UV light to kill off ICH?

[Railrider1920]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that someone was using a UV sterilizer to kill off ich. Does this work? I just noticed that my blue spotted jawfish has come down with a small spot of ich and I'd like to try to get rid of it ASAP.

A guy at the LFS store told me to use high doses of vitamin C and garlic in the food and that will help get rid of it. Sound right?

I'm thinking about on moving the fish I have (bluespot, 2 firefish gobies 1 watchman gobie) to a different tank to let the ich in the display tank go through it's cycle and treat the fish in the other tank. Does this sound like a decent plan?

Any thing else you kind folks can suggest that will work?

 

[Usefulidiot213]

UV light will kill the parasite, but only with a very slow flow threw the unit with a very high wattage. It will not cure your tank of the ich parasite. Due to most of the parasite being on the fish or in the sand. It will only kill the free-swimming parasites and that is a very small portion of it's life cycle. The garlic & vitamin C is to boost the fish immune system to help it fight off the Ich parasite.
The best & really only way to ride your self of the parasite is to quarantine the fish and treat with cooper or Hypo.

 

[jackTheReefer]

move all the fish to qt with copper medication such as coppersafe. then increase temp in the main tank to 84 degrees to speed up the ich lifecycle. also, run the main tank fishless for a month.

 

[gparr]

Though I prefer hyposalinity and six weeks, Jack has it right.
Gary

 

[Harry_Y]

I have always fought it by keeping everybody healthy.

Feed then daily and remove any excess food overnight (they need rest at night).

You can try making the lighting period shorter so they get more rest.

Less Stress, Feed Well, Lots of Rest has worked well for me.

 

[inactive]

I have always fought it by keeping everybody healthy.

Feed then daily and remove any excess food overnight (they need rest at night).

You can try making the lighting period shorter so they get more rest.

Less Stress, Feed Well, Lots of Rest has worked well for me.

I'm not sure on how this makes sense.

 

[Murfman]

Are you sure it is Ich? One spot doesn't sound like ich. If you pull them out, make sure you have a tank that is suitable. A Bluespot and Watchman might not get along in an open QT tank.

 

[Harry_Y]

I'm not sure on how this makes sense.

Keep your fish Healthy and they normally can fight it off.

It's more stress to chase them down, to
put them in a another tank to treat them.

 

[Railrider1920]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

move all the fish to qt with copper medication such as coppersafe. then increase temp in the main tank to 84 degrees to speed up the ich lifecycle. also, run the main tank fishless for a month.

I'll have a QT tank that has already had copper in it at the house tomorrow afternoon. It is one that was set up at a friends already cycled. HOB filter, water, HOB heater and a little sand. Hopefully it won't go through a huge cycle.

Though I prefer hyposalinity and six weeks, Jack has it right.
Gary

Would it be a good idea to do the hyposalinity treatment and then put them into a copper tank? What is a good salinity level for hypo?

Are you sure it is Ich? One spot doesn't sound like ich. If you pull them out, make sure you have a tank that is suitable. A Bluespot and Watchman might not get along in an open QT tank.

A friend had a bluespot that came down with ich. I about freaked out when I saw it. It looked really nasty. Kind of like the color on it was wiped off. He told me that it was ich. He has been involved with SW tanks for about 15 yrs, so I'm pretty confidant he knows what it was. Unfortunatly, his died. I was thinking about the bluespot and watchman goby. I may put the watchman into a different copper tank at a friends.

Keep your fish Healthy and they normally can fight it off.

It's more stress to chase them down, to
put them in a another tank to treat them.

Yeah, chasing them down will be a PITA for them and me. I'm hoping that I can put in a cup with a lid that the BS will go into. Maybe leave it in there for a couple of days if I have to.

How does a fish get ich to begin with? If the fish has been fine for sometime, then gets stressed out and pops ich, that doesn't sound like a parasite to me. Kind of like hives on a person. Something happens to the person and then the body breaks out in hives. If the fish didn't have it to begin with, how does it get it after being stressed out?

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

 

[starfish]

One spot of ich would not make me take such drastic measures.(stress everyone else out that are OK) I would watch the goby and see if he gets any more. Also no offense to any one but are you sure it is not a grain of sand stuck on him from digging? It can look similar. Strange he would get it after so long a time and no one else has any. Blue Spot do not like other gobies and can be pretty aggressive once settled in a tank.

 

[Railrider1920]

Hey Starfish,
It's not sand, that is for certain. I was thinking about it and just decided to hit him heavy with vit c and garlic and wait and see how he does. The additives don't seem to bother his appetite any at all. I should probably call him "hoover" as he just sucks down any food in his area.

 

[Usefulidiot213]

The reason why most tanks will come down with Ich if the fish get stressed out is because most tanks already have it. You just don't notice or see it when your fish are healthy and their immune systems are able to fight off the parasite, but when the fish get stressed or their health is compromised. Their immune system will weaken, which allows the Ich to settle in and start to take over.

 

[Railrider1920]

Hey Useful,
Thank you for the explanation. That makes sense.

 

[Harry_Y]

The reason why most tanks will come down with Ich if the fish get stressed out is because most tanks already have it. You just don't notice or see it when your fish are healthy and their immune systems are able to fight off the parasite, but when the fish get stressed or their health is compromised. Their immune system will weaken, which allows the Ich to settle in and start to take over.

Yes, I agree

That is why I tend to not medicate,
but to try to keep them healty.

I do the same in my own life, Medicine only when
100% needed other wise nutrition and rest.

PS: Flu season is coming... Take your Vitimin D, and rest well.

 

[Usefulidiot213]

So yes,
The best way to treat Ick is by prevention. Try not to quarantine new fish before adding to Display tank. Healthy diet with Garlic & Vitamin C, Healthy tank conditions with plenty of hiding areas for fish to feel safe.
If you have a break out the best, and really only way to treat with proven results is to quarantine your fish, and either treat with cooper or with Hypo.

 

[iceman0124]

I've found in a well established reef with lots of high value nutrtion, most parasitic diseases just clear up in a few days. I recently added a cherup pygmy angel to my nano, in the store it looked healthy but hid a lot, when my lights came on she was covered with velvet but ate like a pig, 4 days later she looks and behaves perfect. I feed 3x daily with OSI flake, mysis and cyclopeeze soaked in kent zoe and selcon. Also have a pep shrimp that like to clean.

 

[Railrider1920]

I started to thaw out the food in garlic and Vit C then adding some water to it after it has soaked for about an hour or so. After eating this stuff for a few days, the blue spot is looking better. The big spot it had on it's side is just about completely gone. There was a smaller spot below that one that is almost gone as well. Those areas aren't as colorfull as the rest of it's body, but they are looking better. I'm hoping that this will do the trick and I won't have to remove them to a copper tank.

Thanks again folks.

 

[Harry_Y]

Sounds good.