The use of copper

[marie]

He soaked his rock in copper for 2 months.....cleaner shrimp will not survive in the tank

[PoonTang]

Ya probably not the best move. You could have accomplished the same thing by just putting the rocks in a system that had no fish for 2 months instead. The Ich will not survive without a host.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Copper = Bad for rocks. IMO I would toss the rock, or keep it soaking to leech out the copper.

There are many different types of Ich, it is like a flu shot, unless they guess right on the Flu strain, the flu shot may not work, and is a waste of time.

Because of the various strains of Ich, the only REAL solution to quarantine your livestock for at least 30 days, or leave your tank fishless for 30 days, for the lifecycle of Ich to complete.

The parasite has several ‘stages’ in its life cycle. Cyst in aquarium (usually on substrate or rock) ruptures into free-swimming parasites that burrow into fish, grow into a visible white nodule that is ‘pregnant’ with more parasites, that usually falls off the fish to form a cyst that starts the cycle over again.

I could personally talk you to death with all the information and myths I have reasearched in the past few years, but I won't as I would be repeating a lot of information that most users on here have already.

If you already have fish in the tank, here are some steps that will help reduce Ich.

- Use a food additive, like garlic guard
- Use a tank additive that helps the fishes immune system like ImmunoVital
- lower tank salinity, and raise temperature.
- Use freshwater dips if you can catch the fish. (The parasite burrows into the fish, below the mucous layer and into the skin.)
- The use of a UV sterilizer will help in the intern.

Just some observations that I have used in the past.

Ken - BWA