Ich!!!!!!!

unlimitedbulliesjavie · Mar 3, 2014

i would like fellow reefers opinions on what is the best ich treatment available on the market and reef safe

reef1980 · Mar 3, 2014

In my opinion spectrum thera a pellets (or anything the fish will eat) is the best thing for a sick fish.

I say this because I think throwing chemicals at an already sick/weak fish will only stress it out more. I am a believer in feeding through ich. Call me crazy but whenever I notice the onset of ich I just feed, feed then feed some more.

Tylermacdonald15 · Mar 3, 2014

The only way to really cure it is in a quarantinne tank with copper or hypo.

The best way to prevent an out break in a display if it's already in the system is stable parameters and garlic enriched food.

bearjohnson · Mar 3, 2014

There are no reef save treatments for the treatment of ich. The only treatments that will cure ich is copper any hypo-salinity. Neither of these treatments can be performed in the display tank.

Tylermacdonald15 · Mar 3, 2014

And to fully answer your question, I don't think there is any medications on the market that actually do what they say. There is no such thing as a reef safe ich treatment IMO.

xthunderx · Mar 3, 2014

Hypo worked well for me, but it was a fair amount of work. Within a week of reaching target salinity all the spots were off and fish were starting to heal.

Marshall O · Mar 3, 2014

Get all of your fish into a hospital tank and you have three options, copper (Cupramine), hyposalinity, or Cloroquine phosphate. Leave the display tank fallow (fishless) for 10-12 weeks. As already mentioned, there is no reef safe Ich cure.

returnofsid · Mar 3, 2014

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-discussion/56989-ich-discussion-treatment-options.html

saltyhog · Mar 3, 2014

There is an additional option not mentioned. That is tank transfer method. It involves moving the fish from one HT to a sterile one every 3 days for 4 transfers. This takes advantage of the Ich life cycle to eliminate the parasite from your fish. If a fish is critically ill from the infection I think hypo or Cupramine would be better.

Which ever treatment you choose your DT needs to remain fallow for 8-10 weeks (depending on who you read). Otherwise your fish will just get sick again when you re-introduce them to your tank.

alan.reef · Mar 3, 2014

awww. that impossible for me to catch all the fish out. my powder brown and lyretail anthais so sick now, booth trying go to peppermint shrimp!!

Deinonych · Mar 3, 2014

Marshall O said:
Get all of your fish into a hospital tank and you have three options, copper (Cupramine), hyposalinity, or Cloroquine phosphate. Leave the display tank fallow (fishless) for 10-12 weeks. As already mentioned, there is no reef safe Ich cure.

+1, and quarantine all new arrivals before introduction into the DT.

unlimitedbulliesjavie · Mar 4, 2014

what if i cant get my fish out

monkiboy · Mar 5, 2014

unlimitedbulliesjavie said:
what if i cant get my fish out

where there is a will, there is a way. how have you tried. there are lots of ways i'm sure you haven't tried if you haven't been successful. here's an oldie but goodie to get the ideas flowing - How to Catch Fish and Critters in Displays - Reef Central Online Community

DSP · Mar 5, 2014

reef1980 said:
In my opinion spectrum thera a pellets (or anything the fish will eat) is the best thing for a sick fish.

I say this because I think throwing chemicals at an already sick/weak fish will only stress it out more. I am a believer in feeding through ich. Call me crazy but whenever I notice the onset of ich I just feed, feed then feed some more.

+1 best treatment is to feed and let them recover, Chasing a fish around trying to catch it and putting in another tank just stresses them to death most of the time Ime and Iv learned to leave them alone and keep them fed and they do great, My yellow tang has ich right now but I'm not worried one bit because I'll just feed him good and he will be fine, Yes there's some articles on how to cure ich and there life cycle but still nobody can explain where ich goes in all these healthy reefs that have been set up for years that once had a fish with ich but never showed signs again after it recovered. So imo going fallow is not needed and doesn't always work.

TheAcroholic · Mar 5, 2014

DSP said:
+1 best treatment is to feed and let them recover, Chasing a fish around trying to catch it and putting in another tank just stresses them to death most of the time Ime and Iv learned to leave them alone and keep them fed and they do great, My yellow tang has ich right now but I'm not worried one bit because I'll just feed him good and he will be fine, Yes there's some articles on how to cure ich and there life cycle but still nobody can explain where ich goes in all these healthy reefs that have been set up for years that once had a fish with ich but never showed signs again after it recovered. So imo going fallow is not needed and doesn't always work.

I also agree with this. I had ich in my tank, doubled my water change schedule and over fed my tank for a bit. All fish recovered and I haven't seen any ich since. I also added a strong uv sterilizer (I know some people say it doesn't work) but that seems to have helped with a lot of stuff.