8 weeks and QT everthing before it goes in my tank.

 

[Triggerfish]

you need about 150 gph going through the UV to be of any minimal effect. many folks have them inline and pushing way too much water for it to kill anything..

 

[candiland]

The recipe for success for me has been soaking food (frozen, flake and live) in metronidazole and adding garlic drops daily for 10 days. Feeding regular for 5 days and going back on treatment for another 10 days.

What does metronidazole do to ich? Is it a repellent to keep ich away, or does it actually kill ich when itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s embedded in your fish? How long ago did you use this treatment? 15 days is all you need to treat? Sorry for so many questions.

 

[chillyfishie]

The last time I had to treat a tank was February...the one I mentioned in my post. Metronidazole is a protozoacide, so if it gets systemic in the fish it can kill internal and external free swimmers that attach. If your fish isn't eating you can do a bath, but I've found it's most effective in feed. The garlic ( I use Garlic Xtreme) is also essential to keep the fish's health strong and to assist in preventing newly hatched protozoa to attach. It's important to do two regiments of the treatment and to maintain the best in water quality. As with any fish disease you want to catch it early. I have used this combo for years and have had success.

You can get the metronidazole powder at Dr. Fosters or Petsolutions or most good online pet supply companies.

As most posters have stated, quarantining is best and this protocol is great as a prophylactic during QT...but it is very effective in the exhibit tank.

Tetra used to make a medicated (metronidazole) food but it was discontinued, but I have seen that Jungle has come out with a parasite formula (with metro and praziquantel) and an antibiotic food. Has anyone tried either?

Chilly

 

[candiland]

What long term side effects does it have on fish, stomach, kidneys, etc? It can work for a light case of ich, but not mass infestation? If you donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have ich for a year I may try this on new quarantined fish. You donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t need to feed garlic for the immune system. I had to put that in, sorry. If you feed a good diet of various sea foods/algae with vitamins your fish will be fine.

 

[Triggerfish]

doesn't say if it is "reef safe" or not..i avoid dumping anything into my main tank.

 

[candiland]

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m with you. I wouldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t use it in the main system, or anything that can kill ich.

It may have use in quarantine if there are no side effects, or the parasite didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t come back after a year.

 

[chillyfishie]

In humans side effects are nausea, headaches and very rarely peripheral neuropathy. It's widely used in livestock and domestic animals too. I cannot say in fish, but I have not had fish die during treatment. I believe the parasite is more lethal to the fish than the meds, in this case.

I agree that good nutrition is a must, and I incorporate Vita Chem...but the garlic is an important part of the treatment. I one of those that believe that the garlic inhibits the protozoan to identify the fish as host through an interruption of chemical cues. I know that the evidence is anecdotal, and my observations are absolutely as such, and I hope to see much more research done with garlic and fish diseases. But I can't deny that the two work together, at least for tanks that I've treated.

The infestation that I treated in Feb., was massive. The fish were covered, body, fins, eyes...you name it they had it on them. The only fish that did not have physical signs was the blue damsel. The tang, angel, hawkfish and puffer were infested. After the two 10 day treatments I have seen no reoccurance...and I've broken down the tank and moved it...without another outbreak.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Chilly

 

[chillyfishie]

Please let me clarify...do not use metronidazole in an exhibit tank as a long term bath. A short term bath in a hospital tank is appropriate where the fish has gone off feed. I use metro primarily delivered through food.

February is the last time I have treated a tank with this regiment, but I have plenty of other tanks that have been parasite free for over a year with the treatment. Both work and home tanks.


Chilly

 

[candiland]

Oh, 25 days, ok. I will ask a vet more about this drug. It sounds promising for the new fish I was eyeing. I'll just change the garlic, because I never used any, and my fish have been free of ich for many years. Thank goodness.

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll jump hoops for fish for some reason.