Ich!

paradicio · 03/12/2007, 11:51 AM

What a situation I've gotten myself into... I know better than to not QT a new fish, but I got my latest addition from a store that I completely trust.

After acclimating I put the fish in my tank and had to leave immediately.

Upon waking up this morning I noticed the cloudy eye and white spots...

I've dealt with freshwater ich before (and beat it), but have not had any experience with marine ich.

Now that it's in my display tank, along with my corals, shrimp, snails, and clam are there any suggestions on treatment?

I was planning on using Garlic Xtreme on the food and maybe Marine Max or Kick Ich on the tank. Any experience with these products?

I know I should not run carbon while treating the tank, but how about my skimmer? Should I turn that off as well? How long does treatment usually take?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

xenon · 03/12/2007, 11:57 AM

Garlic is not a cure, it will only help a fish eat if he is not eating.

kick-ich or marinemax are no good. The only proper way to treat ich is to remove all fish from your display tank into a QT, and over time drop the salinity in your QT tank to 1.009 (hypo salinity) and once all the visible ich is gone, wait another 4weeks. That will also be enough time for the ich in your display to die off without a fish to host.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

scumonkey · 03/12/2007, 03:58 PM

more here about ich and how to beat it!

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

There are none, so take no, shortcuts!!!

TerryB · 03/12/2007, 04:09 PM

Scumonkey,

Isn't that link about freshwater ich? If so, Cryptocaryon irritans or saltwater ich is another matter altogether.

Terry B

paradicio · 03/12/2007, 05:23 PM

Another recommendation I got from a LFS here was to FW dip the fish for 2 mins to remove the parasites that are on it already. Has anyone tried this? Is 2 mins too long for a FW dip, and wouldn't that be extremely stressful for the fish (further lowering their immune system)?

paradicio · 03/13/2007, 11:26 AM

On my way home last night I picked up a 1 1/2 gallon tank which I was going to use to QT the infected fish. When I got home it was looking ok, but while I was waiting for the heater to warm up the water in the QT tank the fish died.

I removed it from the tank (and the grasp of my cleaner shrimp) immediately.

It was in my tank for about a day, do you think that's long enough to infect my other fish? I've started feeding them the Garlic XTreme soaked food to (hopefully) keep their immune system up enough to withstand the infection. I'd rather not medicate the tank if I don't have to...

03/12/2007, 11:51 AM	#1
paradicio Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Dimas CA Posts: 139	Ich! What a situation I've gotten myself into... I know better than to not QT a new fish, but I got my latest addition from a store that I completely trust. After acclimating I put the fish in my tank and had to leave immediately. Upon waking up this morning I noticed the cloudy eye and white spots... I've dealt with freshwater ich before (and beat it), but have not had any experience with marine ich. Now that it's in my display tank, along with my corals, shrimp, snails, and clam are there any suggestions on treatment? I was planning on using Garlic Xtreme on the food and maybe Marine Max or Kick Ich on the tank. Any experience with these products? I know I should not run carbon while treating the tank, but how about my skimmer? Should I turn that off as well? How long does treatment usually take? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

03/12/2007, 04:09 PM	#4
TerryB Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 2,032	Scumonkey, Isn't that link about freshwater ich? If so, Cryptocaryon irritans or saltwater ich is another matter altogether. Terry B __________________ Knowledge first. A large water change can cover a multitude of sins against your aquarium.

03/12/2007, 11:57 AM	#2
xenon Owner of Canada Corals Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mississauga, Canada Posts: 3,148	Garlic is not a cure, it will only help a fish eat if he is not eating. kick-ich or marinemax are no good. The only proper way to treat ich is to remove all fish from your display tank into a QT, and over time drop the salinity in your QT tank to 1.009 (hypo salinity) and once all the visible ich is gone, wait another 4weeks. That will also be enough time for the ich in your display to die off without a fish to host. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

03/12/2007, 03:58 PM	#3
scumonkey Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NYC NY Posts: 467	more here about ich and how to beat it! http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml There are none, so take no, shortcuts!!!

03/12/2007, 05:23 PM	#5
paradicio Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Dimas CA Posts: 139	Another recommendation I got from a LFS here was to FW dip the fish for 2 mins to remove the parasites that are on it already. Has anyone tried this? Is 2 mins too long for a FW dip, and wouldn't that be extremely stressful for the fish (further lowering their immune system)?

03/13/2007, 11:26 AM	#6
paradicio Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Dimas CA Posts: 139	On my way home last night I picked up a 1 1/2 gallon tank which I was going to use to QT the infected fish. When I got home it was looking ok, but while I was waiting for the heater to warm up the water in the QT tank the fish died. I removed it from the tank (and the grasp of my cleaner shrimp) immediately. It was in my tank for about a day, do you think that's long enough to infect my other fish? I've started feeding them the Garlic XTreme soaked food to (hopefully) keep their immune system up enough to withstand the infection. I'd rather not medicate the tank if I don't have to...