My nemo fish has ick:( please help
- Thread starter jaijai
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PaulKreider
Valuable Member
Garlic can have a negative effect on fish health if used for prolonged periods, so beware. Like Ben said, its a parasite, and contrary to popular believe you cant "build an immunity" to parasites, the immune system can only fight infections, parasites are not infections. The only way to actually kill a parasite is to void it of a host, or kill it with treatment.
So like Ben said again, It could have been living unnoticeable inside the fish and "broke out" when the fish became stressed and unable to maintain proper health. If it had been treated and cured, the fish would have been stressed, but lacked an ich outbreak.
So like Ben said again, It could have been living unnoticeable inside the fish and "broke out" when the fish became stressed and unable to maintain proper health. If it had been treated and cured, the fish would have been stressed, but lacked an ich outbreak.
flynhawaiianz28
Community Member
The reason you don't see the ich on the fish is because it has completed that part of it's life cycle and has dropped off to the substrate to continue on it's life cycle and reproduce in greater numbers. It has not been killed. Only way to kill it is to treat the fish in a HT/QT and leave the tank fallow. Without fish in the tank as a host in almost all cases it will eventually die off without a host.
jedimasterben
Bubble coral sting good
Because it is not a closed system - when the cysts fall off, they search out another host, and they'll be in a very different location due to the original host moving and also the currents. In our systems, the parasite proliferates exponentially and is in every nook and cranny that our fish will eventually hide in at night, making them very easy prey.
There are probably some natural predators of the parasite, we just do not know what. Similar situation to Pyramids snails and Tridacna/Giant Clams, you do not see infestation of Pyramids on clams in the wild because natural predators maintain a balance.
There was a study but I can not find it now, anyway, the study suggested that most wild fish collected contain the parasite within their gills.
ETORRES477
Active Member
There seems to be a lot of opinions on here, as always. Some people tend to be more insistent than other when it comes to their preference for handling of the issue. I am not sure if some people on here are insisting the only way to deal with an ick issue is to QT, treat w/ copper and leave the DT fallow, but if they are I can tell you that is not my experience with ick. I had ick twice, once in my first tank and recently in a new build I set up. The first time I overreacted in my opinion and tried to treat with garlic based meds, elevation in temp, and lower salinity, I lost almost everything except a clown and flame angel. The second time I given advice by experienced reefers from this site, one with 20+ years in the hobby, the advice given to me was to keep my water parameter right, feed well, keep up with my water changes, and let the fish ride it out. It worked for me, my tank shows no effects of ick, and all of my livestock made it through. As I said, this was MY experience with ick, with advice passed on from people who had their OWN experience with ick.
jedimasterben
Bubble coral sting good
*ich
Oh I'll be happy to back it up with actual scientific research for you. How much would you like to start with?
FA164/FA164: Cryptocaryon irritans Infections (Marine White Spot Disease) in Fish
Cryptocaryon irratin is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the hobby. There is now quite a bit of good research out there for the taking, yet myths and miss-information abound.
Whether someone prefers to treat conservatively is fine by me, however hobbyist should be well informed on the scientifically proven methods of erradication if they choose to go that route.
JM2C
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ETORRES477
Active Member
There is a man on here named Paul B, his reef tank is over 40 years old. He is kind enough to share his experiences with saltwater tanks which spans over 4 decades. As I mentioned earlier, there are many opinions on every single topic in this hobby. I tend to take advice from people such as him. One of the things I have learned from Paul's postings is that the environment you keep for your fish has a greater impact on the livestock you keep than almost anything else we do to prevent diseases. He does not even QT his livestock which would make most peoples head explode on here. However, by most "experts" opinions his tank and methods defy what some claim is logic. I did not come here to argue or refute other peoples advice. I am simply sharing the advice given to me by experienced reefers, and sharing my own experience.
You can post your articles on pauls link and see what he thinks of them, here is one of his more popular ones. https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-discussion/55423-tank-birthday-40-years.html
Yes not sure why everyone above failed to mention that.
Oh I have been following Paul's tank for years. There is always the exception to the rule in this hobby and Paul's tank is one of them.
I am not arguing with you at all. If that works for Paul and yourself great. I am confident one day you'll look back and see the science for what it is though. I have been in this hobby a long long time and found that what works for me may not be the most prudent method to recommend for others.
When someone adds a $300.00 Tang to a newer system and it succumb to marine ich and introduces the parasite to the other fish the conventional "feed the fish garlic and reduce stress" recommendations might not be the best way to proceed.
I am not arguing with you at all. If that works for Paul and yourself great. I am confident one day you'll look back and see the science for what it is though. I have been in this hobby a long long time and found that what works for me may not be the most prudent method to recommend for others.
When someone adds a $300.00 Tang to a newer system and it succumb to marine ich and introduces the parasite to the other fish the conventional "feed the fish garlic and reduce stress" recommendations might not be the best way to proceed.
ETORRES477
Active Member
Tahoe61, I have immense respect for your experience, I do. I have seen u around a lot on here and have followed your advice on some aspects I have incorporated into my own husbandry methods. The only point I was trying to make is that there are other ways to approach an ich outbreak that some may consider unconventional, but if given the chance could work in certain situations. There are a lot of experienced reefers on here such as yourself who would disagree on many aspects of the hobby. 10 different reefkeepers may give you 10 different philosophies. I do not consider Paul's tank an exception to the rule, I consider it a successful product of over 40 years of experience. In that context, his philosophies and methods carry a lot of weight with me. I do not ignore science, I am a medical professional and my education is grounded in science. As I mentioned earlier, I do not refute your position, I am only trying to expose the the poster to a method that worked for myself and others. Thank you for your input, and good luck with your tank endeavors.
It's all good :hug:
You're absolutely right there is more than one way to skin a cat. It's hard to have a discussion on this topic without it getting heated (although I do not feel that way), this often makes me reluctant to even open marine ich threads, but I do. :violin:
Thank you for the kind words, and appreciate your input, I really do. :tea:
I just lost all my fish not long ago from ick and personally I think the only way to get rid of it is to set up a qt tank let your other tank be fish less for at least a month because the parasite has to have a fish host to survive. Also taking your salinity slowly to 1.026 and increasing your temp to about 80 degrees will speed up the process
saltyfish
Active Member
The problem is that your method does not "cure" your tank of Ich. It will always be in there if you see it or not. If you keep your fish fat and healthy, it will help prevent a major outbreak where you see visible signs of the parasite. It just depends on if you and your fish want to live with a parasite or eliminate it from your tank. Copper is the only effective treatment that I know of.
flynhawaiianz28
Community Member
^+1 I know this can be a heated topic sometimes and I have been reefing for over 8 years and have NEVER done a QT at all......till now. I played a little game of russian roulette almost if you will with ich and never had a problem till recently. I purchased a fish that had no signs at the LFS but must have been carrying it with them in some form and sure enough a week after in the DT it was showing signs of ich. Then it spread to my other fish, one of which is a percula clown that had been in the tank 6 years with no problems. I liked to err on the side of caution from now on and have learned my lesson. I will observe and treat ALL fish that will be put into my DT from here on out. I feel like this is the best method FOR MYSELF anyways and makes me more comfortable knowing and controlling what is going into my DT. Others have been successful with leaving the fish in the DT and giving them a variety of foods and keeping them healthy but the ich will still remain in the tank as long as it has a host imo. Furthermore, you may see it sometimes on the fish and then you won't, just back and forth every so often, which is fine. The fish have gained somewhat of an immunity to it but will never be completely immune. I rather eradicate the ich from my tank so I know that even if their diet changes or the slightest bit of stress from a new tank mate being added or if a fish decides to pick on the other for whatever reason that the opportunity for the stress to arise doesn't also come with the heightened chance of the ich having their time to attack. For me I didn't want to continue running a tank with ich reproducing knowing there is a potential threat still around. Option that fit myself best was to treat and DT to sit fallow.
