OK, Ive calmed down. Here is my take on this matter:
-As Cameron and Brandon fully know- I am of the opinion that only fish that need to be treated should be treated. Ingenius, huh? By this, I mean I steadfastly oppose the prophylactic treatment of fish, despite their gross health appearance. ALL treatments, no matter how safe, impair the body. That is my opinion, plain and simple.
-Formalin- No ifs, ands, or buts, about it, this stuff is nasty. It is the ULTIMATE antibiotic- meaning nothing can live in it. All those specimens they pickle things in- thats formalin. Now granted, the treatment dose for formalin is FAR more dilute than this, but it begs the question, if we weaken it to be safe, is it effective? When I have used formalin (which I have done successfully), it was very aggressive, and could easily do some significant harm. I would not classify it as a safe treatment.
-Garlic- useless as disease control.
-Cleaner shrimp'gobies- surprisingly also useluess in disease control (see below for more on this- what I just stated may be a little misleading). As far as I have educated myself, there has NEVER been an ick cyst found in the digestive system of a cleaner shrimp or goby. They do not eat this stuff.
-metronidazole- I have an issue feeding this to any animals where the gut flora and fauna are unknown and/or unstudied. This drug is relatively broad spectrum, and can easily obliterate any necessary microorganisms in the gut. It has its pruposes, but an external parasite is one I will not apply this drug for.
-higher temps- I run my tank at 79-80, so I dont think that would be a problem. In general, life speeds up when warmer (to a certain degree). Will this solve ick? No. WIll it help? maybe (see below).
-I am a believer in the fishes own defense system. I do not think this is necessarily a solution, but I know it is tehre. What can we do to maximize this? Provide the more accuarte and stable environment we can. This includes proper temp, salinity, parameters, diet. reducing stressors like bullies, providing cleaner shrimp, etc will all go a,ong ways to making the fish very comfortable, and fostering an environment for a healthy immune system. Will they cure ick? NO. Will they allow the fish to beat ick? Maybe. In ceratin cases, the immune system will be compromised, and treatment may be necessary. If I saw a heavily infested fish, I would say treat with hypo. If it was functionally compromised, maybe go more aggressive (copper/formalin/etc).
I doubt this helps, just another a-hole screaming out loud, but that is my opinion.
