need advice for fish with ich

[FishTruck]

Three options have been presented - all with pros and cons and chance of failure. I offer moral support and good luck for whichever one you choose. And… don’t let it get you too stressed! Your well being is the most important thing.

1. keep them healthy and pray - if you have corals and can't catch the fish (or can't practically care for them in QT), you might be stuck with this. It can work with eventual disappearance of the parasite. I won't endorse this as the best option but I admit having done it out of practical need - and for me it turned out okay.
2. pull them out, treat with copper etc... and fallow the tank. Not easy, but, if done carefully, probably your best chance of getting past this once and for all. It still might fail. I don't have great luck with fish in QT and copper for long periods of time - probably just too busy to give them proper attention.
3. treat the whole tank with hypo. I like this option if there are no inverts or corals.

 

[MnFish1]

A disservice? Here we go again someone taking the time to debate someone else's recommendations when they have absolutely nothing to bring to the table. I replied to Jay as he replied to me. Now with that being said if your Mr Hamdels secretary I guess I can't help that.

I didn't really debate your recommendations - I said you're correct - food and light are important. But - there are a bunch of us - who are 'fish medics' that do this day after day - and hour after hour. It is my opinion that your recommendations are 'incorrect' in this situation. That doesn't mean I'm perfect or that you're wrong - However, In my experience - your recommendations are more risky than doing the proper thing. I have already made my recommendations 'at the table' - perhaps you missed them?

 

[MnFish1]

A disservice? Here we go again someone taking the time to debate someone else's recommendations when they have absolutely nothing to bring to the table. I replied to Jay as he replied to me. Now with that being said if your Mr Hamdels secretary I guess I can't help that.

Ok - since you called me out - I did a bit more research about what you posted:

"The most important thing to do is keep them fed really well. High protein soaked in garlic will help. Shorten your light schedule or run it dim just enough for them to see the food. And start dosing h202 1ml per 5 gallons twice daily before lights on and after lights off.

1. Feeding really well is important
2. Garlic should not help.
3. Not sure that shortening the light schedule is helpful
4. The H2O2 dose is not going to hurt - and likely not to help - H2O2 IMHO is helpful more in prevention than a cure.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

i first noticed the ich 20 days ago and it hasn’t gotten worse on any of the fish, just spread to them. so i can imagine they would be fine waiting another week since it’s still the early stages.

when i set up the QT i didn’t anticipate having to move all my fish into it so that’s why i got a 10 gallon

i have a pistol shrimp, a couple hermits, maybe 20 snails and 15 corals, and 3 BTA so that would be a little scary to move those into an uncycled tank.

my LFS doesn’t QT their fish and said most fight it off on their own, but i think also run their tanks at 1.013

Yes - I think you have too many invertebrates to move them out and going hypo.

1.013 won't cure ich, but it will suppress it. I wonder - can your LFS treat your fish for you?

I don't think you have a lot of good options here, sorry.

Here is my protocol for ich management. Please understand that I am NOT presenting this as an optimum method for controlling ich, just putting it out there for people who want to try it. Also, do not pick and choose which items you want to follow - you need to go with all guns blazing and use them all.

“Ich Management” Because many aquarists mix fish and invertebrates, they are ill-prepared to then treat for marine ich, as the two best treatments, amine-based copper or hyposalinity, cannot be used with invertebrates. A popular technique has then arisen, “ich management”. It is popular not because it works well, but because it is an easier alternative. Be forewarned, it often fails if applied during moderate infections. The reason that it exists as a technique at all is because people find themselves in situations like this and are desperate to try anything.

The basic idea is to reduce the infective propagules (tomites) of the ich parasite to the point where the fish's acquired immunity can fight the infection off. This is done through a series of techniques for stress reduction and tomite limiting. Unfortunately, the ich tomites themselves cause stress to the fish, so if the fish have more than 30 or so trophonts on them, the method often fails.

1) Install a powerful UV sterilizer on the aquarium.
2) Ensure that the fish's diet and water quality are the best you can make them.
3) Keep the water temperature close to 78 degrees F.
4) Siphon off the tank floor nightly to remove as many tomonts as possible.
5) Employ strong filtration to trap as many tomites as possible.
6) Try a proprietary "reef safe" marine ich medication. These rarely cure ich infections on their own, but some may have benefit when combined with other management methods. Avoid the herbal remedies, focus on those that contain peroxide salts. There is, however, some evidence that using peroxides with UV does not work, as the UV can break down the peroxides.


Jay

 

[UMALUM]

Ok - since you called me out - I did a bit more research about what you posted:

"The most important thing to do is keep them fed really well. High protein soaked in garlic will help. Shorten your light schedule or run it dim just enough for them to see the food. And start dosing h202 1ml per 5 gallons twice daily before lights on and after lights off.

1. Feeding really well is important
2. Garlic should not help.
3. Not sure that shortening the light schedule is helpful
4. The H2O2 dose is not going to hurt - and likely not to help - H2O2 IMHO is helpful more in prevention than a cure.

Three key factors I took away from her concerns.
1. Emergency
2. Going out of town
3. Roommate
I gave her my best advice, once again under the circumstances. I also stated earlier that non of these options is a proven cure although they have worked for me many times. Capisce