Invert Safe Marine Ich Medication/Solution?

[MrTuskfish]

I have heard mixed results; and for the price to treat over 200 gallons it would not be fun if it didn't work.

It doesn't.

 

[blufgan]

How bad are the fish looking. I don't believe in using chemicals I would suggest one of two things Dr G's aquaculture makes a anti parasitic medicated food that thtat a good friend used and it worked or you can treat your food with selcon,vita-chem,and garlic power to boost fish immune systems I've used this treatment once on a ich outbreak 2 years ago and now soak every other feeding. Also massive water changes should do the trick also if you don't have one UV sterilizer suited for your tank size. Hope all goes well

 

[MrTuskfish]

How bad are the fish looking. I don't believe in using chemicals I would suggest one of two things Dr G's aquaculture makes a anti parasitic medicated food that thtat a good friend used and it worked or you can treat your food with selcon,vita-chem,and garlic power to boost fish immune systems I've used this treatment once on a ich outbreak 2 years ago and now soak every other feeding. Also massive water changes should do the trick also if you don't have one UV sterilizer suited for your tank size. Hope all goes well

Aren't Vita-Chem and Selcon, and the "medicated'' food chemicals? Temporarily managing ich through immunity-boosting and diet sometimes works for a while. Then, ich returns big time. Managing, rather than eliminating, ich has been tried by countless hobbyists---it does not work long-term. TT anh hypo are "chemical" free cures that do work. UV has very little, if any, value ridding a tank of ich. If you understand the life-cycle, you can easily see why.

 

[eholceker]

Dr G's anti parasitic is a great way to treat ick in a reef as long as you ensure you are not over feeding to the point where you are stuffing the food own the corals mouth. The goal is to treat th fish and not the water. The main ingredient is chloroquine phosphate which is very effective against. From my experience it works better than hypo.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Dr G's anti parasitic is a great way to treat ick in a reef as long as you ensure you are not over feeding to the point where you are stuffing the food own the corals mouth. The goal is to treat th fish and not the water. The main ingredient is chloroquine phosphate which is very effective against. From my experience it works better than hypo.

Chloroquine phosphate (and a couple other quinine drugs) is getting good press as an ich med. Any idea how long the med protects the fish? Recent stuff is showing ich cysts can wait 9+ weeks before releasing the next generation.

 

[eholceker]

That is a good point. Ick can most certainly stay in a dormant phase for 9+ weeks. It is happened to me afrer leaving my tank fallow for 3 months. I actually ended up treating the fish in my display with crypto pro which is simil ar to chloroquine phosphate. If you can get the fish to eat it, it will certainly kill the ich on the fish. I may have got lucky that it was so mild but as i first line defense i would use this over garlic and selcon. I have a full blown reef tank and did not suffer a loss of any coral or invert. My frogspawn and a few acros lost a bit of color and had some less polyp extension but it was well worth it. A lot better than tearing down the tank for a second time. I also had 10 polyfilters in my sump, haha

 

[RegalAngel]

The ammonia levels are declining but it's still in there. I'm changing water regularly and have sacrificed some LR to increase the bio processing capacity in the tank.

As for eating habits, I finally saw the Bangaii Cardinal take a nibble, so that's a good sign. I remain concerned about the Royal Gramma though as it has spent 100% of its time hiding in the PVC elbow since it was moved to the HT...haven't seen it take a single bite of food. Hopefully it gets back to normal soon so I can start with the copper treatments. Regardless though, I will eventually need to treat whether it starts eating or not.

If you have a filtration system with the pads or other bio media then use some of Seachem's Stability that will add the needed bacteria and establish in just 7 days the needed ammonia conversion.

I use Stability in my QT and have had no issues.

 

[FishDad2]

Thanks RegalAngel...I'll have to check out Stability.

I just wish I'd been more prepared for this disaster but as I noted early on I can't recall the last time I've had a problem like this. I follow QT procedures and have an excellent track record. In fact, I had and still have a CBB in QT throughout this event. But as they say in the financial industry, "past performance is no guarantee of future gains."

 

[ronhjr]

Where can i buy Dr G's food?

 

[slee013]

We here at RC do not believe in flaming people. However, it is unclear that you are out of the woods with ich since the absence of visible signs of it does not necessarily mean your tank is devoid. Report back in 9 weeks.

just wanted to report back and update all that after close to 3 months (12 weels) subsequent to first dose of copper in my display, all is well. There are no visible signs of ich in my tank and no scratching for the past 8 weeks.

the fish that were infested with ich have no had any problems since the dosing, thankfully, appear to be saved, which was the goal.

P.S., if anyone is interested in how I dose copper in my FOWLR display, please feel free to PM me. I've gotten a couple PM's asking me how I dosed and what the procedure was. I'm willing to share, so feel free to PM me, as I hate the situation I was in (not being able to pull out the fish to save them by QTing)..it was a helpless feeling, so I can relate :beachbum:

 

[Marc]

i might get flamed for this, but this is what I did, and it has worked for me..

I dosed coppersafe (per instructions) into my 250g FOWLR display tank..Now, 3 weeks later, my tank is still going strong and no problems whatsoever..(even hermit crabs are alive)....

I wouldnt recommend this solution as the first option, but I couldnt risk losing my black tang, scribbled angel and moorish idol to ich..they were all infested with white spots and there was literally no way to get them out (unless I tore down all rock)...(i didn't QT the black tang or moorish idol, since I didnt want them to stress out and die in a QT, so off they went from the LFS directly into my tank-bad move obviously)


FYI, 4 days after dosing coppersafe, white spots all went away. No ill effects 3 weeks later.

Hi, Since you have experience with Coppersafe, did the coppersafe cause any distruction to your liverock at all??? Does Copper safe leach and absorb into the sand and liverock???

Thanks,
Marc

 

[FishDad2]

I removed my fish from the DT on July 9...a day shy of 11 weeks ago. Am I safe now to return the survivors to the DT or should I wait?

 

[MrTuskfish]

If no fish have been in the DT for 10+ weeks; you should be fine.

 

[b0bab0ey]

if no fish have been in the dt for 10+ weeks; you should be fine.

+1

 

[NYCBOB]

i used uv sterization when my tank was infected six years ago. its been good ever since. the uv will kill the parasites over time in its free swimming stage. this took about 3 months for me.

 

[killagoby]

i used uv sterization when my tank was infected six years ago. its been good ever since. the uv will kill the parasites over time in its free swimming stage. this took about 3 months for me.

How big was your tank and what make/model UV did you use?

 

[ThRoewer]

i used uv sterization when my tank was infected six years ago. its been good ever since. the uv will kill the parasites over time in its free swimming stage. this took about 3 months for me.

Over 3 months your fish have more likely developed immunity to ich.

 

[killagoby]

Over 3 months your fish have more likely developed immunity to ich.

The UV could have helped control the amount of it spreading as well

 

[Deinonych]

The UV could have helped control the amount of it spreading as well

UV may reduce the numbers of infective stages (theronts), but it will never eliminate them completely. It could be helpful in this regard, allowing fish to recover and acquire immunity, but it's not a cure in and of itself.

Of course, the best course of action is to make sure ich never enters the DT in the first place.

 

[Sk8r]

Sometimes you get an outbreak that just doesn't succeed in reproducing. A few bumps on one fish, and then nothing more ever, with no treatment whatever. OTOH, and with no difference in presentation, a few bumps on one fish rapidly turns into a tankwide disaster. Some of it probably has to do with the health and reproductive vigor of the ich specimens, some of it to the general health and water quality of the tank, plus species involved. It's a complex question involving a significant risk of bad outcome.