Have you seriously tried the garlic method? In bouts with ich I have had 100% success.
I think many reefers who have not had success may be not be know how to use garlic so I will go into some detail.
1. Use Kent's garlic extreme or garlic extract from a health food store. I think some of the alternative products may not be concentrated enough to get the results.
2. Use dry foods. Frozen and moist foods simply cannot absorb enough garlic extreme into the food. The ides is to get as much garlic into the fish as possible.
3. Whether you are going to use flake, pellets or nori place the food in a saucer and squirt enough garlic extreme so that the food is completely soaked (It will take a few minutes for it to be soggy). Than feed it to your fish.
4. If you are feeding two or three times a day you are not getting enough garlic extract into the fish. Feed small amounts as often as you can. Your fish will tell you when they are full. The idea here is to get as much garlic into the fish as possible.
5. Feed only garlic soaked food. If you feed other food as well all you are doing is diluting the effect.
Within 48 hours you will see the effect with progressively less ich on the fish but it does not stop here because there is ich in the water and cysts lying on the bottom of the tank.
6. Continue feeding until all evidence of ich is gone and continue but less often for several weeks.
7. If it returns at the first sign start from no. 1 again. Observe the fish from it mouth along the body because sometimes it is difficult to see the spots unless you look lenghtwise along its body. Do not wait until the fish are overwhelmed with ich.
There will be less ich in the water if you do a water change but don't stress your fish.
There will be less ich if you use a suction hose to vacume the cysts that are lying on the sandbed before you do your water change. Also because ich is in the gills of the fish which you cannot see increase oxygen levels so the fish can 'breathe easier' by using bubblers and a powerhead just below the water leverl.
If you decide to try this. please post your observations daily and what you are doing (ie how often you are feeding etc.)
Good Luck
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