Ich
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Jay Hemdal
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My understanding is that Ich Shield is chloroquine and Hex Shield is metronidazole. I used to work for the person who owns NLS when he ran a fish import company in Ann Arbor, back in the 1970s; Pablo Tepoot, a solid aquarist. I spoke with him in 2014 when he was working on Hex Shield. He REALLY like achilles tangs, so he needed to develop something to treat their diseases (grin).
Here is an excerpt from my upcoming disease book on Chloroquine:
Chloroquine quarantine:
Chloroquine is reportedly used at a wide range of concentrations, from 5 to 20 milligrams per liter (mg/l). This huge range is likely a result of too few studies being performed to truly determine what is the best dosage.
A 5 mg/l dose should be used as a quarantine preventative (not for active diseases) or for treating delicate species (although little is known about the sensitivity of different fish species to this medication). A dose of 8 mg/l is considered the “standard dose” for treating most active protozoan infections, while the 20 mg/l dose would be reserved for attempting to eradicate difficult-to-treat Uronema marinum infections. Toxicity in some fish species has been reported at doses above 15 mg/l. Wrasses, surgeonfish, and lionfish seem to be very sensitive to chloroquine. The length of a typical chloroquine treatment is 14 days (as a preventative) to 30 days (for an active infection).
Chloroquine is also toxic to many invertebrates, algae, and bacteria. Seriously high ammonia levels (greater than 1 mg/l NH3-N) are sometimes seen a few days to a week after dosing an aquarium with chloroquine. It is unknown why this is seen in some aquariums but not others. One hypothesis is that the chloroquine has a direct antibiotic effect on the nitrifying bacteria. Another idea is that the chloroquine kills so much microscopic life in the aquarium that the beneficial bacteria are overwhelmed and an ammonia spike develops. Most likely, the cause is a combination of both factors. Always monitor the ammonia levels in aquariums during treatment with chloroquine. Never expose aquarium water treated with chloroquine to ultraviolet light, either through UV sterilization or natural sunlight. It is suspected that UV reacts with chloroquine to create compounds that either are toxic to the animals, or that reduce the effectiveness of the treatment – or both.
Jay Hemdal
Here is an excerpt from my upcoming disease book on Chloroquine:
Chloroquine quarantine:
Chloroquine is reportedly used at a wide range of concentrations, from 5 to 20 milligrams per liter (mg/l). This huge range is likely a result of too few studies being performed to truly determine what is the best dosage.
A 5 mg/l dose should be used as a quarantine preventative (not for active diseases) or for treating delicate species (although little is known about the sensitivity of different fish species to this medication). A dose of 8 mg/l is considered the “standard dose” for treating most active protozoan infections, while the 20 mg/l dose would be reserved for attempting to eradicate difficult-to-treat Uronema marinum infections. Toxicity in some fish species has been reported at doses above 15 mg/l. Wrasses, surgeonfish, and lionfish seem to be very sensitive to chloroquine. The length of a typical chloroquine treatment is 14 days (as a preventative) to 30 days (for an active infection).
Chloroquine is also toxic to many invertebrates, algae, and bacteria. Seriously high ammonia levels (greater than 1 mg/l NH3-N) are sometimes seen a few days to a week after dosing an aquarium with chloroquine. It is unknown why this is seen in some aquariums but not others. One hypothesis is that the chloroquine has a direct antibiotic effect on the nitrifying bacteria. Another idea is that the chloroquine kills so much microscopic life in the aquarium that the beneficial bacteria are overwhelmed and an ammonia spike develops. Most likely, the cause is a combination of both factors. Always monitor the ammonia levels in aquariums during treatment with chloroquine. Never expose aquarium water treated with chloroquine to ultraviolet light, either through UV sterilization or natural sunlight. It is suspected that UV reacts with chloroquine to create compounds that either are toxic to the animals, or that reduce the effectiveness of the treatment – or both.
Jay Hemdal
