My Blue Tang has Ick

[cbeitel]

Help!!

I have a 2 month old tank doing well until today. I have 3 Tangs. My 3rd was a Blue Tang on Saturday. Today we discovered Ick on the Blue Tang...

I have read many posts about QT tanks, Hospital Tanks, etc. I am not going to take all the fish out, nor am I going to use copper or other meds.

I want to fight this naturally. What I need is advice and experience from those that have successfully fought off Ick in this way.

Thanks for your help.

 

[cbeitel]

Bump

Any advice out there?

 

[rdonchann]

I know there are all kinds of theories on this. The best thing that I have used is get yourself a cleaner shrimp. The cleaner will pick the parasites from the fish. I don't know how they know but they do. The fish will go to the shrimp for a cleaning. This is the best success I have had with getting rid of it.

 

[Shiang]

Do you use garlic? double dose on the garlic. This has help me out quite a bit. Just keep a close eye on the fish and make sure they are swimming and eating well. now I use a regualr dose on every feed.

When I had a bad outbreak of ich I tried to fight it naturally too. but if it doesnt get better get the fish to a hospital tank and start treatment. I had no luck in catching my fish for a few days, at least a hour a day, so I used kick ich. I had great result with this product and havent had any ich ever since.*knock on wood*.

 

[bureau13]

Just realize this...if you want to try garlic, cleaner shrimps, etc to try to keep parasitic infections at bay and build up your fish's immunity, go for it. You may actually have success. BUT...what you aren't doing is getting rid of the parasite...it could conceivably show up again at some point if anything happens to stress your fish. If you want the parasite gone, then you need to do some of those things you don't want to do.

Before my stalker shows up and provides the link, go check out page 2 of my gallery for what used to be a nice purple tang that ate lots of good food soaked in garlic, etc.

As for products like Kick Ich, etc...there is no proof that any of the so-called reef safe meds actually work. There is anecdotal evidence that they both work and do not work, as you can find plenty of testimony in both directions. The only actual testing of any of these that I've seen was a test by Stephen Pro trying to determine if they were actually "reef safe." Some did better than others, however they were certainly not all safe for the Xenia used in the test. It was a fascinating study, if you search around for it I'm sure you'll find it.

jds

 

[liquidlunch]

Do you have temp or pH swings? Is your salinity level good and stable? My blue tang got bad ick break outs when I first got him. Over time, I added a temp controller and a kalkreactor. Once things got stable, he stopped getting spots. If he's stressed out, he'll always tell you. A cleaner shrimp will help the symptoms but you need to address the source problem/stresser.

 

[kevinmlindsey]

Yeah on that garlic thing. Q what type of garlic do you use? And how do you apply it to the food? I have a coral beauty and it's going through the same thing. do you use fresh carlic and chop it up and add with food? I use brim shrimp with a turkey bastor to deliever food for one feeding then use formula one flake food for the other. I feed twice a day.

 

[kevinmlindsey]

Also on that cleaner shrimp, I have a hawk fish. Will he be ok with the shrimp?

 

[cayars]

Depends on the particular hawk but if it's a longnose hawk I will almost guarantee he will have your shrimp for a snack.

 

[D659600]

Soak the food in garlic and selcon one day and switch the next to garlic and zoe. I do this everyday with my tangs and have not had an outbreak in years. Try to feed him high protein foods and lots of nori (green and red).

 

[D659600]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8691698#post8691698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bureau13
Before my stalker shows up and provides the link, go check out page 2 of my gallery for what used to be a nice purple tang that ate lots of good food soaked in garlic, etc.

jds [/B]

That person is really wacked in the head.:hammer:

 

[cristhiam]

Re: My Blue Tang has Ick

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8689615#post8689615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cbeitel
Help!!

I want to fight this naturally. What I need is advice and experience from those that have successfully fought off Ick in this way.

Thanks for your help.

I tried this naturally almost a year ago, what happened? ............... killed all the fish in my tank. Mine was PBT who brought it in. Now all new fish goes throug QT and hyposalinity. I haven't lost 1 yet. Try to do hypo or copper on a QT will save you hedaches and money. JMO good luck

 

[jeffbrig]

Re: My Blue Tang has Ick

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8689615#post8689615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cbeitel
I have read many posts about QT tanks, Hospital Tanks, etc. I am not going to take all the fish out, nor am I going to use copper or other meds.

I want to fight this naturally. What I need is advice and experience from those that have successfully fought off Ick in this way.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best....that's about all you can do. Provide good nutrition, eliminate stress, and give it the best water quality you can.

A healthy fish has a decent chance to survive an ich outbreak (at least the first iteration), whether you feed it garlic, oregano, or red pepper. Garlic is not a magic bullet. The biggest key is to keep the fish eating so it keeps its strength up. You're simply counting on the fish's immune system to do its job. A lot of anecdotal information becomes "fact" because it's often repeated, and people see "success" because of the cyclical nature of ich outbreaks.

As bureau touched on, the tank will not be free of ich, even if you don't see a reinfection. Your tank could be one stress event away from the next major outbreak.

(btw, jds, who is your stalker? Not me, I hope? )

-Jeff

 

[bureau13]

Ha ha, no you're not my stalker, and I can neither confirm nor deny that that person is indeed "whacked in the head."

jds

 

[flameangel88]

I'd 2 outbreak over the summer and so far so good now (knock on wood). Soak food in Selcon, Vita-chem and garlic guard 2x a day for almost a month and administered Chem-Marin Stop Parasite, 1st time 5 days and when it came back I administered for 7-8 days and all inverts came out okay. If outbreak is not so severe then just use Selcon & Vita-chem and keep the water quality good and if it continue to get worst then you need more drastic action.

 

[TWallace]

Re: My Blue Tang has Ick

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8689615#post8689615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cbeitel
I have read many posts about QT tanks, Hospital Tanks, etc. I am not going to take all the fish out, nor am I going to use copper or other meds.

Sounds to me like you want your fish to die. Reef safe meds and garlic are just superstition IMO.

 

[ronjeremy]

Re: Re: My Blue Tang has Ick

Re: Re: My Blue Tang has Ick

I am not going to take all the fish out, nor am I going to use copper or other meds.

what a really good attitude to have!!!!!
you just want a quick cure and an easy way out!!! why ask for help!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8692763#post8692763 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TWallace
Sounds to me like you want your fish to die. Reef safe meds and garlic are just superstition IMO.

i couldn't agree more!!!why buy them if you don't care to take the time to help them!!!!! hypo or copper are the only SURE methods to cure them!!! i wouldn't want to be your fish

 

[Kiel'thalin]

I wouldn't try to do any major changes in the tank or add any chemicals. Sounds like you don't have a treatment tank and if you throw one together now, he will surely die. Just keep feeding him right and keep the temp and water quality up to par. Something is not right in the tank. What is your ph readings right after the photoperiod has ended? Test that for a couple days straight and see if it varies to any degree or stays 7.9 or below. That might be your tank issue, or the temps are getting adjusted too much throughout the day. It might sound silly, but it is often overlooked. Good Luck...

 

[ronjeremy]

Something is not right in the tank. What is your ph readings right after the photoperiod has ended? Test that for a couple days straight and see if it varies to any degree or stays 7.9 or below. That might be your tank issue, or the temps are getting adjusted too much throughout the day. It might sound silly, but it is often overlooked. Good Luck...

what does that have to do with anything???? C.irritans is a parasite...it comes and goes because of its lifecycle....keeping the tank stable may help it to not be stressed as much, but it won't stop the lifecylce or the effects of the parasite....all that i keep are tangs..i have 5 blue tangs..the only way to fix this is to treat it!!!! to treat it, it must be removed and put in a simple $30-40 qt setup...i have setup qt tanks and had to add the fish immediately..it is not preffered to do it this way, but it can be done and is quite simple with daily monitoring and water changes

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Heat and water parameter do play a role in ich outbreaks, removing fish everytime a ich outbreak happens can be avoided by just keep everything stable and let the fish handle it. If you know there is a problem with the tank and have and outbreak and you do nothing to correct it and this fish dies, that is your own fault. IMO check your parameters and adjust to optimal condition so the fish can thrive. Thanks...