ICH: how to cure it, id it, understand it.

[Reel North]

I have read to page 2. I am going to comment assuming that the last 3 pages are the same. Good diet, clean water and garlic and whatever else makes my fish healthy. They get it only when I add fish. When the power goes out. etc etc. At the end of the day, ITS IN THE TANK. Your fish may have a resistance to it. But they still get irritated by it.

Just take the fish out. CURE THEM. KILL THE PARASITE. And then make sure to leave the tank EMPTY for 72 days. NO FISH. Keep you fish in the QT for that long. MAKE SURE ITS GONE.

Then you don't have it in your system any more.

Anything is feel good for the aquarist and a ticking time bomb for your fish.

Ick is like russian roulette. Some people just get to play the game a little longer, but everybody loses eventually.

 

[Reel North]

from my experience, sometimes it's cheaper to tosh the icked fish out rather than try to qt the fish. Sometimes it's not worth it.

SERIOUSLY?!

That fish is a living creature. Its ALWAYS WORTH IT. My LFS told me that and I don't buy anything there anymore.

 

[Mael]

Well my Mocha clowns showed signs of ich last night, so I did a quick QT setup got them moved over and started with a half dose of the copper treatment before going almost full dose by tonight. Problem is I am away from home 9-10 hours a day for work so I dont have the time to do multiple water changes throughout the day.

I am hoping we caught it early, and I got lucky as they were the only two fish in my tank except a firefish and the spots were almost not visible, only when they turned while swimming could you catch a glimpse but Id rather be safe so into a hospital tank they went. Filter(no carbon), heater and since I didnt have any PVC i put one of my coffee mugs in there so they had a place to hide and feel safe.

Will test my copper levels when I get home and adjust accordingly.

 

[Randyvan1]

I had an ich problem until I started soaking the food in garlic guard. The ich cleared up and I continue to use the garlic with every feeding. I know the ich is probably still present but by keeping the fish's immune system in good order they fight it on their own. They seem to love the garlic now.

 

[Ambrosiad]

First time dealing with ICH!

First time dealing with ICH!

I just noticed the white spots all over my clown goby. There were none 12 hours ago! He's still eating. I have a baby anemone, feather duster, two coral frags, and two hardy clownfish in the tank as well. My question is...Is there ANY way to treat this without quarantining the fish and killing everything else in the tank? I don't know how I'll catch him, or get all of the live rock out of the tank, or honestly have time with three kids and the 12 hours shifts I work. I purchased him about 4 weeks ago, but my clowns are a year and a half old. I really don't want any of them to die. I'm worried about the corals and anemone so much. Can they get this as well? I've read a few comments on here mentioning the product "Ich Attack", is that an option? Please help me save my tank

 

[nexusnight]

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

 

[snorvich]

Lots of information can be found here. Questions on ich will be answered best in the Fish Disease forum. But tanks do not have to have ich, garlic does nothing for treating ich, fresh water dips do nothing for ich as it is embedded too deeply. Ich does not have to be visible in order to be present as it often first is found in the gills.

 

[fishy.22]

Very cool thread, lots that I didn't know.
I've had the best success in the event of an outbreak to isolate the fish, lower the salinity to 1.02 for about a month and then raise it slowly back up to DT values.
The hardest thing is constantly worrying about your fishes.

 

[Vakko]

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

I've used No Ich from FishVet and Kick Ich from RubyReef with 100% success multiple times now.

Unless you are the one doing all the testing, I would hold off saying "nothing commercially sold works." People come here for advice and don't need absolutes from nay-sayers.

 

[Graffiti Reef]

Any "reef safe" herbal junk is exactly that. Junk! I had an ich outbreak and tried to do everything in the book to avoid taking all my fish out and run the tank with no fish. I tried "reef safe" additives, diet supplements, uv filters, you name it. The ONLY thing that ended up working for me is qt fish for a 2 months which included using cupramine at the start and letting the tank run fallow. From that point every new tankmate ever added has been qt'd with cupramine and haven't seen ich since. You need to understand the nature of the organism in order to understand why "reef safe" stuff wont work on it.

 

[toky916]

I'm using CP and so far working really well !
There's an article on advanced aquarist the fish form seem to stressed out from it.

 

[scubadan206]

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

Here Here.

 

[anarchy02]

I hate ich. Ended up killing my moorish idol after treating it for a month. The ocean doesnt use chemicals so why should we. Never good for the fish

 

[billsreef]

A couple of things to keep in mind, the Ocean is not a small a glass box that is overcrowded. Fish in the Ocean carry parasites, fish in the Ocean also die.

 

[xnetgeek]

Time and garlic are your best friend.

 

[billsreef]

Time and garlic are your best friend.

and a coin to flip...

 

[jrozzi]

i've used no ich from fishvet and kick ich from rubyreef with 100% success multiple times now.

Unless you are the one doing all the testing, i would hold off saying "nothing commercially sold works." people come here for advice and don't need absolutes from nay-sayers.

+1

 

[jrozzi]

I read ONLINE in an article called facts about ich that If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months. I assume they mean not taking fish out, and just managing ich for that long. Anyone ever heard of this ?

 

[rEeFnWrX]

I read ONLINE in an article called facts about ich that If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has "˜worn itself out' and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months. I assume they mean not taking fish out, and just managing ich for that long. Anyone ever heard of this ?

Never heard of that... Would be interesting if it was true!

 

[jeffberg1941]

my tank has been fallow for 1 week. fish are qt. how can i be sure the ich is gone.are there any signs ? today i noticed some white specs on the water's surface. is there a link?