ICH: how to cure it, id it, understand it.

[nexusnight]

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

[snorvich]

Lots of information can be found here. Questions on ich will be answered best in the Fish Disease forum. But tanks do not have to have ich, garlic does nothing for treating ich, fresh water dips do nothing for ich as it is embedded too deeply. Ich does not have to be visible in order to be present as it often first is found in the gills.

[fishy.22]

Very cool thread, lots that I didn't know.
I've had the best success in the event of an outbreak to isolate the fish, lower the salinity to 1.02 for about a month and then raise it slowly back up to DT values.
The hardest thing is constantly worrying about your fishes.

[Vakko]

Originally Posted by nexusnight

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

I've used No Ich from FishVet and Kick Ich from RubyReef with 100% success multiple times now.

Unless you are the one doing all the testing, I would hold off saying "nothing commercially sold works." People come here for advice and don't need absolutes from nay-sayers.

[Graffiti Reef]

Any "reef safe" herbal junk is exactly that. Junk! I had an ich outbreak and tried to do everything in the book to avoid taking all my fish out and run the tank with no fish. I tried "reef safe" additives, diet supplements, uv filters, you name it. The ONLY thing that ended up working for me is qt fish for a 2 months which included using cupramine at the start and letting the tank run fallow. From that point every new tankmate ever added has been qt'd with cupramine and haven't seen ich since. You need to understand the nature of the organism in order to understand why "reef safe" stuff wont work on it.

[toky916]

I'm using CP and so far working really well !
There's an article on advanced aquarist the fish form seem to stressed out from it.

[scubadan206]

Originally Posted by nexusnight

I have to laugh when the above comments are posted. There is enough information in this thread that the questions asked are all answered. Nothing commercially sold works but copper ie " cupramine " and with some success a couple other methods ie tank transfer and low salinity levels. Copper is the easiest method IMO. Treat ALL fish for 30 days and observe while leavening tank without fish for 9 weeks. Then treat all new fish to be added in qt for at least 30 days. Done

Here Here.

[anarchy02]

I hate ich. Ended up killing my moorish idol after treating it for a month. The ocean doesnt use chemicals so why should we. Never good for the fish

[billsreef]

A couple of things to keep in mind, the Ocean is not a small a glass box that is overcrowded. Fish in the Ocean carry parasites, fish in the Ocean also die.

[xnetgeek]

Time and garlic are your best friend.

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by xnetgeek

Time and garlic are your best friend.

and a coin to flip...

[jrozzi]

Originally Posted by vakko

i've used no ich from fishvet and kick ich from rubyreef with 100% success multiple times now.

Unless you are the one doing all the testing, i would hold off saying "nothing commercially sold works." people come here for advice and don't need absolutes from nay-sayers.

+1

[jrozzi]

I read ONLINE in an article called facts about ich that If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months. I assume they mean not taking fish out, and just managing ich for that long. Anyone ever heard of this ?

[rEeFnWrX]

Originally Posted by jrozzi

I read ONLINE in an article called facts about ich that If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months. I assume they mean not taking fish out, and just managing ich for that long. Anyone ever heard of this ?

Never heard of that... Would be interesting if it was true!

[jeffberg1941]

my tank has been fallow for 1 week. fish are qt. how can i be sure the ich is gone.are there any signs ? today i noticed some white specs on the water's surface. is there a link?

[jrozzi]

theres only one way to be sure and that's to stay fallow for the time frame stated in the sticky I think its like 10 weeks.

[salty joe]

Originally Posted by jrozzi

I read ONLINE in an article called facts about ich that If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months. I assume they mean not taking fish out, and just managing ich for that long. Anyone ever heard of this ?

I read that awhile ago, have no idea if it's true. I suppose it's possible but I have my doubts.

[wrasse warlord]

I had a severe ich outbreak when my 55 gallon was just started up I had a lemon damsel and didn't know that they are very territorial so he attacked my coral beauty and killed while also giving it ich before it died the rich quickly spread to the puffer, clown, engineer goby and the other damsel. I put the fish in quarantine and put copper in the water. The puffer and clown had it the worst and didn't make it through the night but the other fish were fine and all is well. I've had to treat a few other fish and they are alive and healthy.

[Bivs516]

I had a bout with ich and my blue tang and I did a bunch of research and ended up finding reefergil's video on how he battled ich in his display tank. I followed his regiment and also added a UV sterilizer....30 days later ich was gone and haven't had it back yet for about 7 months... I do suggest you check out his video here.

http://youtu.be/ws0QPkEJdWE

[billsreef]

Sometimes you (really the fish) just get plain lucky...which is all that can be expected from any so called "reef safe" remedies.

[Arrgh]

I have a question about Ich. (I think I might have some staring, but not necessarily related to my question.)

The two schools of thought is that Ich is always present and that Ich has a life cycle that can be broken.

I tend to agree with the ladder (Optimistically).

However sometimes you hear of a fish having a immunity to it, or rather being healthy enough to fight it.
If that is the case could Ich not in fact stay present in a system indefinitely with a fish that is healthy enough to host it? (Perhaps perpetuating the myth that it is always present?)

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by Arrgh

I have a question about Ich. (I think I might have some staring, but not necessarily related to my question.)

The two schools of thought is that Ich is always present and that Ich has a life cycle that can be broken.

I tend to agree with the ladder (Optimistically).

Ich having life cycle that can be easily broken is scientifically proven However, that does require time and effort on the part of the aquarist.

However sometimes you hear of a fish having a immunity to it, or rather being healthy enough to fight it.

Yes, sub lethal exposure can allow a fish to acquire a limited immunity...only to the particular strain it's been exposed to, and the immunity is lost after awhile with no further exposure to that strain. One must always remember that ich in our little glass box fish houses is much like letting the fox loose in the hen house...it's all to easy for the ich populations to grow to fast and infect the fish to the point of no return before that immunity is acquired. Also a fish that has built a that temporary immunity to that single strain will not have any immunity a new strain that might be introduced.

If that is the case could Ich not in fact stay present in a system indefinitely with a fish that is healthy enough to host it? (Perhaps perpetuating the myth that it is always present?)

Yes. While efforts at lab rearing single strains have proven that reproduction of a single strain will not allow that strain to reproduce after several generations (11 off the top of my head, with only half a cup of coffee), there is no lab work I know of with multiple strains. Considering fish brought in from the wild are likely to be carrying multiple strains on any given fish, fish from different locations are almost certain to be carrying different strains, it's reasonable to assume that we can expect enough genetic diversity in the ich resident in a given tank for that ich population to remain quite viable for a considerable time.

[Arrgh]

Thank you.

[tmz]

One study suggested 11months witout sexual reproduction for the strain studied. Others say longer as much as two years. Of course if you leave th tank fishless, it dies within a day after"hatching" but the lcysts themselves have remained viable for as long as 72 days in cooler water.

[salty joe]

Originally Posted by tmz

but the lcysts themselves have remained viable for as long as 72 days in cooler water.

Do you know what temp that is?

More specifically, do you know what the ideal temp for ich reproduction is?