Treating Marine Ich

[plecosword]

Option 1: Copper
Positive: mOST EFFECTIVE against ICK

Negative: lowers the fish's resistance to other diseases,
and can cause serious damage to the kidney, liver, and beneficial
intestinal flora of the fish being treated.

Option 2: Hyposalinity (1.009-1.010)
Positive: Effective, cheap, fish concerves energy by having to remove less salt, leaving energy for fighting parasite.

Negative: "keeping fish in low salinity means that they don't "flush" their kidneys sufficiently.
After long-term exposure, this can cause kidney failure and kill the fish (Shimek, pers. comm..)"

Option 3: Daily water changes
positive: removes free swiming parasites from the water.

Negative: a lot of salt.

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

"Save me!"

Cycle of Marine Ick
ATJ's Marine Aquarium Site - Reference - Marine "Ich"

How to Identify & Prevent Saltwater Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)

Treating with copper
Hyposalinity

Marine Ich - myths and Facts

 

[plecosword]

:bigbounce

 

[GSELLERS]

you forgot UV sterolization. I do not treat my fish at all for ick....when i see them start breaking out i change the bulb. That is a last resort thing i did because of the lack of space. You could add formalin 3 dip....it is very effective too, what about increasing the temperature to 84+ this shortens the life span.

 

[lcstorc]

All myths.
Copper and hyposalinity are the only options that work completely. You also have to leave the tank fishless for at least 8 weeks which is the life cycle of the parasite.
UV only removes the parasite in it's free swimming stage.
Water changes are the same thing. It will remove the parasites in the water removed but ich will remain in the tank.

 

[plecosword]

you forgot UV sterolization. I do not treat my fish at all for ick....when i see them start breaking out i change the bulb. That is a last resort thing i did because of the lack of space. You could add formalin 3 dip....it is very effective too, what about increasing the temperature to 84+ this shortens the life span.

UV is not as effective. like frequent water changes, not all parasites are killed/removed. some remain free swiming.

 

[Varga]

you forgot "do nothing" I usually do nothing and so far it has worked like a champ

 

[plecosword]

you forgot "do nothing" I usually do nothing and so far it has worked like a champ

:laugh: Really? you should read what Lee wrote, its really good!
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/23132-marine-ich-myths-facts.html
Everything you got to know about Ich, I learned how to spell Ich! hahaha

 

[Varga]

I've read that before.....I also read it will not go away, every system has ich but your tank should be healthy enough that your fish are strong enough to become immune to it.

everytime i get a new fish, its like clockworks, it gets ich within 48 hours and it goes away within 2-3 days, never spreads to current residents. this tells me my tank has ich but the fish are fighting it.

 

[plecosword]

really? could be you have a huge tank. my clown had at least 10 spots all over him today.

 

[chrome91]

other, I only use garlic. My first yellow tang was in a 10g at the store fullgrown with another yellow tang, and a few days after i got him, he had ich. fed garlic, and it went away in a few days

 

[Varga]

oh yeah, I forgot, I use garlic all the time. could be large water volume has something to do with it. I even buy sick fish from petco, just to give em a chance at life, and they have recovered nicely too.

 

[plecosword]

oh yeah, I forgot, I use garlic all the time. could be large water volume has something to do with it. I even buy sick fish from petco, just to give em a chance at life, and they have recovered nicely too.

yeah but people at petco are so stupid, they will hire anyone.

 

[fatman]

My tank systems have no Ich. They hold no fish. I quarantine every thing, I mean everything that comes from a marine environment, whether it be corals or rock or sand. I do not add water from other systems to my systems, not even my quarantine tanks. The only way I could get Ick into my systems is to introduce it, so I do what I can to prevent it. I figure if I can set a quarantine period based on an Ich parasite quarantine (45 days without tomants on new arrivals minimum) I have run a quarantine period long enough for signs and symptoms of any other kind to likely appear. Ick can be eradicated, but as lcstorc pointed out, a tank fallow period of a minimum of 8 weeks is the recommendation. This is not to say that a tomant can not go that long without becoming the free-swimming stage which is called a "theront." Once the tomont divides into tomites, the individual tomites produce cilia and become theronts. Studies over the years have repeatedly shown that over 99 percent of tomants become theronts within 28 days, it is that extra 1 percent which kicks the fallow times up to 8 weeks. My reply is long enough already so I doubt any body wants details on my quarantine methodologies.

 

[lcstorc]

Actually, I would love for you to start a quarrantine thread explaining your process. We have a great one by Lee but it is always good to hear about how different people handle it. Of course, your systems being fish free would certainly help but I would still like to hear the process

 

[plecosword]

I agree.

 

[tippMANn98]

I've read that before.....I also read it will not go away, every system has ich but your tank should be healthy enough that your fish are strong enough to become immune to it.

everytime i get a new fish, its like clockworks, it gets ich within 48 hours and it goes away within 2-3 days, never spreads to current residents. this tells me my tank has ich but the fish are fighting it.

Yea, same here, I think its all just blown waay out of porportion. FW ich life cycle is accelerated when exposed to elevated temps, anything above 86 degrees F will speed up its cycle to just under 2 weeks, Works like a charm in FW, not applicable to SW....Cleaner Shrimp work wonders, I think its all with the fish and its individual health to be honest, I know there are all these"reports" by certain people, who are they? I know what I know from experience, and I NEVER lose fish to ich.

 

[lcstorc]

Not losing fish to ich is different than not having ich in your tank. Fish can build up an immunity and a healthy fish is often able to fight off the infection. The real risk is when a fish becomes stressed or poor nutrition etc. That is when you have a breakout and start losing fish.
It can be eliminated from the system but few people have the dedication to do it right.

 

[SubRosa]

All myths.
Copper and hyposalinity are the only options that work completely. You also have to leave the tank fishless for at least 8 weeks which is the life cycle of the parasite.
UV only removes the parasite in it's free swimming stage.
Water changes are the same thing. It will remove the parasites in the water removed but ich will remain in the tank.

I beg to differ!Formalin and Clout will both most assuredly cure MI.Both have drawbacks as do all of the other treatments.The trick is to keep any pathogens out of the main systems by a rigorous regimen of quarantine and imo prophylactic treatment for both internal and external parasites as well as a broad spectrum antibiotic.None of the effective treatments are safe on a full blown reef.By maintaining excellent water quality, providing good nutrition and a suitable habitat you can definitely maintain a tank long term with ich present and asymptomatic,but with just a bit more work you can have one that's MI free.

John

 

[SATELLITE]

when my fish get ich. i just have to leave them in the tank. i do a lil bit more water changes and use a lot of selcon and garlic guard on all my foods when i feed. it always seem to take it away after 3-5 days

 

[fatman]

The trick is to prevent importation of Ich into a clean system. Hyposalinity is the least stressful and most widely used and recommended treatment, followed by copper. Both salinity and copper can be monitored by most reef keepers. Formalin is more stressful then either hyposalinity or copper and requires many repeated dosages, and few people have ability to test for levels of formalin or Clout or even Malachite green which is occasioanlly used or is often used in conjunction with Formalin. I personally do not like to use medications or supplements that can not be readily tested for concentrations.