Ich in my QT...Next Steps?

[wooden_reefer]

My test requires 15 min, IIRC. I've also had fish stop eating and die from copper. I'm not saying one should never use copper, just pointing out that there is no 'perfect' treatment. If there was, these threads would be a lot shorter! :frog:

I use straight copper.

I add about every other day and test every six days or so.

If it gets above .4 ppm, it will be for a very brief period.

I have not had a single problem with this method for over 30 years.

At first I tested copper every time I added, but after so many tests it has become very predicatable, and slight overdose for a few hours does no harm, empirically spoken.

one minute work and then 5 minutes work every third time.

 

[wooden_reefer]

A silver bullet would be sweeeeeet!!

I think there is.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Actually I know why there are still so many ich posts.

1. So many still believe in enhancing immunity against ich. So many still lump diseases together. So many still do not appreciate the profound impact of the closed nature of a tank. Not enough knowledge induced conviction on thorough QT. So many still do not understand why eradication for protozoan diseases is completely needed, and why eradication of other disease is not possible and not necessary.

2. Still so many feel cycling is a task. So many still do not appreciate how utterly easy cycling is.

3. So many still think ecologically when unwarranted and so many still use LR in QT.

 

[sleepydoc]

Actually I know why there are still so many ich posts.

1. So many still believe in enhancing immunity against ich. So many still lump diseases together. So many still do not appreciate the profound impact of the closed nature of a tank. Not enough knowledge induced conviction on thorough QT. So many still do not understand why eradication for protozoan diseases is completely needed, and why eradication of other disease is not possible and not necessary.

+1

Good immunity is a plus, but it works even better when the pathogen is gone.

 

[wooden_reefer]

+1

Good immunity is a plus, but it works even better when the pathogen is gone.

Good immunity has a lot to do with control of most other diseases except protozoan.

Protozoan infestation has almost nothing to do with enhancing or compromised immunity. It is caused by the very existance of the organism and the closed nature of a tank.

 

[sleepydoc]

Agreed for the most part.

There are plenty of posts about previously 'healthy' fishes getting ich when no new fish were introduced and plenty of stories from people claiming to have 'cured' ich with garlic or other 'immune enhancers.' There is also evidence that strains of ich will eventually die out over a year or so if no other strains are introduced. My suspicion is that some people manage to control an infestation and keep it in check long enough that it eventually dies out. As long as the parasite load stays under a critical mass, the fish are able to deal with the low level infection.

I have no evidence for this, it's just a theory, and I don't at all believe that this is the best way to deal with a disease that can be completely eradicated with just a bit of work up front, but it would explain a lot of the stories you read.

Either way, good husbandry is always the best course and will give you the best odds of having healthy happy fish.