Reef safe ich medication

Marella · 06-27-2006, 02:58 PM

Has anyone used the No Sick Fish Ich Medication in their tanks? If so did it work and is is truly reef safe? I seem to have an ich problem in my tank, the tangs that have ich do get cleaned off by the cleaner shrimp but my clowns won't go near the shrimp and I just lost one to the ich.

zxcv123 · 06-27-2006, 03:09 PM

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch..._Code=Medicine

zxcv123 · 06-27-2006, 03:10 PM

It doesent work well though due to the elevated dilution. It would take a while but its possible.

Twitterbait · 06-27-2006, 03:18 PM

I would look for the reason that the fish is sick. what are the tank parms and did you qt?

zxcv123 · 06-27-2006, 03:23 PM

yup. What twitti just said. Sometimes if you feed them well and keep water quality high then it will go away. Check out the water before you drug up yr tank.

Marella · 06-27-2006, 04:42 PM

I will check the parameters again tonight. Last time I checked, 4 days ago, they seemed fine.

autochek · 06-27-2006, 05:33 PM

Do you have more than a 2 degree shift in tank temp in a 24 hour period. This can cause stress.
How old is the tank?

skeety · 06-27-2006, 08:17 PM

everyone's hitting on the right answer. You can get those quick fix ick treatments, but you gotta get to the heart of it.

Ick is usually brought on by stress.

Is the temp swinging considerably? (as Tom asked)

Is your pH in the right area? (what's it's range from morning to night)

Are your hands constantly in the tank? Obsessively so?

Is there a bully in the tank that's pickin on the infected fish?

What are your nitrate levels? What have they been recently?

Any ammonia/nitrite levels?

Are you topping off frequently? Or once every couple days? (i.e. Is your salinity fluctuating).

This are all things that can stress out a fish. A stressed fish has a lowered immune system. Making it extremely succeptible to Ick.

Looking forward to your response. We'd all LOVE to help you as best we can!

Marella · 06-28-2006, 10:30 AM

My temp does swing considerably throughout the day this past week, ranging from 85 to 88 degrees. Normally the tank temp stays pretty constant around 80-81 degrees, but it has gotten quite warm here and we have no AC or chiller. pH swings between 8.2 to 8.4. No bully in the tank and the only time my hands are in the tank is to target feed my anemone. Ammonia and Trites are both 0 and Trates are at 0.2ppm. Topoff a gallon a day, switching to an auto topoff by the end of the week.

skeety · 06-28-2006, 10:37 AM

okay...sounds about right. (been there myself).

So while the auto-top off is a good idea...topping off once a day isn't bad enough to cause too much stress (unless it's a nano! hahaha).

But the temp swings ARE enough to cause MAJOR stress. Especially HIGH temp swings like that.

You can decide on whatever treatment you wish, as I don't want to come accross as forcing my opinion on that matter. But I do personally, feel stress reduction, garlic and a slightly increased diet is the BEST treatment for ick.

But all that aside, you DO need to get on top of fixing the temp swings asap. Adding fans over the sump to reduce temp (this WILL increase evap though...so keep an eye on that). Looking into a chiller (I know they're expensive...but depending on where you live and temps there...they can be a REQUIREMENT). lighting schedule changes can help with Temp too. I know you want to see the tank...but switching to lights on in the evening can help temperature problems significantly.

All in all, do whatever you decide with the Ick problem...but I'd focus more on the temp for now. Otherwise, you're gonna have a LOT of fish with Ick, and some other problems that are worse.

hope that helps.

And keep asking questions!!!

Marella · 06-28-2006, 10:50 AM

As I am relatively new to reef keeping any and all advice is greatly appreciated. I will look into getting a chiller immediately.

skeety · 06-28-2006, 11:27 AM

here's a thread on a chiller that's good to get.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=62956

JennM · 06-28-2006, 11:31 AM

Are you sure the clowns have ich? Hot water (and your water is HOT) can lead to Brooklynella, which is a different protozoan infestation than Cryp (ich).

If the clowns look "velvety"... have sloughing skin or blisters or a white filmy stuff on them it's not ich, it's Brook. Brook needs to be treated with formalin - and NOT in the main tank as formalin will kill off your inverts and ruin your live rock.

HTH

Jenn

Marella · 06-28-2006, 12:02 PM

The clown has little white spots rather than a velvety look.

jenajet · 06-28-2006, 12:22 PM

Having a fan blow across the top of tank will help keep down temp as well until you get the chiller.