My Ich Experience

One anecdote no matter how many times you repeat it does not make it fact. Consider that 82% of fish exposed to heavy concentrations of cryptocaryon irritans develop a paritial immunity. There are over 7000 species of ich. Many parasites host in the gills nose and mouth. Many fish survive an initial infestation with no treatment. A single strain of parasite will perish after 34 life cycles( spanning about 11 months) per a study by Burgess and Mathews in 1995. This is attributed to cell aging and the limited number of divisions most cells can perform. Any of the foregoing easily explain why ich seems to dissappear in a tank often striking only when a new fish is introduced.For every anecdote supporting new treatments there are many reporting outbreaks and fish deaths even in seemingly ich free tanks.

I'll go with the science and proven means. Copper or hyposalinity in a quarantine tank or tank transfer and quarantine of all new specimens. I hope this means I won't have any stories or new anecdotes to tell.
I also hope others will stay with proven methods and avoid those that just don't really seem to work.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12661585#post12661585 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltyputty
So, has anyone actually tried Medic?
Click to expand...
:) Is it free? Can my fish survive with it if there is an ich reinfestation while I'm doodling with it?? Does the manufacturer publish it's ingredients and studies to support it's effectiveness? So why try it?
 
If this is what the manufacturer states.

"Our product is NOT a miracle breakthrough cure against ich (and we don't
claim it to be). It is not a guaranteed cure for cryptocaryon in teleost
fish."

Why wouldn anyone try it?
 
I too learned the hard way, that you must qt all fish before introducing to the display.

BUT, what about corals? We should be qt'ing all corals as well to be sure.

my 2cents...
 
LargeAngels, i once read a post on what you do with new fish, can you post your regiment again?

Thanks,
Steven
 
heuerfan: Many may not agree, but this is what I do. Prazipro (flukes and internal parasites) and Cupramine (ich and velvet) for 5 days. Change 50% of water and redose Cupramine and Prazipro. I used to only use Prazipro for 1 treatment, some of us have found that it sometimes requires 2 doses, then after another 5 days change 50% of water and redose only Cupramine. Total QT is 4-6 weeks. Checking copper levels daily. If I get clowns I add Maracyn II also for the first 5 days. Cupramine is an excellent copper treatment that is not at all as harsh on fish as other copper treatments.

I always keep a couple of QT's going. For wrasses and some dwarfs I keep sand and some rocks with algae. That one I keep a closer eye since the Cupramine is absorbed in rock and sand, but not as quickly as other copper treatments. Ideal QT is no rocks or sand, but for some species it is necessary.
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12669025#post12669025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LargeAngels
heuerfan: Many may not agree, but this is what I do. Prazipro (flukes and internal parasites) and Cupramine (ich and velvet) for 5 days. Change 50% of water and redose Cupramine and Prazipro. I used to only use Prazipro for 1 treatment, some of us have found that it sometimes requires 2 doses, then after another 5 days change 50% of water and redose only Cupramine. Total QT is 4-6 weeks. Checking copper levels daily. If I get clowns I add Maracyn II also for the first 5 days. Cupramine is an excellent copper treatment that is not at all as harsh on fish as other copper treatments.

I always keep a couple of QT's going. For wrasses and some dwarfs I keep sand and some rocks with algae. That one I keep a closer eye since the Cupramine is absorbed in rock and sand, but not as quickly as other copper treatments. Ideal QT is no rocks or sand, but for some species it is necessary.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a very good idea. I was using cupramine alone but I like your regime much better. Also I have noticed that most angels can not tolerate the copper like the tangs do. Have you noticed this also?

TIA
 
Do you use the cupramine and prazi pro at the same time without ill effect? I wasn't sure this was safe,so I do a formalin bath before qt.
Is the treatment period for cupramine only 5 days? I use copper sulfate and the prescribed treatment is 14 days.I have read many favorable posts about cupramine,is it easy to test and maintain levels?
 
Currently I am learning the hard way.
I am a rookie. Been in the game 6 monthes.
And over the last 2 weeks have lost about 10 fish, and counting.
Im down to 1 tang, 1 foxface, 1 clown and 3 damsels. All infected, all looking horrible.
I naively tried to treat my display tank with a formaldihyde based cheap ich medication a few days ago. Not sure of the lasting reprocutions yet. Ammonia and nitrite levels at 0.
My 20 gallon QT tank will not hold the rest, so I will have to dispose of them.

Heres my question. How long should I run my tank with no fish?
can I leave the inverts (shrimp) in the tank? crabs & snails?
Can the disease be carried on any of the rock or equipment?
Should I continue to run a skimmer? filter? or just a power head for circulation?

Im sorry for all the questions, and I dont mean to thread-jack.
Just looking for some help. Thanks.
 
You could just use a rubbermaid bin or two to treat those fish.

The display tank should remain fishless for at least 6 weeks. Although it is highly lkely all ich will die off by then without a host fish, some cysts have remained vialble for as long as 72 days.

There is no need to remove inverts unless the formaldahide kills them.

Run your tank normally,skimmer etc.

Yes, ich cysts can come in with anything wet but it is not likely except with a fish or perhaps on a rock from a recently infested tank.Some do qt everything. That's hard to do with corals or inverts that need live rock to survive, though. Personally I focus on fish.

Regarding the formalin in your tank, run lot's of carbon and perhaps some polypad to help with export.

Good Luck
 
Thank you very much for your info.

I'll get an extra bin to qt the other fish. And let everything run normally for 6 weeks.
Honestly right now I cant see any of them surviving.
But I will try my best to keep them alive.
Ich is a nasty disease...
 
Thank you very much for your info.

I'll get an extra bin to qt the other fish. And let everything run normally for 6 weeks.
Honestly right now I cant see any of them surviving.
But I will try my best to keep them alive.
Ich is a nasty disease...
 
The main ingredient in Medic is Metronidazole which is certainly not a new fish medication. Its primary use is against hexamitosis and spironucleosis. It is hard to believe that anyone would consider it to be one of the better treatments for Cryptocaryon irritans (ich). I thought any ideas of it being affective against ich went the way of the dinosaurs. I can tell you that you won’t find it recommended for ich in any book on aquatic medicine, including college texts.

Every year or two someone will come along touting a new cure (usually a so-called reef safe cure) for ich. This has been the case for the 35 years I have been keeping marine aquariums and it will probably continue for many more. Each of the others quickly faded away. I am betting the idea of Medic being a cure for ich will join all the others. Can anyone say “SANO”.

Here is an interesting link with reviews by people that tried it:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...lies_Medications_Parasites~vendor=&tab~4.html

Terry B
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12675082#post12675082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CAMDIDDY
Thank you very much for your info.

I'll get an extra bin to qt the other fish. And let everything run normally for 6 weeks.
Honestly right now I cant see any of them surviving.
But I will try my best to keep them alive.
Ich is a nasty disease...
Click to expand...
:) Horrible to watch when you get a virulent strain. Good luck .
 
tmz: Cupramine treatment is 4-6 weeks. I haven't noticed any issues with angels and Cupramine, even ones that are supposed to be copper sensitive (like multicolor angels.) Cupramine is much less toxic to the fish than other copper treatments. It is very easy to use since its affective range is 0.2 - 0.8 ppm (0.5 ppm recommended) and doesn't get absorbed in gravel or rock as quickly as others. Yes, I use the Prazipro and Cupramine at the same time. But, if you aren't sure about medication interactions don't mix them. It can lead to the death of the fish. For example mixing Cupramine with Formaline will kill the fish.
 
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