Ich

[Voltekker]

I bought a sixline wrasse. Looked great in the store and he has ich. Ive read the fish disease forum and I dont have the qt tank to do the hypo salinity. My other fish are fine as of now. Im starting them on garlic with food efective today and also selecon. Im hoping to buff there immune systems so they naturally fight it off. Also i read that a reef safe addtive named "Stop Parasites" Works well anyone have experience with this. Im pretty bummed. I love the fish mix i have right now so much and i dont want to loose one.

 

[Ryanqk]

my sixline got a spot of ich recently i treated him with paraguard and he was all better in 2 days. none of my other fish got it, i was in the same predicament. I just gave the standard dose for my size tank, no side effects that i've noticed....
Good luck
Ryan

 

[Kewlworm]

I had it a few wks ago and all I did was feed them selcon soaked food....mysis shrimp and pellets. I like using the pellets because they can absorb more selcon and pack more punches. I fed my tank 4 pellet meals and 1 shrimp a day for 2 - 3 wks and they are all better. I now feed them 2 selcon soaked meals (pellets and shrimp). No out break yet. ::knock on wood::

GL!

 

[gregbot9000]

"ich-attack" is also reef-safe, if you want to try that.

 

[NanoKat]

I have the same problem with one of my neon gobies. The smaller of the two keeps getting ich spots, I treat with garlic, it goes away, then it comes back in a couple of days. Gotta try some of those other treatments to see if I can knock it out altogether.

 

[jeffbrig]

Re: Ich

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8545657#post8545657 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Voltekker
Also i read that a reef safe addtive named "Stop Parasites" Works well anyone have experience with this.

Back away from the tank!!

Seriously, don't automatically buy into the "reef safe" claims of these meds. Read EVERYTHING with a great deal of skepticism. At best, they often do little or nothing. At worst, they can kill corals in your tank. Look for some of Steven Pro's articles where he tested "reef safe" meds on xenia. Many were found to be seriously toxic to the coral.

There are a lot of anecdotal stories about things that can cure a fish of ich in just a few days. Most of those are pure coincidence. Ich will naturally disappear several days after you first see spots on the fish, as ich drops off and encysts in its reproductive cycle. Anywhere from 5-28 days later, it hatches with increased numbers and reinfects the fish. If a fish is healthy, you may not see visible evidence of the infection, but it is not gone.

If you truly want to eradicate ich, you have to be vigilant and extremely patient. All of the fish in the system have been exposed to it, and must be treated. QT treatment would be copper or hypo while the display remains fallow for 4-6 weeks to interrupt the ich life cycle.

 

[Voltekker]

thanks for all the replies guys. Your totally right jeff. I bought the stop parasites yesterday just in case. Now that I introduced Ich to the tank it will always be in it unless I take out all my fish and do the hypo or copper. The selcon and garlic help to boost the fishses immune system so they basically beat the diesease and it doesnt kill them but its still in the system. So any new fish you introduce that doesnt have that "immunity" will succum to ich.

Im sure I explained it kinda wrong but I understand it.

My actual plan is to fatten my fish up and get them real strong. I will not be introducing new fish since I love the mix and the next time I upgrade will be doing the hypo in the new tank.

 

[jeffbrig]

Just keep in mind that "immunity" can be fleeting. A healthy fish can ward off fresh outbreaks, but at the first sign of stress, deteriorating water quality, or other illness, it can rear its ugly head again.

 

[stevem650]

If you truly want to eradicate ich, you have to be vigilant and extremely patient. All of the fish in the system have been exposed to it, and must be treated. QT treatment would be copper or hypo while the display remains fallow for 4-6 weeks to interrupt the ich life cycle.

This is the only way. You may think that the ich is gone because your fish looks better. The ich has only dropped off and eggs in the sand will hatch in 30 days and will host a fish again. If the main display is fishless for 6 weeks, the Ich will die if it can't find a host. I would also quaratine all fish for 30 days before introducing it to the display. While in quarantine if the fish show signs of ich, hypo salinity is the best way to cure the fish. Copper is good but you would need a good copper test kit to make sure you dose the proper amount. I learned the hard way, lost alot of fish 2 years back. I now follow the above and never had a problem again.