ick!!!

[alnjba]

my tang's got ick! any safe way to treat? i've got live rock and a few soft corals.


thanks
jim

[ylmaya]

Oh - Jim - I wish I could help you. I have been posting for about 3 weeks regarding my Ich problem. Here is what I have learned so far.......

Options

1. Remove all fish - treat in separate hospital tank with a quick freshwater dip and some antibiotics

2. Try feeding with garlic soaked food - theory is that the parasite supposedly doesn't like the garlic taste the fish emits so they don't stay on the fisha and eventually die off.

So far I haven't been able to remove my fish because of the rockwork etc. I lost my Hippo Tang and a Spotted Hawk. My Royal Gramma looks like it is going to go today and the Flame angel will probably soon follow.

I have learned that Ich is caused by stress - Since my system is relatively new I must have had some type of chemi bloom that freaked all the fish out....then if one comes in with a 'cold' the rest have their resistance down and bingo.

I also heard that warm water doesn't help - so look at your temperature. This is another thing I can't control without a chiller because my tank is in a closed system and I live in South Florida - my water stays at 82. ( I was getting a 3 degree daily shift which could have been the cause of the stress as well - but now that is stabilized).

I wish I could be more helpful to you. But without removing the fish from the inverts there isn't really a medication that will work on one without killing the other.

I will watch this thread in hopes that someone can be more helpful to both of us!

GOOD LUCK!

[dermp]

Sorry to here about your losses ylmaya. I feed my fish shrimp soaked in garlic every other day and it seems to work. When I first introduced the clarki, he got ick bad and gave it to other fish. I kept feeding garlic and even put some in the tank, after a few days it died down and after a week or two it was completly gone. I got a tang a little while ago, same thing he got Ick and was full of it. I went heavy on the garlic, and low and behold he only has a few spots on him now. So either my water quailty is so good its able to help fight the ick, or my fish are really strong fish, or the garlic does work!!! I also use supplements that I put in the fishes food and add a little to the water!

[Prismaco]

I heard that garlic works real good...$0.02



-Paul

[Toadfish]

If you want to take the chance there are some products available that claim to be "reef safe". "No Ich" and "Revive" treat the parasites Oodinium(Revive) and Cryptocaren irritans(No Ich). However, if you are to use these products it is imperative to identify the culprit in your tank. Sometimes it can be both. Common "Ich" is c. irritans a slower developing parasitic invasion. Oodinuim usually acts quicker, with the first signs of the parasite as a dying fish and can ravge a tank in a few days. Both attack the gills and if left to proliferate, will cause long term gill damage to your fish. Go to fishvet.com if you would like more information on the above products, and parasitic lifecycles. I would consider taking out all of the corals and LR, remove the fish, isolate the fish(FW dip not nessacery), place the rockwork and corals back into the tank, and allow the tank to go without a host for a couple of months. It will be a pain in the butt today, but doing this now, will save you trouble in the long run.

[Toadfish]

Garlic is a preventative measure not a cure. Outside of reefing I have been dealing with fish and fish disease for many years. Nothing works more than removing the fish and placing them in a tank without rockwork. With the back and sides of the glass painted black to reduce stress(not nessacery but beneficial). This allows you to remove the fish and dip it in a medicated soulution for the first 2 days and then every other day after for about 2 weeks. I suggest that you look at the product, Hydroplex. It seems to work the most effectively. Paraguard is another one I would reccomend. These are fairly mild and do not tend to stress the fish. When you put the fish back, then you can use the garlic as a preventative measure. The problem that both of you face is that the levels of the parasite are way above feasible treatment in your reef system. Fish are dying. This is the worst sign of all. And immediate attention is needed or they will all die!

[TerryB10]

There are few subjects with more misinformation floating the Internet. I have studied many a scientific journal on the subject and have half a dozen published works on same myself. I can tell you that there are only two consistently effective treatments: hyposalinity and copper. Every other treatment method is hit or miss at best. The only alternate treatment worth a mention is feeding the fish garlic soaked foods and that makes a better preventive than a cure.
Here are a few other points:
Freshwater dips are largely ineffective. Ich is NOT caused by stress. Ich is caused by a parasite. Stress makes fish more suceptible but it is NOT required. If you simply practice proper quarantine procedure PRIOR to adding any fish to the display then you will probably never have an outbreak in your display tank. The most common reason for an ich outbreak is a failure to quarantine!
You can set up a good quarantine tank cheaply. You can use a LARGE food grade Rubbermaid container, a heater, plenty of PVC pipe and something to provide water flow, gas exchange and biological filtration. A biowheel or sponge filter attached to an air pump will work.
Terry B