fsbbn@hotmail
New member
Rid ich plus which contains melachite green and formalin, can it be used in the FOWLR system? or will it color the LR blue and cause other issues? Has anyone tried it?
thanks
thanks
Rid ich plus
- Thread starter fsbbn@hotmail
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MrTuskfish
Team RC
Funny name for this product; it doesn't kill ich. What are you trying to cure? Formalin should NEVER be used in a DT.
fsbbn@hotmail
New member
Rid Ick plus is actually a mixture of melachite green and formalin. I have found it to be effective against a broad spectrum of fish parasites. I do not like using copper because I have often had fish react very poorly to it. I do have a tank (600 gal) that has LR (actually more like rock with bacteria only). There are a few fish that are very hard to catch and I was wondering if the melachite green would turn the rock blue. If so can i use just formalin or would that be a problem. I have three QTs but the problem is the effort to catch these five fish.
Has anyone tried formalin in a tank with rocks? I can do water changes no problem. Thanks for the reply.
Has anyone tried formalin in a tank with rocks? I can do water changes no problem. Thanks for the reply.
geaux xman
New member
i use formalin on my angelfish, but only for ~1hr dips only. then i return them to the cupramine QT tank.
the problem with formalin in the DT is it evaporates and you cant measure it.
the problem with formalin in the DT is it evaporates and you cant measure it.
Exactly.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
Formalin (formaldehyde) is a lot tougher on fish than copper (Mal. Green can be too) IMO & IME. Formalin in a DT will kill probably the bio-filter, all life in the LR & substrate, all inverts, algae, including coralline, and probably create an ammonia nightmare. I haven't seen formalin suggested for ich in years and have read (Fenner) that it doesn't work well on ich (without killing the fish) anyhow. Yes Mal. Green will often stain LR & silicone. Using this stuff in a tank with LR & substrate creates the same problem copper does under the same conditions: the LR and substrate absorb the formalin or copper and proper dosing is impossible. IMO, the only reason to use formalin is to cure brooklynella----and then, only as a dip. The only ways to cure ich are tank-transfer, copper, or hypo; while the DT remains fishless for at least 8 weeks. Hypo has been done, with some success, in tanks with LR & substrate. But it is a real PITA and very demanding. Your dilemma is one on the most common on this forum; sorry, I know of no magic bullet. I assumed you stocked this tank without using a QT regimen?
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fsbbn@hotmail
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I actually stocked this tank with five fish from DD. They went through a six week QT. But there is some kind of weird strain of parasite that I have not seen in 20 years of fish keeing. It does not look ike ich. But it is not flukes eiher. The fish seem to have a few slivers that look like salt crystals. It is not bad but enough that they are not eating well. The tank has a UV and ozone to contain the issue and also five fish in a 600 gal is not that much. i am thinking about maybe just leaving it alone for a couple of months to see what happens. It would be a huge deal to catch them again.
flameangel88
New member
Do you think you can trap one of them? If you can I would suggest catch one of them and do a hypo on this one and after 5 days or so you will know if hypo will help or not. If it does then you can hypo instead of taking out the rocks or treating with copper.
Is it white like cotton and much bigger than ich?
fsbbn@hotmail
New member
I hve tried hypo an does not seem to hel with this strain of parasite. I don't really know what it is. I hve experimnted with jut about every drug including rare ones from fishman chemicals and national fish pharmecy.
I am thinking about getting an 150W UV by emperor aquatics. The thing however is $1200. That seems like quite a lot. Any comments on that model or if UV is even a good idea on a FOWLR?
I am thinking about getting an 150W UV by emperor aquatics. The thing however is $1200. That seems like quite a lot. Any comments on that model or if UV is even a good idea on a FOWLR?
geaux xman
New member
what fish do you have?
MrTuskfish
Team RC
Save your money. UV may help a little, but can't possibly cure or prevent an ich infestation. Every single ich theront must get sucked into the UV intake (its hard to train them to do this) before it finds a fish host to continue the life cycle. That's impossible. Add the facts that the new theronts usually emerge from the substrate at night, and most fish spend the night on the substrate. Also, the UV must have perfect flow-rate and a lot of maintenance to do anything. UV is a great water clarifier and does a good job with algae control, that's why pondkeepers love it; bu they do little for parasite control. I think UV can often do more harm than good---it gives many hobbyists a false sense of security. I'd read the ich stickies at the top of the disease section of the forum. If you know the ich life-cycle, the limited value of UV becomes obvious.
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