Looking for Remedies to treat Ich

[RipCurl]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone has any remedies for treating Ich. I recently got back from vacation and noticed 2 of my fish now have the parasite.

I did a 20% water change with RO water last week and now they seem to have it.

Would anyone know what caused it and how the fish be treated?

Thanks for your time.

RipCurl

[jtbadco]

Hard to be sure of the exact cause.
Treatment will depend on your set-up.

If this is a reef tank your options are limited....

1- remove fish to QT and treat with Copper meds
2- remove fish to QT and treat with hyposalinity
3- leave the fish in the DT, feed garlic and selcon with meals to bolster the fish immune system and let it run its course.

I have tried 'reef-safe' ick treatments in the past with no success. I chose option 3, lost 2 fish.

There may be other treatments I have missed,...hopefully others will chime in.

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by jtbadco

Hard to be sure of the exact cause.
Treatment will depend on your set-up.

If this is a reef tank your options are limited....

1- remove fish to QT and treat with Copper meds
2- remove fish to QT and treat with hyposalinity
3- leave the fish in the DT, feed garlic and selcon with meals to bolster the fish immune system and let it run its course.

I have tried 'reef-safe' ick treatments in the past with no success. I chose option 3, lost 2 fish.

There may be other treatments I have missed,...hopefully others will chime in.

I would go with option #3, leave the fish alone and feed them well.

[jorjef]

#3

[Bblinks]

#3 for me as well. if you are looking for "reef safe" treatment I have used protomarin with good success. It was used on a sps tank with clams but I did go a little lighter on the dosage. I am in the mist of trying a new treatment called rid ick made by kordon I think. Buddy of mine used it on his tank with good results.

[Reefie]

I went the Proto Marin route last week, it made no difference for me, however my Proto Marin had just passed it's expiry date.

I'm trying out the Kordon's Rid-Ich+ right now. Yesterday my newly acquired 2" Purple Tang was COVERED in Ich even while it was introduced during the Proto Marin regime. I did a 50% WC last night and dosed the Rid-Ich+, and as of this morning half the spots were gone and all the livestock was eating. I am going to do another 50% WC and dose again tonight.

The Rid-Ich+ requires a minimum 25% WC before dosage daily and suggests to continue for 3-4 days after the last symptom of Ich disappears.

If the Rid-Ich+ still doesn't work, I'm going to have to resort to Paraguard. I've done some research and it "can" be dosed in the DT, however with caution as some invertebrates "may or may not" tolerate the medication. For the record, the Rid-Ich+ had the same warning.

I have 5 clams, a ton of SPS, and a few LPS, Anemones, and CUC that have not shown any adverse reactions so far to Proto Marin and Rid-Ich+.

I have also tried the 1 hour Paraguard dip with every new fish that was introduced to the DT.

My original option was to use the QT I had setup and treat with Cupramine and leave the DT fallow for 8-9 weeks, however I could not catch all the fish left in the DT. I resorted to trying the Proto Marin again, I had used it before with success, but I did not have clams the first time around. I ran out of options, so I had to treat the DT directly (NOT recommended unless you are extremely dedicated and can do emergency WC's at the drop of a hat and are willing to sacrifice any losses that may occur).

I will update the status of my battle with Ich tomorrow after tonight's WC and treatment of Rid-ich+.

Originally Posted by Bblinks

#3 for me as well. if you are looking for "reef safe" treatment I have used protomarin with good success. It was used on a sps tank with clams but I did go a little lighter on the dosage. I am in the mist of trying a new treatment called rid ick made by kordon I think. Buddy of mine used it on his tank with good results.

[George]

Originally Posted by RipCurl

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone has any remedies for treating Ich. I recently got back from vacation and noticed 2 of my fish now have the parasite.

I did a 20% water change with RO water last week and now they seem to have it.

Would anyone know what caused it and how the fish be treated?

Thanks for your time.

RipCurl

When was the last time you add live stock to your tank? The ich parasite can hitchhike on the live stock.
Best and most effective treatment of marine ich is doing it in a QT and leave the tank fallow (fishless) for 9+ weeks.
There are several proven effective treatments for marine ich.
1. use copper, Chloroquine phosphate, or formalin (not for everyone because formalin is toxic to both animal and human. copper also).
2. hypo
3. tank transfer
I have used the last 2 methods on every one of my new fish and they are highly effective on treating marine ich. let me know which one you prefer and I can go into more details.

[hillegom]

You can scan this post, and read more on the link in post #10

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...2&highlight=cp

[naesco]

Option 3, the Garlic method.

Use Garlic Extreme from the lfs or garlic extract from a health food store.
Soak dry food in the garlic. The reason is that it absorbs more garlic and you want to get as much in the fish as quickly as possible.
Feed very often for the same reason.
Start immediately.
Good Luck

[RipCurl]

I reallly appreciate all of your insightful advice everyone. I will keep you posted.

All the best,

RipCurl