Experimental Ich Treatment... Wish me luck.

[Vague Doctor]

Update- No noticeable change after this morning's dose. Corals are happy, anemone went back to it's normal spot. Water parameters are testing the same. No change in fish behavior or appearance, however the notes I've been keeping over the last few days indicate some interesting things. Tomorrow is day 6. I will conclude this experiment on the morning of January 27th and compile a writeup of everything I've observed. Conclusion to come.

 

[Vague Doctor]

I’m trying to help you. If that offends you, I’m sorry. No malice was or is intended here. As a moderator here my job is to ensure that you and any casual readers that use this forum as a resource can learn from these threads.

No offense taken.

 

[foxt]

You never heard of me but I am dead set against one.

Uh, Paul? I think maybe everyone has heard of you.

Well, maybe not RtomKinMad, who might want to add some live black worms to the menu for his tank to help boost the immune system of those fish. It is all about what we feed them. Just one example, check out the “immune reef” thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...y-journey-to-an-immune-reef-hopefully.310714/

I hope someone does find a magic juice some day, and maybe this juice is it. Until that day, I applaud the folks who have labored to further our knowledge, and have helped us come up with best practices, who have challenged the status quo, etc. People like those who have already chimed in on this thread. And people like vaguedoctor, and whomever comes next with whatever might be next. One step at a time ...

 

[Paul B]

Uh, Paul? I think maybe everyone has heard of you.

Is it about my hair or my Steam Punk artwork? Oh, my Big Mouth. I get it.

 

[Pinback]

What's the latest

 

[Vague Doctor]

Okay lads, so this is pretty interesting. I'm compiling my notes as fast as I can but please be patient because a lot has come up in the last few days. I'll update this in the coming evening.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Man!! You set me up

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Man!! You set me up

 

[Vague Doctor]

So the question that's on folks' minds now is probably "okay vague, did it work?"

The short answer is:
It might have.

The fish all show no signs of ich and it hasn't spread to any other fish in the tank. It's been two days since the prescribed treatment period ended and the tank stays at 80 degrees, so the life cycle of the parasite should start over very soon. I'm going to let folks know if it returns. At that point we will begin exploring what was in this stuff, how it worked and if it worked at all. This has been an interesting experience.

Notes below:

Day 1: Fish display cysts about the size of a pin head. No loss of appetite, mild bouts of aggression. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Removed carbon filters. Illness has been present for 15 days untreated and increase in severity has forced me to take measures. Water parameters normal.

Day 2: No visible change. No loss of appetite. Water parameters normal. No change in cyst size or numeration.

Day 3: All corals closed up for 12+ hours. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Cysts appeared more numerous, but smaller. High aggression present. No change in appetite. Water parameters normal.

Day 4: Corals reopened, no change in water parameters. Cysts appear uneffected on body but appear to be disappearing on fins. No aggression present. The smallest test subject has been moderately stressed due to chareotype on chareotype aggression. No change in appetite. Anemone has decided to take to wandering.

Day 5: Small ammonia spike present. (1.0) To counter, I moved wave machine to opposite side of the tank to increase water circulation and force flow towards filtration unit. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Amount of cysts reduced dramatically over the course of 10 hours. 2nd largest chromid shows no sign of cysts at all. Fish appear more sluggish than usual. No change in appetite. Anemone is closed up in shade. No signs of aggression.

Day 6: Cysts are no longer present. Small scarring patterns on some of the more severely affected spots remain. No change in appetite. Ammonia spike no longer present, water parameters normal. Anemone is open in new spot. No aggression present.

It is possible that the change in flow helped and it is possible that the life cycle is simply starting over. Will advise if illness returns.

No loss of fish, coral, shrimp or snails.

Footnote: Apparently it is doable to perform repeated treatments.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

So the question that's on folks' minds now is probably "okay vague, did it work?"

The short answer is:
It might have.

The fish all show no signs of ich and it hasn't spread to any other fish in the tank. It's been two days since the prescribed treatment period ended and the tank stays at 80 degrees, so the life cycle of the parasite should start over very soon. I'm going to let folks know if it returns. At that point we will begin exploring what was in this stuff, how it worked and if it worked at all. This has been an interesting experience.

Notes below:

Day 1: Fish display cysts about the size of a pin head. No loss of appetite, mild bouts of aggression. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Removed carbon filters. Illness has been present for 15 days untreated and increase in severity has forced me to take measures. Water parameters normal.

Day 2: No visible change. No loss of appetite. Water parameters normal. No change in cyst size or numeration.

Day 3: All corals closed up for 12+ hours. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Cysts appeared more numerous, but smaller. High aggression present. No change in appetite. Water parameters normal.

Day 4: Corals reopened, no change in water parameters. Cysts appear uneffected on body but appear to be disappearing on fins. No aggression present. The smallest test subject has been moderately stressed due to chareotype on chareotype aggression. No change in appetite. Anemone has decided to take to wandering.

Day 5: Small ammonia spike present. (1.0) To counter, I moved wave machine to opposite side of the tank to increase water circulation and force flow towards filtration unit. Dosed with 30 drops of treatment, 1 for each gallon of water in the tank. Amount of cysts reduced dramatically over the course of 10 hours. 2nd largest chromid shows no sign of cysts at all. Fish appear more sluggish than usual. No change in appetite. Anemone is closed up in shade. No signs of aggression.

Day 6: Cysts are no longer present. Small scarring patterns on some of the more severely affected spots remain. No change in appetite. Ammonia spike no longer present, water parameters normal. Anemone is open in new spot. No aggression present.

It is possible that the change in flow helped and it is possible that the life cycle is simply starting over. Will advise if illness returns.

No loss of fish, coral, shrimp or snails.

Footnote: Apparently it is doable to perform repeated treatments.

Now place one of those little dudes in a qt and see if ich pops up

 

[Smo]

Now place one of those little dudes in a qt and see if ich pops up

Or maybe perform a black molly test in the DT?

 

[Humblefish]

Or maybe perform a black molly test in the DT?

+1 https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-black-mollies-vs-marine-fish-diseases.312166/

 

[sundog101]

When do we know what’s in it?

 

[Vague Doctor]

Whelp-

Whatever's in this stuff, it doesn't matter because it doesn't work as a permanent cure, at the very most. At the very least, it did nothing at all. The ich came back harder than ever before as of this morning. I'm quarantining the fish and treating them the way I was planning on in the first place with the usual non-reef safe treatment outside of the display nano tank and waiting it out before I stock it again. I am not going to let my animals suffer any longer at this point.

Maybe there's a great, 100% effective, reef safe ich medicine out there somewhere.... but we ain't found it yet! It was fun exploring the topic with everyone though. Put a fork in this one folks, we're done here.

 

[4FordFamily]

Whelp-

Whatever's in this stuff, it doesn't matter because it doesn't work as a permanent cure, at the very most. At the very least, it did nothing at all. The ich came back harder than ever before as of this morning. I'm quarantining the fish and treating them the way I was planning on in the first place with the usual non-reef safe treatment outside of the display nano tank and waiting it out before I stock it again. I am not going to let my animals suffer any longer at this point.

Maybe there's a great, 100% effective, reef safe ich medicine out there somewhere.... but we ain't found it yet! It was fun exploring the topic with everyone though. Put a fork in this one folks, we're done here.

Sorry it didn’t work out! Good luck on the treatment!

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

Bummer it didn’t work, but I was giving it a fraction of a percent chance. It would take someone with a great deal of education and experience with fish and fish disease to come up with a new cocktail that cures these diseases. A casual store owner didn’t seem likely.
Thanks for trying it out and sharing your experiences. Hope your new round of treatment works out!

 

[Don Lidtke]

Bummer! Thanks for giving this a try. I am not too sure I have the courage to try something like that. I'm glad to see you are made of sterner stuff than I

 

[foxt]

Good luck with treatment. Going fallow in DT?