Ich

[ReefTalk]

Hi guys I'm doing freshwater baths on my Yellow Longnosed Butterflyfish and I was wondering if I can throw a few copper pennies in the bath, if that will do any good to help distroy ich, I was also wondering why my Butterflyfish still has ich or those white spots on him, while my yellow tank and regal Tang are all healed up from the ich out break, I was also wondering if maybe those are just wounds that take time to heal up.

 

[Brew12]

Putting pennies in won't help. They don't break down that fast.

Pictures would be very helpful in determining if the fish still has an active ich outbreak.

What did you do to treat the fish other than fresh water dips?

 

[4FordFamily]

Putting pennies in won't help. They don't break down that fast.

Pictures would be very helpful in determining if the fish still has an active ich outbreak.

What did you do to treat the fish other than fresh water dips?

X2 you'll need coppersafe, copper power, or cupramine-like products in a sterile qt

 

[melypr1985]

X2 you'll need coppersafe, copper power, or cupramine-like products in a sterile qt

+1 Ich can't be treated with freshwater dips. QT is needed. Read this for more information: Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)

 

[ReefTalk]

Putting pennies in won't help. They don't break down that fast.

Pictures would be very helpful in determining if the fish still has an active ich outbreak.

What did you do to treat the fish other than fresh water dips?

Anti-PARASITC Caviar, and reef safe No-Ich Marine.

 

[ReefTalk]

+1 Ich can't be treated with freshwater dips. QT is needed. Read this for more information: Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)

I'm sorry your dead wrong, sure it will not treat your tank water, but active paricites die when immersed in Freshwater , I hace seen results, it's just not effective if the water in your tank is still infected.

 

[ReefTalk]

Putting pennies in won't help. They don't break down that fast.

Pictures would be very helpful in determining if the fish still has an active ich outbreak.

What did you do to treat the fish other than fresh water dips?

I'll take picture tomorrow

 

[melypr1985]

I'm sorry your dead wrong, sure it will not treat your tank water, but active paricites die when immersed in Freshwater , I hace seen results, it's just not effective if the water in your tank is still infected.

I'm not dead wrong but that's ok. Ich burrows under the epithelial layer of skin, under the slime coat which protects it from freshwater, copper, CP and anything else we have come up with. It's not killed until it drops off the fish or breaks out of it's cyst. Keep on truck'n.

 

[Humblefish]

I'm not dead wrong but that's ok. Ich burrows under the epithelial layer of skin, under the slime coat which protects it from freshwater, copper, CP and anything else we have come up with. It's not killed until it drops off the fish or breaks out of it's cyst. Keep on truck'n.

^^ Agree. FW dips are only effective against "surface" parasites & worms, such as velvet & flukes. Even then, eradication is never 100% which is why further treatment (in a QT) is required. Or you can use Prazipro (for flukes) in a DT.

As Meredith stated, ich is different because theronts burrow in under the outer skin layer and that's where the trophonts form. A FW dip has no effect because freshwater can't seep under a fish's skin. Just like a cleaner shrimp can't dig under the fish's skin to "eat ich".

 

[Bmatthall]

My experience with FW dips is it cleans out the gills for the time being but the stress normally hits them pretty hard and they all still eventually died regardless.

 

[melypr1985]

My experience with FW dips is it cleans out the gills for the time being but the stress normally hits them pretty hard and they all still eventually died regardless.

That's because they still need to be treated for whatever parasite you gave them relief from. A FW dip is only a temporary bandaid to a problem that needs intervention and treatment. It isn't a cure-all for everything. I have never had a fish react poorly to a freshwater dip out of the hundred + I've done.

 

[Bmatthall]

That's what I meant it is only a band aid and I agree you do have to medicate. Sorry you've had to dip over a hundred fish, do you own a business? If not, I don't know I could take that stress of ich breakouts that often. I've done it about 10 times and it gets frustrating. Either way good luck with it. Maybe melypr can give you some advice since they have had a hundred + times experience here.

 

[melypr1985]

That's what I meant it is only a band aid and I agree you do have to medicate. Sorry you've had to dip over a hundred fish, do you own a business? If not, I don't know I could take that stress of ich breakouts that often. I've done it about 10 times and it gets frustrating. Either way good luck with it. Maybe melypr can give you some advice since they have had a hundred + times experience here.

I work at an LFS. Before we adjusted our medicating techniques, we had to fw dip all the tangs once a week to be sure they weren't covered in flukes. This was the practice there when I started working there. It didn't take long to convince them to change that - thankfully.

 

[Maritimer]

To date, I know of no ich medication that is both effective and reef-safe. (If one ever shows up, folks - not just the companies trying to sell it to you - are going to make some _noise_ about it!) To beat ich, you'll need one of two things: copper or Chloroquine Phosphate - and you'll need them in a quarantine tank. (In fact, if your butterfly fish has ich in your display, then every fish in your display has ich, whether they're showing symptoms or not. Ich can hide inside their gills, and some fish, at least, can develop a temporary resistance to the bug, but it's still there.)

You can knock the stuff back, and run an "ich management" tank (not a great habitat for tangs, especially Acanthurus tangs) or you can remove all of the fish to a quarantine tank, treat them for ich with something that actally kills ich, (which it does only while the theronts are free-swimming, and hunting your fish) and wait 76 days before returning them to the display.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

While aquarists used to use pennies back in the day, they're no longer effective for several reasons. One, pennies don't dissolve in salt water all that quickly - you'd probably like to treat the fish before sometime next week. Two, copper levels in the tank would be fairly unpredictable, and... Three, pennies aren't made of copper anymore. They've got a very thin layer of copper on them for primarily aesthetic purposes, but it would take more than a penny's worth of copper to make a penny - a losing proposition for the U.S. Government!

My two cents . . . (I had to do that! (>_<))
~Bruce

 

[Humblefish]

Love your posts, Bruce.

 

[ReefTalk]

To date, I know of no ich medication that is both effective and reef-safe. (If one ever shows up, folks - not just the companies trying to sell it to you - are going to make some _noise_ about it!) To beat ich, you'll need one of two things: copper or Chloroquine Phosphate - and you'll need them in a quarantine tank. (In fact, if your butterfly fish has ich in your display, then every fish in your display has ich, whether they're showing symptoms or not. Ich can hide inside their gills, and some fish, at least, can develop a temporary resistance to the bug, but it's still there.)

You can knock the stuff back, and run an "ich management" tank (not a great habitat for tangs, especially Acanthurus tangs) or you can remove all of the fish to a quarantine tank, treat them for ich with something that actally kills ich, (which it does only while the theronts are free-swimming, and hunting your fish) and wait 76 days before returning them to the display.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

While aquarists used to use pennies back in the day, they're no longer effective for several reasons. One, pennies don't dissolve in salt water all that quickly - you'd probably like to treat the fish before sometime next week. Two, copper levels in the tank would be fairly unpredictable, and... Three, pennies aren't made of copper anymore. They've got a very thin layer of copper on them for primarily aesthetic purposes, but it would take more than a penny's worth of copper to make a penny - a losing proposition for the U.S. Government!

My two cents . . . (I had to do that! (>_<))
~Bruce

I'd rather run a ich management system than get a QT, that is because I am not allowed to get anymore fish tanks into my parents house, and the fact that it will cost around $150 to get it set up, and one time I've even tried to have the fish shop to treat the fish for me at their QT tanks. They failed ,never got a fish living . But I do love your post. Also I will be trying a new medication that should work.

 

[Maritimer]

Good luck!

I hope it works ... if it does, make some of that noise, 'cause a reef-safe ich med would be awesome . . .

~Bruce

 

[Zack K]

For your sake I hope you have Ich and Not Velvet. I Lost this guy this morning along with 3/4 chromis and a Lawnmower Blenny. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[Maritimer]

Wow... sorry for your loss, Zack . . .

How long did it take them to get to that point?!

~Bruce

 

[ReefTalk]

For your sake I hope you have Ich and Not Velvet. I Lost this guy this morning along with 3/4 chromis and a Lawnmower Blenny. Wish you the best of luck.

It almost looks like mine , but only he is not skinny but rather quite active and healthy just covered in salt crystals .