Ich Discussion and treatment options.

[cbswindle]

Set up a hospital tank today for my fish :( ich in my 120 gallon reef - starting Ich-x treatment....gonna be a long right weeks with no fish!

 

[Tahoe61]

Set up a hospital tank today for my fish :( ich in my 120 gallon reef - starting Ich-x treatment....gonna be a long right weeks with no fish!

Do not waste your time or money on the Ich-x-treatment. Get a some Cupermine and a copper test kit.

 

[cbswindle]

Well that's what I had in my hand to buy and my guy who owns a reef specialist store said to do ich-x instead?

 

[Tahoe61]

Scientifically proven methods of erradication

1. Copper
2. Chloroquine Phosphate
3. Hyposalinity.

Ich-x treatment is diluted formalin.

Please read the post the 1st page of this thread. You also need to review the life cycle of Cryptocaryon irritans if you have not. Never mix treatments.

Good luck

 

[Samantha's]

I used garlic chop very small mix with food or just add in tank. I put garlic in my tank once a week to keep them healthy. Just a tip my LFS told me

 

[ronski5287]

i have 60 gallon main tank and itch is all over in my tank, and i dnt have qt.. is it ok to do hyposalinity in my main tank?? i dnt have inverts and corals.. only sand and live and dead rocks and 8 fishes and 3 fish has itch already

 

[yazeed]

It helps but you need to use medecation

 

[returnofsid]

I used garlic chop very small mix with food or just add in tank. I put garlic in my tank once a week to keep them healthy. Just a tip my LFS told me

Did your LFS also inform you that garlic has actually been proven to cause liver and kidney damage in Marine Fish, all the while, having absolutely zero effect on Ich or the immune system of the fish? May want to read the original post in this thread.

i have 60 gallon main tank and itch is all over in my tank, and i dnt have qt.. is it ok to do hyposalinity in my main tank?? i dnt have inverts and corals.. only sand and live and dead rocks and 8 fishes and 3 fish has itch already

I wouldn't recommend it, for a couple reasons...

1. You do have inverts, even if they aren't inverts you've added. Your tank is full of tiny inverts, including Copepods, tiny shrimp, Amphipods, etc. Hyposalinity will kill them, leading to a rise in Ammonia.
2. Your tank is already established, at least I would hope so with 8 fish in it. Hyposalinity will destroy the beneficial bacteria that convert fish waste from Ammonia to Nitrates, finally to Nitrites. Hyposalinity will cause your tank to cycle all over again, starting with a huge increase on Ammonia, without the beneficial bacteria to handle it. Destroying this beneficial bacteria will send your tank into a downward spiral, eventually possibly killing all of your fish.

You can use a large Rubbermaid tote as a QT tank. Just add a heater and a small pump, along with a couple terra-cotta pots for your fish to hide in. Adding a backpower filter will also help.

 

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

I still vote for a properly sized UV. Has worked 3 out of 3 times for me. Then I just remove it and store it.

 

[Dbarse]

Hi all, great thread. I recently added a Sailfin and within days it had full blown Ich but I'm also noticing its fins are appearing more and more shredded as if something is picking on it. The only other 2 fish in the tank are clowns and they are in great health, no Ich nor do they bother the tang from what I can see. Do you figure it's Ich related or do I have something else at play here?

I began hypo today.

 

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

I believe that fin rot occurs on it's own, and does not need nipping to make it happen.

 

[Re3f_Adict]

Ok need. Advice I came home to notice my frostbite clown picking on my davinci clown and now the davinci has spots all over what should I do, would it b ok to quarantine them in the same tank and what should be my process first case of ich I've encountered.

 

[imdaring]

question

Why is it that only my tangs get the ick every time I vet a tang they get the ick but none of my other fish get it and soon the tang dies?

 

[Re3f_Adict]

In my opinion and experience, tangs are much vulnerable to ich due to the absence of a slime coat if I'm not mistaken its always good to qt tangs and have cleaner wrasse PR shrimp in the system for good measure this has always worked for me

 

[scoobysnack77]

I used garlic chop very small mix with food or just add in tank. I put garlic in my tank once a week to keep them healthy. Just a tip my LFS told me

garlic has never been proven to work in a marine tank BUT it has been scientifically proven to cause liver damage to fish over time. i stopped using it after the study i read

 

[scoobysnack77]

In my opinion and experience, tangs are much vulnerable to ich due to the absence of a slime coat if I'm not mistaken its always good to qt tangs and have cleaner wrasse PR shrimp in the system for good measure this has always worked for me

Cleaner Wrasses DO NOT eat ICH . there was a scientific study i read where the stomach of a cleaner wrasse was cut open after being in a tank full of infected fish during the phase where ich is showing. they only found copepods and a few other organisms in their stomachs but NO parasites. they did this test on captive cleaner wrasses and wild ones. still, these parasites were NOT a part of their diet. if anything cleaner wrasses annoy a diseased fish

 

[Humblefish]

garlic has never been proven to work in a marine tank BUT it has been scientifically proven to cause liver damage to fish over time. i stopped using it after the study i read

Cleaner Wrasses DO NOT eat ICH . there was a scientific study i read where the stomach of a cleaner wrasse was cut open after being in a tank full of infected fish during the phase where ich is showing. they only found copepods and a few other organisms in their stomachs but NO parasites. they did this test on captive cleaner wrasses and wild ones. still, these parasites were NOT a part of their diet. if anything cleaner wrasses annoy a diseased fish

+1 to all of the above

Cleaner wrasses/shrimp will sometimes eat dead skin tissue; which often are the "exit wounds" of attacking ich trophonts. That close correlation is probably why many mistakenly believe they are witnessing their cleaner "eat" the ich.

 

[scoobysnack77]

+1 to all of the above

Cleaner wrasses/shrimp will sometimes eat dead skin tissue; which often are the "exit wounds" of attacking ich trophonts. That close correlation is probably why many mistakenly believe they are witnessing their cleaner "eat" the ich.

I can honestly admit that having cleaner shrimps do offer a bit of comfort for fish suffering from ich. fish get in line for a bit of relief it seems.

 

[glb]

I installed a heater in my nano and the temp went from 77-80 because it was miscalibrated. I readjusted it but that afternoon my clownfish had white spots on it and it died that night. Can a temp increase like this cause death so quickly? Or was there probably something else going on before then? I'm keeping the tank fallow for a while until I get this figured out.

 

[Humblefish]

I installed a heater in my nano and the temp went from 77-80 because it was miscalibrated. I readjusted it but that afternoon my clownfish had white spots on it and it died that night. Can a temp increase like this cause death so quickly? Or was there probably something else going on before then? I'm keeping the tank fallow for a while until I get this figured out.

A 3 degree temp swing isn't going to kill a fish; especially a species as hardy as a clownfish. I also quite honestly doubt that ich can kill a clown. Only thing two things I can think of would be Brooklynella or possibly Marine Velvet disease. Was this a newly acquired clownfish? They are very susceptible to brook.