While the marine biology literature has many instances of using Chloroquine phosphate for treating marine velvet, at this point the treatment of marine ich is better served with other means, specifically tank transfer.
The problems/issues I have with chloroquine phosphate (or related) are for marine ich:
1. Dosage is anecdotal and is unclear with varying instructions from different vendors
2. Half life of the drug is not defined
3. No way of testing current concentration
4. Drug may disassociate and release the Phosphate radical
5. Long term effect on fish has not been studied
6. Some fish are negatively affected
7. In humans, drug resistant strains have resulted
8. Counterfeit supplies of the drugs exist and some suppliers seem to provide different quality of CP with different levels of purity and quantity of fillers
There are some circumstances where chloroquine phosphate (or related) is recommended, and probably is the most effective for treating marine velvet if you can get a pure supply of it. However, in general, if treating marine ich, I advocate tank transfer as the least expensive, most effective method. And, as always, I do not recommend using any drug prophylactically
The problems/issues I have with chloroquine phosphate (or related) are for marine ich:
1. Dosage is anecdotal and is unclear with varying instructions from different vendors
2. Half life of the drug is not defined
3. No way of testing current concentration
4. Drug may disassociate and release the Phosphate radical
5. Long term effect on fish has not been studied
6. Some fish are negatively affected
7. In humans, drug resistant strains have resulted
8. Counterfeit supplies of the drugs exist and some suppliers seem to provide different quality of CP with different levels of purity and quantity of fillers
There are some circumstances where chloroquine phosphate (or related) is recommended, and probably is the most effective for treating marine velvet if you can get a pure supply of it. However, in general, if treating marine ich, I advocate tank transfer as the least expensive, most effective method. And, as always, I do not recommend using any drug prophylactically
