Ick, Ich

cmdmd

New member
Hi there,

One of my fish (Flame Hawk) has ich or ick. Obviously, during transport acclimation and getting used to the tankmates (there is a goby that is somewhat of a ***** with his cave, though he steers clear from him) he got a little stressed, now he has parasites on him. For $1,000,000, what is out there that will help erradicate that pest? :blown:

I have inverts in the tank (Starfish, clam, little hermits, snails and a Coral banded shrimp that ate two cleaners, LOL) and One coral, a green polyp coral. So copper is out as it will murder the Invertebrates.


I will open up the floor...

Thanks
 
There are two camps on this issue.
The keep well fed and keep water parameters in line and wait and see camp.
And the remove all fish to quarantine and treat with copper and leave DT empty of fish for 4-6 weeks camp.
Camp number two is the only way to be sure but I am in camp number one.
It is a decision only you can make.
 
you can added garlic to their food it helps boost their system. i do it every once in a while casue its so strong of a smell and i get a little queeze. dose with vitamin c and garlic and thats the best you can do with having inverts. i did this with my trigger and it took about 2 weeks but full color is back and hes turning into a real fatty. and trust me its going to be hard because it wont look like its working but it takes time to recover
 
Well, let's look at this a bit more objectively. The life cycle of this parasite is interesting and is important to understand when evaluating a treatment. The stage where the parasite is attached to a fish is called a trophont. The trophont will spend three to seven days (depending on temperature) feeding on the fish and that is what you see symptomatically when you see "salt sprinkled on the fish". After that, the trophont leaves the fish and becomes what is called a protomont. This protomont travels to the substrate and begins to crawl around for usually two to eight hours, but it could go for as long as eighteen hours after it leaves it's fish host. Once the protomont attaches to a surface, it begins to encyst and is now called a tomont. Division inside the cyst into hundreds of daughter parasites, called tomites, begins shortly thereafter. This noninfectious stage can last anywhere from three to twenty-eight days. During this extended period, the parasite cyst is lying in wait for a host. After this period, the tomites hatch and begin swimming around, looking for a fish host. At this point, they are called theronts, and they must find a host within twenty-four hours or die. They prefer to seek out the skin and gill tissue, then transform into trophonts, and begin the process all over again. What this means is that when your tank is infected, you can actually see symptoms during a very small part of the life cycle, and it why your tank is infected even though your fish are resistant. It will also explain why symptoms come and go.

Many hobbyists are fooled into believing they have cured their fish of the parasites, only to find Ich present again on fish a few weeks later; a reason why following through with a full treatment protocol is so important. Don't make this mistake and be lulled into a false sense of security. The parasites may be in a stage where they are merely regrouping and multiplying for their "next offensive." In the wild, this sort of massive reproductive phase ensures that a few will find a suitable host to continue on the cycle. In the close confines of our aquariums, though, it means comparatively massive infection rates.

This disease is usually associated with several environmental triggers. Changes in water temperature, exposure to high levels of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, low pH levels, low dissolved oxygen often associated with overcrowding, are all factors contributing to the onset of the disease. You could lump all of these in a general category of "stress", but it is more appropriate to think of all of these as "unnatural conditions". In fact, Cryptocaryon irritans is rare in the wild even more unlikely to be lethal. Ich is truly a disease that exploits the conditions of captivity to reproduce and easily find suitable hosts.

By the way, trophonts are under the skin so cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp have no real effect on reducing this parasite.

Now, there are three effective treatments: hyposalinity at 1.009, copper, and tank switching (which is infeasible for the vast majority of folks on this board). While it is true that some fish will eventually develop an immunity to this parasite, that immunity is specific to cryptocaryon and not generalized. However, it is also true that many fish will die without one of the three treatments. Diet and good water by itself is rolling the dice. it is your choice.
 
Does anyone have any experience with Malachite Green?

I do not have a second tank, or access to one.
 
I would remove from the tank and use Methylene blue in a fresh water bath. Fresh water baths for about 5-10 minutes are in my opinion the best way to get rid of ich. Then qt your fish for a few weeks and feed mysis shrimp which have been soaked in garlic and Selcon. This should boost the fishes immune system to fight off the infection. Another thing to note is when qt the fish in the tank make sure it has a place to hide, this will help reduce the stress from moving to a new tank.
 
Does anyone have any experience with Malachite Green?

I do not have a second tank, or access to one.

Uncle salty and snorvich have both summed it very well for you. Anything else out there is anecdotal and unproven. My three original tangs all came down with Ich, twice! After tons of research and discussions, and expense, I've drawn the conclusions that both the above reefers have already pointed out to you.

With no access to a second tank, you really have only one choice: the keep well fed and keep water parameters in line and wait and see camp. "Reef safe medications", malachite green, fresh water dip, formalin dip, garlic...these are all IMO homeopathic medications that are at best anecdotal and unproven. That, of course, is just IMO.
 
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