Can Tetracycline cure Ich?

[Dom]

So... for reasons I cannot explain, I've become very interested in "The Incredible Dr. Pol" television show.

I recently watched an episode where the clinic received a call on a "sick fish with spots". Over the phone, a diagnosis of Ich was made and Tetracycline was recommended.

Besides the glaring issue of diagnosing without observation ( how did he know that it wasn't Velvet ), can Ich be treated successfully using Tetracycline??

 

[lion king]

I doubt it, tetracycline is an antibiotic, which would be effective on bacteria. Ich is not a bacteria. Velvet and ich are the same type of protazoan disease and would be treated the same, but not with antibiotics.

 

[Dutch_Mill]

I doubt it, tetracycline is an antibiotic, which would be effective on bacteria. Ich is not a bacteria. Velvet and ich are the same type of protazoan disease and would be treated the same, but not with antibiotics.

Velvet is a parasitic dinoflagellate whereas Marine Ich is a parasitic ciliate. So no, they are not the same type protozoan as Velvet is not even a protozoan.

There is overlap in treatment but there are treatments that work for one, but not the other.

 

[nereefpat]

Year and a half old thread.

My fish disease book calls velvet a dinoflagellate protozoan. I think protozoa is more of a loose term for many single celled eukaryotes, maybe not even an official taxonomic term anymore. Marine ich and velvet, for our purposes are pretty similar. For treating velvet, it is worth mentioning that hyposalinity does not work.

For the original question, my guess would have been similar to lion king's. However, it looks like tetracycline is used for treating malaria, which isn't a bacteria either. Anyway, copper would be a better choice. I also wonder if the "ich" in question was freshwater or marine ich, since they are different organisms. It is a little absurd to diagnose fish diseases over the phone, so that's kind of...silly.

 

[Dom]

I doubt it, tetracycline is an antibiotic, which would be effective on bacteria. Ich is not a bacteria. Velvet and ich are the same type of protazoan disease and would be treated the same, but not with antibiotics.

I saw this on "The Incredible Dr. Pol" during a show touting the broad range of life the clinic treats.

Cut to scene - Dr. Pol was talking to someone on the phone concerned about "spots on their fish". Dr. Pol concluded that it was Ich and suggested tetracycline.

The only thing I could think of was WOW!

No in person examination and a diagnosis. Truly he is incredible.
And I thought: an antibiotic for a fluke?

I mean, I can see antibiotics being administered IN ADDITION to treatment to prevent secondary infection. But as the ONLY treatment, not so incredible.