Ich problem.. whats the simplest way to treat this?
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If you have inverts: Throw skrimps and scalops and clams in the blender, along with a leaf or two of garlic, mix in some metronidazole, free it into portions and feed it. It works like magic, keep doing this for 2 weeks then go buy a UV unit.
I've been battling ich for 6 months and thats the only thing that worked for me. The other ich treatment that does into the water does not work.
If no inverts that you care for, any saltwater ich treatment would do, more copper the better.
I've been battling ich for 6 months and thats the only thing that worked for me. The other ich treatment that does into the water does not work.
If no inverts that you care for, any saltwater ich treatment would do, more copper the better.
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I am gonna go a different way than ouling here- while the feed suggestions he mentioned have been anecdotally mentioned to work, there are surely not guaranteed or quick.
I also want to strongly caution about copper usage. Copper is toxic, even to fish at high enough levels, so I hope I am reading Oulings post wrong. Definitely NOT the more, the better. If you use copper, use it exactly y the dosage recommended, and buy a copper test kit.
Brandon has a number of excellent posts on this forum of accurate and beneficial ways to treat ick, just find one of them.
I also want to strongly caution about copper usage. Copper is toxic, even to fish at high enough levels, so I hope I am reading Oulings post wrong. Definitely NOT the more, the better. If you use copper, use it exactly y the dosage recommended, and buy a copper test kit.
Brandon has a number of excellent posts on this forum of accurate and beneficial ways to treat ick, just find one of them.
yea i was joking about copper in the fish tank, but if its fish only then you're fine with the regular dosage of the thing. I have found it extremely hard to get rid of a massage ich outbreak in the reef tank. That KickIch treatment garbage do not work, so don't even bother with it. The only way to kill the ich in the water in a sensitive reef tank is probably massage dose of metronidazole (40% effective), and UV or/+ ozone. UV is the most effective way to get the thing out of your water.
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OK, I said before just yesterday that I was going to stay out of the next QT or Ich topic that got posted... And that is just what I am going to do! 
There is a wonderful article written if you click on "articles" up on the top of the page.
Now I have to frown on Ouling a bit here and his methods of treating Ich. If you would have taken proper steps your Ich would be clear in 1-3 months (3 being the extream long end). So that should give you a frame of reference to how well your garlic and metronidazole works. Hint: not very weel if it has taken 6 months so far! As for where you pulled out the number of "40% effective" from I have no clue. Metronidazole has not been demonstrated as a viable medication for Ich. It is only good in an amount ingested buy the fish and that amount is based on the weight of the fish. Have you put your fish on a scale yet? Add that to the fact that I have talked with the Seachem guys about this a few times and the "dosage" on the bottle is well under what has been shown to slightly work in a few cases. Again not a cure and not a solution for your average reef keeper. (Note it has been shown to work better if injected... You feel like injecting yor fish?!?)
So in closing, read the article written and post questions about that... Education is the only way to combat marine illness, so educate yourself!
There is a wonderful article written if you click on "articles" up on the top of the page. Now I have to frown on Ouling a bit here and his methods of treating Ich. If you would have taken proper steps your Ich would be clear in 1-3 months (3 being the extream long end). So that should give you a frame of reference to how well your garlic and metronidazole works. Hint: not very weel if it has taken 6 months so far! As for where you pulled out the number of "40% effective" from I have no clue. Metronidazole has not been demonstrated as a viable medication for Ich. It is only good in an amount ingested buy the fish and that amount is based on the weight of the fish. Have you put your fish on a scale yet? Add that to the fact that I have talked with the Seachem guys about this a few times and the "dosage" on the bottle is well under what has been shown to slightly work in a few cases. Again not a cure and not a solution for your average reef keeper. (Note it has been shown to work better if injected... You feel like injecting yor fish?!?)
So in closing, read the article written and post questions about that... Education is the only way to combat marine illness, so educate yourself!
DO NOT USE COPPER! I don't care if it is a fish only (which I know few true fish only tanks... most at least have snails). Copper bonds to just about everything including the tank and it can take months for it to leech back out simply meaning you could have fluctuating copper levels in your tank for quite a while. It will also wreck the resale value of your equipment. Anyone know you ran copper in it and they won't go near any equipment from your tank. Live rock won't be so live after a good copper treatment either and the copper will be in that as well. Copper is just bad news especially when there are treatments as effective as copper.
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Not only that the live rock and sand will suck the copper up like a sponge and it is next to impossible to get up to a treatment dose...
Last fall I had a Ich problem. The first thing I did was raise the temp to 84. Then I put in a UV light on at nite. I added a cleaner shrimp. Then I fed the fish food with garlic. One week later the Ich was gone and has not come back. Good luck Rick
I think a good bit of it depends on how bad your ick is.....it its a very minor case, yeah something like garlic might work.....but its like Brandon says....why risk having it come back....
when my tank had it got it real, real bad.....I did the whole FW dip/ QT with hypo/ water change/ raise temp thing and I have never seen ick again (knock on wood)...in my opinion Brandon's method is fail safe and will guarantee getting rid of at least the strain of ick that is currently in your tank....just make sure to QT everything you put in after just to be safe.....I learned my lesson.
Oh yeah, and while it does seem like a pain in the butt (and it is a bit), there is a huge benefit to putting your fish in a QT. If you do it for the full recommended length of time, your pods population in your main tank will multiply by the 1000's.......it's actually really fun to watch.....
when my tank had it got it real, real bad.....I did the whole FW dip/ QT with hypo/ water change/ raise temp thing and I have never seen ick again (knock on wood)...in my opinion Brandon's method is fail safe and will guarantee getting rid of at least the strain of ick that is currently in your tank....just make sure to QT everything you put in after just to be safe.....I learned my lesson.
Oh yeah, and while it does seem like a pain in the butt (and it is a bit), there is a huge benefit to putting your fish in a QT. If you do it for the full recommended length of time, your pods population in your main tank will multiply by the 1000's.......it's actually really fun to watch.....
Raising the temp on ich works if ich has nothing to attach to or you have some method of killing them. Raising that temp can easily make a bad outbreak get MUCH worse as it speeds up their metabolism. Heat itself does not kill them it only causes them to breed faster and die faster, you need something else to kill them otherwise they will just infest faster and possibly kill your fish faster.
If you want a treatment that is experimental but safer than copper, try interceptor. I have zero proof it will work, but it is designed to destroy these types of organisms and I am very interested to see someone try it just to see what happens.
If you want a treatment that is experimental but safer than copper, try interceptor. I have zero proof it will work, but it is designed to destroy these types of organisms and I am very interested to see someone try it just to see what happens.
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Hey Cameron... I had that tested a bit and it did not show to work... Now I have to admit, ALOT more testing needs to be done on all stages of the life cycle but initial tests show that it might not be effective on the torment stage. I bet it would have more effect on the free swiming stage but good luck getting proof.
I would be interested to have someone try locally... (Or I would have loved to get my hands on that blue tang that Ziad and Sal were saving from the LFS) I need to just go pick up a Ich fish and pop him in my 29 to test it out a bit more in depth...
I would be interested to have someone try locally... (Or I would have loved to get my hands on that blue tang that Ziad and Sal were saving from the LFS) I need to just go pick up a Ich fish and pop him in my 29 to test it out a bit more in depth...
It could flat out not work. It is designed to attack and kill nematodes which is a very different organism from ick, but the way it attaches and kills seems to show promise on killing free floating ick. Won't effect it is protected and really don't know much that will past actual manual cleaning such as cleaner shrimp.
Still probably the safest treatment is hyposalinity with a raised temp.
Still probably the safest treatment is hyposalinity with a raised temp.
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Yeah, Cameron, it is designed to target nematodes, but you can see the effects it has on arthropods in the aquarium, so who knows what it might do to ciliated protozoans.
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