Reefsafe Ich treatment

[headjigger]

I recently found a viable alternative to traditional ich treatments.
Copper free
Reef Safe (safe for inverts, fish, live rock, etc.)

I recently used Kick-Ich but there are lots of other similar products on the market.
I suggest buying on the internet to cut down on the price.

Within 2 days the visible ich on the fish disappeared.
The fish already seem more active.

The bottle gives recommendations on dosing quantities and scheduling.

It eliminates the free swimming, infectious stage of the ich life cycle while still being safe for fish, corals, invertebrates and macro algae, as well as the facultative anaerobes and nitrifying bacteria essential to biologic filtration.

Pretty cool stuff

 

[Sacrifice]

I agree

I agree

Based on my research and study, I approve that KICK ICH is a good product to use in the tank w/ invertebrates.

 

[falconut]

headjigger - how long have you been using it? If just 2 days so far, it may not have done anything yet. It may just be in a different stage of the life cycle. Definitely interested in your progress.

 

[djc1026]

Anyone else have experience with this product?

Dave

 

[IndyMatt]

I would like more advice/info related to this product.

Headjigger sometimes Ich can go away and then come back even worse after about a week. I hope this is not the case here.

 

[headjigger]

Well thats the point of the product. You must keep using it for the entire life cycle of the ich which is about 4-6 weeks.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

The white spots started appearing about a day before I treated the tank. The immediate response was for the Ich to "fall" off the fish. They really weren’t very big, nor did they appear to very imbedded in the fish and gills before they "disappeared;” this led me to believe they didn’t fall off due to maturity.
So far I have been treating the tank for only a week. I am optimistic so far. I have used copper in the past and it really doesn't work that quickly or effectively. Also with copper you have to hospital tank the fish which puts added stress on the fish for various reasons.

 

[IndyMatt]

Are you dosing the 2 oz. per day or the loaded dosage of 3oz? Also do you have any corals nd if so have you noticed any difference after dosing.

 

[eclecticvibe]

You can find several threads on Kick Ich here on RC. Most people report mixed results at best. I think the only proven way to cure ich is hyposalinity or copper, both of which are unsuitable for reef tanks.

 

[djc1026]

I thought the dosage was 2 oz per every 25 gallons of total water volume?

Dave

 

[eclecticvibe]

If you can search back far enough, there's a good thread where the developer of Kick Ich reccomends different dosing strategies for different tanks.

 

[hansonfam]

Didn't work for me when i had my first ick outbreak. It always appears that it has taken it away. And then boom there it is again. But that is jmo. But i followed all instructions and ran it course twice and it was still there.

Lisa

 

[OCDP]

Try looking into this product, it's new.. it is a Canadian company so I dunno where you can find it in the states . I may order it and give it a go if I ever notice an outbreak .

http://polyplab.com/medic.html

 

[petoonia]

What else do you have living in the tank. Any invertebrates. I recently had an ich outbreak on my coral beauty, but was afraid to try anything w/ an anemone in the tank. Please post your progress.

 

[headjigger]

Update: Day 11
Fish and inverts look great
No sign of Ich currently
Not currently running skimmer due to impeller breaking at about the same time as ich outbreak.

Will keep updated

Kich- Ich Manufacture’s direction:
1.) Day 1 add 2.0oz of Kick-Ich for each 25gal of total water volume for the entire aquarium including filter system and sump.

2.) Repeat on days 4, 7, 10 & 13

3.) Do not use carbon or similar absorbent media during treatment (phosphate absorbents are OK). Protein Skimmers can appreciably reduce effectiveness of the treatment. Will not affect biofiltration and is safe for all fish (including scaleless fish), plants, corals, and invertebrates.

 

[headjigger]

Some fantastic articles first. Then I give my personal experience and opinions.

REEF SAFE? Check the following article by Steven Pro from 2005 - Reefkeeping.com
“The Effects of Various Reef-Safe Treatments on Xenia sp. in a Controlled Setting”
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/sp/index.php

Marine Ich/ Cryptocaryon Irritans: A discussion of this parasite and the treatment options available
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

Also check out part 2 (there is a link on the bottom of part 1)
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php

As far as COPPER goes, my personal experience with it is as follows:
Pros:
1.) Kills Ich entire life cycle from start to finish
2.) Cured whatever fish the copper and the rest of the process didn’t kill first

Cons:
1.) Must first catch fish in main tank to quarantine them, which as everyone knows can be next to impossible with a stocked reef tank (unless you remove LR and corals).
a. Adds to stress
2.) Must run another tank which for convenience usually has poor filtration/ water quality
a. Thus necessitating frequent water changes
b. Fluctuating water quality
3.) Quarantine tanks
a. usually are of limited size which further aggravate fish due to over crowding, fighting, stress, and few places to hide
b. extra cost of setup
c. place to put it while running for 2 months
4.) Copper kills many fish especially angels
5.) Must test and modify copper levels frequently

Hyposalinity has mixed results throughout the forum ranging from successful to unsuccessful.

Feeding garlic to the fish can improve the immunity of the fish but in no way directly gets rid of Ich.