Please Help...

[ReefSwagg]

I've not yet had to deal with Ich & I'm researching all the different options but I'm wondering if anyone has used either of these prodects or can even make some recommendations. The ich hasn't gotten bad yet but two of our fish are starting to scratch themselves on the sand & one is showing little white specs & his tail is looking a litte torn up. Anything would help, Thanks!

[KeMo]

you say you have not had to deal with it yet well it sounds like you do now.. If it is starting to eat at the fish that is bad and it is in the later stages.

Myths

Some people will say that cleaner wrasses, gobies and shrimp will clean a fish of Ich. This is simply not true, they may seem to pick at the white spots on your fish but they are just cleaning the dead tissue around where the Ich has penetrated the fish. There are no reports or studies that claim that cleaner wrasses, gobies and shrimp will clean a fish of Ich. Mainly because when a fish is infected with Ich it is buried under the skin where the fish or shrimp can not go.
Treatment
There are only two proven ways to cure a saltwater of Ich, copper and hyposalinity. Neither treatments can be used in the main display aquarium if there are invertebrates present, so the treatment must be used in a quarantine tank.

Hyposalinity is the preferred treatment among the online reef forums because it is not as dangerous to the fish and it is thought to ease osmotic stress on the fish. Hyposalinity is adjusting the salinity of your aquarium’s water to a specific gravity of 1.010 to treat Ich. Hypo means under or below, hence lowering your salinity below normal levels. Hyposalinity should be in a quarantine tank with all your fish in it, lowering the specific gravity by doing water changes every 12-24 hours with less salt. Once the salinity of 1.010 is achieved then the water should be maintained with this specific gravity for 6 weeks.

Copper treatment is toxic to fish and invertebrates every reefer should now that copper and a reef tank do not mix. If you should choose to use copper treatment make sure that you use a quarantine tank and label the tank copper so you do not use the tank in the future for anything other than quarantine.

When using copper make sure you are testing it with a copper test kit that is the same as the copper treatment you are using. As of right now there are two typs of copper treatment that are used they are chelated copper and ionic copper. Copper binds to any calcium carbonate so it should be used in a bare bottom tank only.

[Palting]

You have to treat both the fish, and the tank, as both are infected. Treat the fish in a separate QT with either hyposalinity or copper, and treat the main tank by leaving it fishless for 6 weeks. If you have no coral or inverts, you can do hyposalinty on your main tank and treat both at the same time, but that is more challenging. Here's how I did hyposalinity in my 110 gal tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1892446

Unless someone is getting tired of it, expect an excellent rebuttal to the treatment plan with an alternate approach shortly. Ten, nine, eight, seven....................

[ReefSwagg]

Thanks KeMo & Palting. I read the "Hypo saga", good stuff. I was hoping to wait it out a little as get them out of the DT is gonna be a stressful pita for all of us. Should I just go ahead & pull them at this point & start hypo??

[ctrl+f]

Originally Posted by KeMo

Hyposalinity is the preferred treatment among the online reef forums because it is not as dangerous to the fish and it is thought to ease osmotic stress on the fish.

This is a bit of a generalization though. Hypo is tough on clowns, and someone with a nano and four fish probably has clowns. Bob Fenner recommends copper for them.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by ReefSwagg

Thanks KeMo & Palting. I read the "Hypo saga", good stuff. I was hoping to wait it out a little as get them out of the DT is gonna be a stressful pita for all of us. Should I just go ahead & pull them at this point & start hypo??

Hard to say what's right. Some say leave them alone to get better first, treat them immediately only if they are really sick and not eating. IMO, the sooner you treat them, the better. That way you don't give them a chance to get really sick

Originally Posted by ctrl+f

This is a bit of a generalization though. Hypo is tough on clowns, and someone with a nano and four fish probably has clowns. Bob Fenner recommends copper for them.

I had clowns when I did hypo. They all did fine. The only fish that did not make it was a Royal gramma, but I think that was because he was being bullied by the clowns!

[ctrl+f]

Originally Posted by Palting

I had clowns when I did hypo. They all did fine. The only fish that did not make it was a Royal gramma, but I think that was because he was being bullied by the clowns!

Sure, and there are lots of people who have done copper for all their fish and been fine. It doesn't mean it's optimal.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by ctrl+f

Sure, and there are lots of people who have done copper for all their fish and been fine. It doesn't mean it's optimal.

My point is that it can be done. And I agree neither one is optimal for ALL fish. Copper can kill a 6 line wrasse. You can do two separate QT tanks and do two different treatments. Or you can just pick one and do it all at once. Like I did. With clowns. Clear?

[ReefSwagg]

I have a six line, 2 fire fish & a royal gramma...

[Palting]

Originally Posted by ReefSwagg

I have a six line, 2 fire fish & a royal gramma...

Hmmmmm. Unless you want to pick which fish to risk with which treatment, you'll have to set up two QT's. Hypo for the 6 line, copper for the RG, and the firefish can go in ether.