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recommend good ich meds
- Thread starter onefish2fish
- Start date
Jenn,
Go back one page. But summarizing again:
1. Cleaner Wrasse - does not include cryptocaryon as normal diet. Possible it will eat it in captivity in absence of other parasites. Dies very easily in captivity even when eating prepared foods and collection from wild is detrimental to population of all fish. If you must use this method, use a cleaner shrimp or neon goby.
2. diatom filter - this can remove free swimming ich but these live for 8 hours in the total 28 day lifecycle. Might work if filter can filter fast enough that parasite doesn't attach to a host
3. Garlic - slight antimicrobial agent (not antibiotic or antiparasitic) that gets broken down by stomach acid. Can help with appetite loss in fish but any medicinal value is unproven. Just to give you an idea, garlic was considered the cure for the bubonic plague once. It does make the vampires avoid you but doesn't kill them.
4 Water changes - great for removing free swimming ich. Same problem as #2.
Go back one page. But summarizing again:
1. Cleaner Wrasse - does not include cryptocaryon as normal diet. Possible it will eat it in captivity in absence of other parasites. Dies very easily in captivity even when eating prepared foods and collection from wild is detrimental to population of all fish. If you must use this method, use a cleaner shrimp or neon goby.
2. diatom filter - this can remove free swimming ich but these live for 8 hours in the total 28 day lifecycle. Might work if filter can filter fast enough that parasite doesn't attach to a host
3. Garlic - slight antimicrobial agent (not antibiotic or antiparasitic) that gets broken down by stomach acid. Can help with appetite loss in fish but any medicinal value is unproven. Just to give you an idea, garlic was considered the cure for the bubonic plague once. It does make the vampires avoid you but doesn't kill them.
4 Water changes - great for removing free swimming ich. Same problem as #2.
i'll quote my jewish grandmother in regards to the garlic, "might as well try it, it couldn't hoit"
I could not use medicine as I have lots of corals and didn't want to chance it.
I believe my cleaner wrasse helped me
I have a cleaner wrasse in my tank now for 7 months and its a great little addition.
research told me that they might have a short life.. but mine eats everything and is doing great. I also have a refugium so maybe that helps him
I also have neon goby , don't think helped with ick , My wrasse seems to do more hunting and cleaning the hippo at the time.
Cleaner shrimps also , they cleaned Hippo very well when I had the breakout , but now they just hang out.. very nice addition to any tank they are beautiful creatures
Ick will not go away in a day as we all know
It's a battle you can fight and you can win if you keep up with it.
I used diatom filter every other day to remove free swimming ich. . it also polished the water and made it very clear , nice treatment to do once in a while.
Garlic ? did it help... Maybe.. lots of people are using it and I did and it didn't hurt anything
Did Water changes - great for removing free swimming ich and for making your fish Happy .
I think if look closely at night/blue lights you can see the ick swimming.
I though I did see them under the blue light. That's when water change and diatom filter set up is effictive
I had great luck and may my luck rub off on you : )
It's a battle you can fight and you can win if you keep up with it.
I believe my cleaner wrasse helped me
I have a cleaner wrasse in my tank now for 7 months and its a great little addition.
research told me that they might have a short life.. but mine eats everything and is doing great. I also have a refugium so maybe that helps him
I also have neon goby , don't think helped with ick , My wrasse seems to do more hunting and cleaning the hippo at the time.
Cleaner shrimps also , they cleaned Hippo very well when I had the breakout , but now they just hang out.. very nice addition to any tank they are beautiful creatures
Ick will not go away in a day as we all know
It's a battle you can fight and you can win if you keep up with it.
I used diatom filter every other day to remove free swimming ich. . it also polished the water and made it very clear , nice treatment to do once in a while.
Garlic ? did it help... Maybe.. lots of people are using it and I did and it didn't hurt anything
Did Water changes - great for removing free swimming ich and for making your fish Happy .
I think if look closely at night/blue lights you can see the ick swimming.
I though I did see them under the blue light. That's when water change and diatom filter set up is effictive
I had great luck and may my luck rub off on you : )
It's a battle you can fight and you can win if you keep up with it.
Jenn,
I don't think you are seeing ich with your eyes. They are 50-70 (half the size of most rotifers) microns when swimming and 200-400 microns when hosted on a fish. There is something in your system if the wrasse needs to clean the hippo. What it is, I don't know (copepods or fleas?). My experience with cleaner wrasses has been to avoid. I did buy one against better judgment. I fed him 5x/day and he ate mysis, krill, brine, worms. He cleaned no one and died within the week.
I don't think you are seeing ich with your eyes. They are 50-70 (half the size of most rotifers) microns when swimming and 200-400 microns when hosted on a fish. There is something in your system if the wrasse needs to clean the hippo. What it is, I don't know (copepods or fleas?). My experience with cleaner wrasses has been to avoid. I did buy one against better judgment. I fed him 5x/day and he ate mysis, krill, brine, worms. He cleaned no one and died within the week.
Sorry to hear your wrasse didn't last for you 
I never had mailed ordered any live items yet.
I always perfer local store to see fish eating and close up and healthy first.
I Learned lesson with fist fish as hippo , I need to look at close up before buy anything.
The wrasse has a neat way it swims about , I just love him : )
Think I did see ick... not in day lights only when led blue light was on at night , looked like little specks swarming , only happened a few times over the month not every night , so thats why I belive I saw it.
What ever it was it was something in there
I sucked those little suckers out ...water change and diatoms filter.. over and over again in a months time
that was 7 months ago , no proublems since.... KNOCK ON WOOD : )
I never had mailed ordered any live items yet.
I always perfer local store to see fish eating and close up and healthy first.
I Learned lesson with fist fish as hippo , I need to look at close up before buy anything.
The wrasse has a neat way it swims about , I just love him : )
Think I did see ick... not in day lights only when led blue light was on at night , looked like little specks swarming , only happened a few times over the month not every night , so thats why I belive I saw it.
What ever it was it was something in there
I sucked those little suckers out ...water change and diatoms filter.. over and over again in a months time
that was 7 months ago , no proublems since.... KNOCK ON WOOD : )
I actually only bought 2 fish through mail order (1 was doa and other was an aquacultured maroon). I also prefer to see the fish feeding. I love the way cleaner wrasses look and swim as well. I've watched them in stores for quite some time and always see them die a nasty death. I finally decided to give one a try. I selected the largest and healthiest specimen which was about 4". I watched it eat frozen food and said to myself, this is a winner. When I got home, I put him in a tank with other newcomers. Immediately the cleaner started flashing on the rocks. Looks like he got something at the LFS and it was hidden since he was in a bare tank. I suspected velvet. Kole Tang in there with him showed terrible ich. Solicited cleaner for help but cleaner ignored. Never found out what cleaner died of but he died very suddenly. His body showed no signs of velvet but I cannot confirm without a microscope. I went to hypo to salvage the kole and he's doing well. Started taking meaty food last week. I can tell you, the cleaner was eating very heartily
Jenn,
Actually I've been thinking about this and I think what you have are gnathiids (isopods). They are visible to the naked eye and are free swimming in the water. It is the primary diet of cleaner wrasses. They can look like ich on a fish. I don't think they can kill a fish but they do annoy the hell out of them.
Actually I've been thinking about this and I think what you have are gnathiids (isopods). They are visible to the naked eye and are free swimming in the water. It is the primary diet of cleaner wrasses. They can look like ich on a fish. I don't think they can kill a fish but they do annoy the hell out of them.
after many readings:
temp for all 80degrees
also darkness is preferred (the ich can't see!)
1) hypo salinty
.03sg drop everyday until reaches 1.09 (recommended to use refractometer: reason - 1.008 kills fishies 1.010 ich can still survive) best known solution
2) copper (used copperamine and recommended by lfs)
i've used copper as a med and have had great success but didn't read enough and put it back into DT to early and had a second infection.
3) Fallow (6 weeks of NO fish in the DT)
easy do the above steps and run DT without fishies for 6 weeks while fish in the QT
4) UV sterilizer (helps but not a resolution)
5) Garlic extract
have tried to use this and may help build up their immune system
6) cleaner shrimp
some people say it works and i thought it worked for me but unfortunately my experience says otherwise
temp for all 80degrees
also darkness is preferred (the ich can't see!)
1) hypo salinty
.03sg drop everyday until reaches 1.09 (recommended to use refractometer: reason - 1.008 kills fishies 1.010 ich can still survive) best known solution
2) copper (used copperamine and recommended by lfs)
i've used copper as a med and have had great success but didn't read enough and put it back into DT to early and had a second infection.
3) Fallow (6 weeks of NO fish in the DT)
easy do the above steps and run DT without fishies for 6 weeks while fish in the QT
4) UV sterilizer (helps but not a resolution)
5) Garlic extract
have tried to use this and may help build up their immune system
6) cleaner shrimp
some people say it works and i thought it worked for me but unfortunately my experience says otherwise
I have on a conservative estimate 100+ feather dusters (though I think my brand new peppermints have acquired a taste for them as many are now gone). I have about 20 more I know of in the fuge as well as 2 coco worms. They don't do anything for crypto.
evoIX,
I don't agree with the darkness thing. Where did you read that?
Temp of 80 is basically reef temp. You can elevate a bit to accelerate the cycle.
You can drop salinity faster than 0.003/day. You can drop salinity about 0.003 every few hours. I usually drop down from 1.026 to 1.009 in a 2 days. The other way, you have to go slow and I agree raising SG must be 0.003/day.
1.008 doesn't kill fish (though maybe 1.007 does). Remember refracts are usually only accurate +/- 0.001 I think 1.010 is also ok. 1.009 is chosen to compensate for most refract errors.
evoIX,
I don't agree with the darkness thing. Where did you read that?
Temp of 80 is basically reef temp. You can elevate a bit to accelerate the cycle.
You can drop salinity faster than 0.003/day. You can drop salinity about 0.003 every few hours. I usually drop down from 1.026 to 1.009 in a 2 days. The other way, you have to go slow and I agree raising SG must be 0.003/day.
1.008 doesn't kill fish (though maybe 1.007 does). Remember refracts are usually only accurate +/- 0.001 I think 1.010 is also ok. 1.009 is chosen to compensate for most refract errors.
unfortunately. i read throughout so many websites. i can only remember what was said not the sites that said it. i know you should go higher than 80 but it is not recommended due to the fact the amount of stress you will add to your fish. if they are in enough stress from ich it will just add on to the fish as well.
sorry about that your correct about the sg change. it is a .003 increase when bringing it back to 1.026. going down a few hours in between decrease.
never ever read about feather dusters helping ich so i don't think so but haven't read EVERYTHING.
i've read truthfully about 24+ hours in a week + time frame all on ich. about ich, the cycle, cures, experiences, etc. i'm not a guru or god on ich. but due to one failure of learning everything after my fish died. i read on.
sorry about that your correct about the sg change. it is a .003 increase when bringing it back to 1.026. going down a few hours in between decrease.
never ever read about feather dusters helping ich so i don't think so but haven't read EVERYTHING.
i've read truthfully about 24+ hours in a week + time frame all on ich. about ich, the cycle, cures, experiences, etc. i'm not a guru or god on ich. but due to one failure of learning everything after my fish died. i read on.
I agree with 80 degrees if the fish is outwardly showing symptoms. Once the ich is off their body, elevate temps a bit to speed things up. If they have the symptoms, they usually will hide, not eat, gill rapidly, basically look like they're dying and only 1 step away from lying on it's side. That's why it's important to feed extra when treating (of course now you gotta worry about ammonia and nitrite when that happens). Sorry your fish died from it. Ich is usually easily treatable but when you don't know how, the info can come too late. Too many myths about it are out there.