Is it possible to get rid of ich without going fishless in a reef system?

[rgslady]

You guys were NOT kidding when you said the heater that came with the RSM 250 is crap. Mine died last week, lasting approx 6 weeks. I woke up one morning to find my tank at 72 degrees. I quickly grabbed the heater from my water change barrel, but the damage had apparently already happened. Two days later my blue tang was covered in ich. Talk about a heartbreaker. I have ready everything I could, for correcting this. Problem is, I don't, yet, have a quarantine tank.

So I have two critical issues to address...temp control (I still need a chiller), and a quarantine setup. I did try a freshwater dip, that was nerve wracking!! Don't think it helped a whole lot. But the fish is still eating and active. In desparation, I tried Kordon Rid Fungus. This all started Friday morning.

So my question is, is there a chance of getting rid of the ich without pulling all the fish out? Got the reef system, corals and inverts. Is there anything I can do in the meantime until I can get a quarantine setup? What a horrible lesson learned...

 

[imaccat]

Christine,

Sorry to hear about the ich. I will probably get slated for this, but as you don't have many choices you may want to consider this and I don't believe it will do any harm. About 5 years ago I also had a Blue Tang and he got ich (plus one other fish). I had no QT and I had a few hermits in my tank, no corals or such as it was really a FOWLR, but I didn't want to use any of the ich treatments because of the crabs. So I used garlic granules, yes the stuff you buy from the supermarket herb & spice rack, and it worked, it rid the tang and the other fish (cant remember which one it was) and none of the other fish caught it.

As I say I will probably get slated by experts who say this doesn't work, but it did for me. So you could try this in the meantime while you set up a QT.

Good luck

 

[Reefmack]

Sorry to hear this. Yes - the RSM heaters, no matter what Red Sea says, are absolutely terrible. I don't know of any cure-all for the main tank, but Iain's idea is worth a try.

 

[Bobi1956]

Christine - here is an article on the garlic treatment Iain is referring to

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

 

[rgslady]

Thanks guys....Iain, how much and how often, on the garlic? Desperate times require desperate measures....as it will be at least two weeks before I can get a QT setup.

 

[imaccat]

To be honest I cant remember exactly, but I think I replaced half of their normal food with the garlic, but gave it to them separately i.e. half normal food amount in the morning and then the equivalent amount in garlic in the evening

 

[FCatCH76]

my cleaner shrimp took care of ich on my Tang.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Very sorry to hear !

I suggest reading the stickies here... http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/

below is a post I read from our local reef club today about MI (marine ick) - from a members that has kept fish for over 30 years & has two 500 gallon tanks... take it for whatever you deem it worth...

"Before removing all fish try sprinkling some ginger out of the kitchen spice section on your dried seaweed with some garlic on it. Its a great remedy for tangs with ich. I will look for the link.

I know this sounds like snake oil but I have seen it work!.... Get some fresh ginger root fom the grocery store and ground it up in some water in a blender and soak the nori and other food in it before giving it to the Tang. There is a good chance that the parsites will fall off. Obviously, these parasites have always been in the tank because you haven't added anything, however, your PBT was strong enough to fight them off until the tank was stressed by the anemone spawning. You have to get him back to that point again and this may help.. Keep him eating!"

Good Luck!


I just use the spice ginger in the cooking section myself. I have had great results. Alot of club members have seen my powder blue and other tangs, and they are vey healthy using this diet."

 

[Reefmack]

Ginger was also mentioned in the link that Bob posted - pepper too. Get out the spice cabinet!

 

[reeferman]

you can buy garlic soak for your fish food.i used a combination of garlic,metronidazole,and vitachem, when i had a BAD outbreak in my tank,didnt lose a fish to ich as they are still going strong today![the same fish i have now].that was 10 months ago and i have not seen a sign of it since.i soaked their food in garlic,5 drops of vitachem,and sprinkled metro on the food and let it sit about 15 min and then poured it in the tank.it helps alot if the fish are otherwise healthy and eating well.sometimes it works,sometimes it dont,but its worth a try until you get a qt setup.i treated this way for at least a month,and slowly but surely it went away.i also employed a cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse that picked away at the fish constantly!you should be able to get all those things i mentioned at your lfs.good luck with it and i really hope it helps!