Help: New Butterfly with Ich. FML.

[daniella3d]

I think it would be completely pointless to use paraguard as a dip and then return the fish in a tank full of ick. It would be stressing the fish for nothing. The ick cyst are deep enough into the fish skin and it might remove a few cyst but most will stay and that will probably just stress and weaken the fish more. Unless the fish is put into a clean, ick free quarantine tank, this will not help much I am afraid.

I used paraguard for a month into a QT for my trigger popeye and it was safe enough for the biofilter but it would have killed my coral I am pretty sure. It is formaline after all.

I did not do any other treatment for ick and 4 weeks later I put my trigger into my main tank and he never developed ick. Seem Paraguard took care of any parasites that was on the fish.

Paying 20$ for a QT is nothing compared to the cost of a saltwater fish like a butterfly, mostly 40$ or 50$. I am not rich at all..in fact I just got a job after being 3 months without any income what so ever. I managed to get a QT and buy a small filter and some liverock, plus a small heater. Total cost for about 45$. yeah, it's worth it and all this stuff can be bought used for very cheap on kijiji. 9 fish cost what? enough to be worth saving no?

Originally Posted by Judy Waytiuk

I would not use copper meds unless necessary, either-- but it seemed you'd tried other routes that didn't work. If you are moving in a month-- well-- perhaps the butterfly will make it, perhaps he won't. Do you want to try the Paraguard Reefwars suggested?
According to the Seachem site, "Paraguard is very effective when used as a dip, though it is very important to watch for signs of stress in fish while using it in a dip solution. We do not recommend using Paraguard in a tank with invertebrates."
... So you could conceivably catch the butterfly and dip it in water dosed with Paraguard...?