Ich Treatment Success Stories...Let's hear them!

[hatfielj]

Okay, so I'm currently battling ich in my 3-4 month old sps tank. I didn't quarantine my fish before adding them and did fine for the first few months, but then I added a pair of ocellaris that looked fine in the store, but showed raging ich after a day of being in my tank. I lost the two clowns and a beautifully healthy, fat powder blue because of it.
Now I have 4 wrasses that are relatively resistant to ich and are doing fine. However, I really need to have a tang in the tank for algae control, but if I try to add one they develop ich instantly and die.
SO, now I'm stuck with trying to catch all of the fish and place them in a qt tank, leaving the display empty for some time.

What I want to know is whether or not this method has actually worked for other people?
If you've had a similar problem, please share you story and tell us if you were sucessful in eliminating ich from the tank.

 

[paulamrein]

Success or failure in all of my experience, and what I have read on the threads have always been the balance of an established QT and correct dosage of proven methods. Those that have been soured by QT have either had improper establishment of the QT. Or they have missed key points of proper methods dosages. It's strictly my observation that the people that say QT has stressed out or killed fish in QT fall into those categories.
1. QT above all must be able to house the fish and manage their bio-load efficiently. This is similar to establishing a display tank with recommended cycle time hiding places and substrate for the bacteria to grow. The problem is LR traditionally is not used in this so plumbing and non porous items need to be used with the bulk of the initial bacteria in the filter, bio-wheels and sponge filters are ideal. Said items can be seeded with a few weeks in the sump.
2. Method of treatment falls(to date) between a hand full of products and methods
Copper, Hyposalinity, and a few human medications used to treat various illness.ie Chloroquine phosphate.
3. Proper levels of medications to fully be effective without killing the fish. With copper, it is vital that proper levels be kept at all time, depending on the type, the initial dose will be lost within the first day or so, so constant monitoring with the RECOMMENDED testing kit is required. Hyposalinity the common practice is having the salinity at 1.009 and must have a refractometer or lab grade hydrometer in order to manage the salinity at a constant.
4. Managing tank params. With lower salinity or meds your ph and other levels will fluctuate quite a bit. And, even with a functioning biofiltration you will have to do more water changes than you would with a display.
5. Keeping parasites OUT of your display, it's common practice to keep your display free of fish for 6 to 8 weeks. That gives it time for the parasite to go through it's cycle fully. Where a lot of people fail here is that they QT fish, but dump LR, sand, coral, and other inverts into the tank without their own quarantine period. Parasites that are encysted on these items & equipment can travel to your tank. Along with your own hands. I had a time where I would go and have my hands in my QT than walk to my display and put my hands in there with ich soon to follow.
I have followed all of these steps to a "T" and have been parasite free for a while now. It's the same principal as why people can't get colds in Antarctica the virus can't live in those conditions so no matter where you go there even if you were sick when you came, you can't be sick again. Kill the parasite in the QT and when it reaches your display, there is no way it can get ich no matter how stressed it is.

 

[bbillyc]

Hyposalinity and patience. Good parameter control of QT while in hypo, slow and patient climb back to SG, and patient not to reintroduce until all possible ich in tank has gone through its cycle and died 48 days. Worked for me twice with excellent results.

 

[LargeAngels]

Are you sure it is ich and not velvet? Hypo doesn't kill velvet. Only copper kills velvet.

 

[n.son29]

do not add copper to your tank as it will surely kill your sps

 

[Amazon4]

Hypo in QT and 8 weeks fallow DT worked for me (knock wood).

 

[Stuart60611]

Anyone ever have success doing hypo in the display? I am currently at hypo levels in my display for about 1 week. Fish are responding well and ich is no longer visible on my fish. My concern is that the ich will survive hypo and come back once I raise salinity because it will be able to survive the hypo by hiding in the rock and/or substrate. I was able to do hypo in the display with little die off because my tank is very young and consists only of dead base rock, dead arganite substrate, and fish. I was thinking of maintaining hypo levels for an extended 8 week period to assure success. Any thoughts?

 

[Outerbank]

No problem to have great success. It is very simple. Buy a nice sized QT (this is cheaper than the cost of lost fish, and much cheaper in the long run) and treat with cupramine or hypo. I prefer hypo. Keep them in QT for 6-8 weeks and then add back to the DT. Also treat with Prazipro if you think you have flukes.

 

[wayne in norway]

I am a success story. Agree, get a decent sized qt (used 55 or 40 breeder) and get a couple of decent internal power filters and off you go. I prefer copper myself, and change 20% of the water twice a week, redosing then.

 

[shelburn61]

Anyone had ich die out on it's own?

Years ago I introduced ich to my display and wasn't prepared to remove all the fish for the fallow method. A few ich spots would appear on tangs and a few other fish every few days. No fish mortality, and over a couple months fewer spots showed up until they disappeared completely. Things seemed safe so I started adding new fish from QT. They never got it either...

 

[Outerbank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13468348#post13468348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wayne in norway
I am a success story. Agree, get a decent sized qt (used 55 or 40 breeder) and get a couple of decent internal power filters and off you go. I prefer copper myself, and change 20% of the water twice a week, redosing then.

This works like a charm. It is this basic. Maintain water quality with water changes, monitor copper level or salinity (with hyposalinity) and have a decent sized q tank with areas to hide. Base rock and hypo will allow the fish to hide more naturally.