what next?

smm607 · 09/08/2007, 05:16 PM

Ok so i posted a thread over a week ago about my purple tang possibly having ich... He has been in the qt tank for over a week he has been eating fine and not acting that abnormal, eating like a pig describes it better... Anyways i have done a few FW dips and it doesn't seem to be helping, he still has the with spots which seem to be getting a little bigger and possibly a few more... My question would be if it is time to start thinking about using a low dose wide spectrum med such as "Kordons Rid-Ich" It is supposed to treat a wide variety of things other than ich.... Should i use it or give it a while longer and maybe a couple more freash water dips and see if it finally does some help

Percula9 · 09/08/2007, 05:30 PM

Definitely treat with copper or Rid-Ich. Without a medicant you can't stop the cycle of infection. Soak food in Garlic extreme for 20 min. Garlic is a immune booster. Fresh water dips can't stop the cycle of infection. Meds only kill the parasite in the free swimming stage. This will stop the fish from being reinfected.

m2434 · 09/08/2007, 06:37 PM

My experience is that if a fish is eating well, it usually will do okay and I try not to stress it out too much (i.e. freshwater dips etc...). I wouldn't suggest taking it out of quarantine yet, but it's probably good to let the fish rest and recuperate.

smm607 · 09/08/2007, 06:59 PM

yeah i wasn't planning on taking him out of the qt until this problem is rectified,even though he is eating well he isn't getting any better as far as the infection/'s go and whether or not i should go ahaed and start treating with a med

m2434 · 09/08/2007, 07:20 PM

It's a tough call without seeing the fish... If it's a copper med, just remember that copper is pretty nasty stuff, as far as fish are concerned... Ich can often be overcome by the fish's own immune system if it is healthy enough, and that fact that it's eating well suggests it might be. I tend not to use meds and have had much success. I tend to belive that many people kill their fish by overmedicating, but that's just an opinion...

smm607 · 09/08/2007, 09:20 PM

I agree, i don't want to medicate unless i have to, he is eating very well still, spots have gotten a little bigger and maybe added a few, he is beginning to swim into the flow of the powerhead which i read was a common reaction to the ich but he isn't breathing heavily or anything yet so i guess i will wait it out, Would you suggest another FW dip in the future if it doesn't start to clear up on its own?

Chibils · 09/08/2007, 09:28 PM

Soaking their food in garlic extract is an immune system booster. Unlike tropical ich, marine ich can usually be overcome on its own.

The problem with fw dips is that it "shocks" the tormonts off and stresses the fish, which causes them to burst and then when you put it back in the qt tank, they reinfect the fish.

Mavrk · 09/08/2007, 10:12 PM

What about hyposalinity as a treatment? Or would that stress a purple tang too much?

kau_cinta_ku · 09/08/2007, 10:17 PM

don't use copper with tangs. go with the hypo treatment

T Man · 09/08/2007, 11:44 PM

Agreed, do not treat tang's with copper, it does intestinal damage. Put the tang in a hospital tank and try hyposalinity. T

smm607 · 09/09/2007, 06:16 AM

since he isn't relatively large would a 10G tank be ok to do the hyposalinity in?

09/08/2007, 05:16 PM	#1
smm607 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Buffalo Posts: 399	what next? Ok so i posted a thread over a week ago about my purple tang possibly having ich... He has been in the qt tank for over a week he has been eating fine and not acting that abnormal, eating like a pig describes it better... Anyways i have done a few FW dips and it doesn't seem to be helping, he still has the with spots which seem to be getting a little bigger and possibly a few more... My question would be if it is time to start thinking about using a low dose wide spectrum med such as "Kordons Rid-Ich" It is supposed to treat a wide variety of things other than ich.... Should i use it or give it a while longer and maybe a couple more freash water dips and see if it finally does some help

09/08/2007, 06:37 PM	#3
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	My experience is that if a fish is eating well, it usually will do okay and I try not to stress it out too much (i.e. freshwater dips etc...). I wouldn't suggest taking it out of quarantine yet, but it's probably good to let the fish rest and recuperate. __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

09/08/2007, 07:20 PM	#5
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	It's a tough call without seeing the fish... If it's a copper med, just remember that copper is pretty nasty stuff, as far as fish are concerned... Ich can often be overcome by the fish's own immune system if it is healthy enough, and that fact that it's eating well suggests it might be. I tend not to use meds and have had much success. I tend to belive that many people kill their fish by overmedicating, but that's just an opinion... __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

09/08/2007, 09:28 PM	#7
Chibils halide loyalist Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sugar Hill, GA Posts: 2,213	Soaking their food in garlic extract is an immune system booster. Unlike tropical ich, marine ich can usually be overcome on its own. The problem with fw dips is that it "shocks" the tormonts off and stresses the fish, which causes them to burst and then when you put it back in the qt tank, they reinfect the fish. __________________ always learning Current Tank Info: 75G new world cichlid, 25G reef in planning

09/08/2007, 05:30 PM	#2
Percula9 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Orange County CA Posts: 3,819	Definitely treat with copper or Rid-Ich. Without a medicant you can't stop the cycle of infection. Soak food in Garlic extreme for 20 min. Garlic is a immune booster. Fresh water dips can't stop the cycle of infection. Meds only kill the parasite in the free swimming stage. This will stop the fish from being reinfected.

09/08/2007, 06:59 PM	#4
smm607 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Buffalo Posts: 399	yeah i wasn't planning on taking him out of the qt until this problem is rectified,even though he is eating well he isn't getting any better as far as the infection/'s go and whether or not i should go ahaed and start treating with a med

09/08/2007, 09:20 PM	#6
smm607 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Buffalo Posts: 399	I agree, i don't want to medicate unless i have to, he is eating very well still, spots have gotten a little bigger and maybe added a few, he is beginning to swim into the flow of the powerhead which i read was a common reaction to the ich but he isn't breathing heavily or anything yet so i guess i will wait it out, Would you suggest another FW dip in the future if it doesn't start to clear up on its own?

09/08/2007, 10:12 PM	#8
Mavrk Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California - South Bay Area Posts: 2,775	What about hyposalinity as a treatment? Or would that stress a purple tang too much?

09/08/2007, 10:17 PM	#9
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	don't use copper with tangs. go with the hypo treatment

09/08/2007, 11:44 PM	#10
T Man ~PPPPPPP~ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Emerald City Posts: 1,045	Agreed, do not treat tang's with copper, it does intestinal damage. Put the tang in a hospital tank and try hyposalinity. T

09/09/2007, 06:16 AM	#11
smm607 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Buffalo Posts: 399	since he isn't relatively large would a 10G tank be ok to do the hyposalinity in?