I got worms and Ich - which to treat first?

[drclifton]

Just moved all my livestock into a hospital tank separate from the DT. I have a mild case of Ich (hasn't claimed any fish and all fish are eating/breathing normally), and I also have a bit of an internal parasite problem (long white stringy poo).

I bought Cupramine (Seachem) and Jungle anti-parasite pellets to use (metronidazole 1.0%, praziquantel 0.5%, and levamisole 0.4%) to treat everything.

I plan on keeping the fish out of the tank for a minimum of 8 weeks to ensure ich is eradicated from my DT.

What is the best plan for treatments.

Ich first for 2 weeks with cupramine?
Medicated food first (3 days a week for 4 weeks)
Or can I do both at the same time? (medicated food says its safe with other treatments, but cupramine states it is not safe with other treatments)

Thoughts?

[drclifton]

No one? I was hoping to start tomorrow??

[reefgeezer]

I'm not sure that the symptom you listed indicates the presence of internal parasites. Treat the ich as it will harm the fish quicker. You might change to a higher fiber food to see if the white stringy poo changes.

[geaux xman]

what all fish you have?

[drclifton]

well there is more than just stringy white poo present. I see the worms at night.

I have a yellow tang
mystery wrasse
true perc
purple and orange firefish
lawnmower blenny
potter's angel
royal gramma
blue/green chromi

[SuperNemo]

i do cupramine for all new fish and prozipro for the parasite. seems to be working pretty well. based on some research, it appears that you can treat cupramine and prazipro at the same time. i have done this only twice, so far so good.

i was tol cupramine for one month to make sure ich is all gone.

the fish will tend to not want to eat during cupramine treatment, so you'll have to try all different types of food until one works.

good luck

[drclifton]

Thanks SuperNemo for the advice.

I have been reading 2 week duration for the cupramine, anyone else support a different treatment length?

[wrott]

I would not worry about the Ich if it has not killed as of now.
The stringy white stuff will disappear in a couple of weeks.
Just give good food and check back here in a week. Rod

[Toomnymods]

might wanna invest into a uv sterilizer.. mine is only a 25 watt but i havent had any illness's arise since i bought it..

[scottsdale454ss]

im confused, why did you remove your liverock? Are you treating the fish with the liverock?

[drclifton]

My goal is to completely remove ich from my tank. Just because you don't see the white dots does not mean the parasite isnt there . I periodically see my fish tweaking out and scratching on the rocks and feel bad for them having to bathe in a parasite soup.

A UV sterilizer could be a good option down the road, but it won't kill all the ich in my tank now.

Scottsdale: My liverock is still in my DT. No liverock with my fishies

[Sk8r]

The qt has no rock, no sand, because it harbors ich, and the treatment will kill or damage everything in it anyway.
If you have a bare qt tank, NO CARBON in the filtration, and are prepared with anything you will need for it, temp probe, etc, that WILL NOT be used in the DT, you're good to turn it into a hospital tank, ie, begin dosing. Follow directions immaculately and be sure to jump-shield the tank. THis is one instance where a floating salinity bob can be of great use.

Once you have completed the course of treatment, remove the copper treatment, and leave the main tank fallow for 8 weeks.

[drclifton]

Thanks Sk8r:

That is the basic plan on the procedure, I have the tank setup with nothing but PVC, a powerhead, and a power filter (just the sponge).

You think it is okay to use the medicated food at the same time as the cupramine as long as I can get the fish to eat it?