So I got Ich

[sharpimage]

Do not treat your DT with copper or cp.

 

[dwest]

Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)

Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) What You Need To Know: * Mild fish parasite which is often managed by using a UV Sterilizer, Ozone, Diatom Filter, Oxydator, herbal remedies, enhanced nutrition, etc. etc. * Can be treated in a quarantine tank using Hyposalinity, Chloroquine, Copper or...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[LAReefer4Life]

What really needs to happen at this point is a few solid photos. We need to properly identify what’s going on so you can treat with correct medication. It does sound like ich but we need to be sure. Please post some clear images when you get home or review the link @dwest posted so you can confirm this is what you see.

 

[4FordFamily]

76 days is the correct fallow period to cover your bases for the "big three" (ich, velvet, and brook).

Treating brook requires something else other than copper. Metroplex. However, with spots coming and going as you describe it is most likely velvet that you're dealing with. Photos would be helpful for a correct diagnosis, however. Ich stays in place for 3-5 days on the fish typically. Velvet can disappear after a day or two and come back with a vengeance, nearly growing exponentially with each (shorter) life cycle.

Copper is my recommendation, though Chloroquine Phosphate could be administered. In any event, I'd add metroplex to the mix for good measure. Treat for 30 days in QT. Or, treat for 14 days and then transfer to a completely new, sterile QT with all new equipment (shares nothing with the first).

 

[Aaron88]

What really needs to happen at this point is a few solid photos. We need to properly identify what’s going on so you can treat with correct medication. It does sound like ich but we need to be sure. Please post some clear images when you get home or review the link @dwest posted so you can confirm this is what you see.

This is the best photos I could get.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Okay its better thank you. Do you have whites on your lighting? That will help even more you can. From what I can see in the photo it does look like ich. My question for you is your QT currently running and for how long? What meds do you currently have on you?

 

[Aaron88]

Okay its better thank you. Do you have whites on your lighting? That will help even more you can. From what I can see in the photo it does look like ich. My question for you is your QT currently running and for how long? What meds do you currently have on you?

That is as white as my lights go. It’s more white than the picture shows. I’ll be using water from my DT to set up my QT along with some bio cubes. And the medicine I have at home is Kordon Rid-Ich Plus it has 4.26% formaldehyde 11.52% formalin and zinc free chloride. I’ve never had any luck with copper in the past and killed the fish I QT before. So I would really rather not use any copper.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Thanks for the pictures... I stongly advise against using rid ich if your going through all this trouble to QT as it wont get the job done. I know that administering copper or medication for the madder can be stressful but honestly you'll need to treat with copper to eradicate the parasite. Which copper brand do you have if any?

Key Points to Successfully and Safely Administering Copper Medication:

• Copper is extremely toxic to aquarium life. As a matter of fact, no inverts, corals, etc. can survive the copper treatment and it is advised to administer copper in separate QT at-least 20 feet away from DT. In addition, all tools should be utilized separately for water changes, testing, etc.
• Copper is only effective when administered at therapeutic levels. Too low of solution it can’t do its job properly and too high of solution it can potentially kill your livestock.
• My personal brand preference for copper treatment is Seachem Cupramine. It is fully charged (ionic) copper solution. I've personally had great success with this product but there are several great products on the market.
• Do NOT run media such as carbon unless you're trying to remove or reduce of the copper solution.
• Keep the QT scape minimalistic. You want to maintain consistent levels of copper during the treatment period and any additional media, sand bed, rock, etc. can affect the copper absorption rate. PVC piping is a great solution to use for creating hiding places for your livestock while in quarantine and it will not have a large impact on the copper solution.
• A reliable test kit is a must and in conjunction with Cupramine I recommend the Hanna Checker. These tests kits are easy to facilitate and the results are read digitally. Seachem makes their own copper test kit. However, the results are viewed through a color scale which I find it hard to decipher.

*Note: API copper test kit does not work well with Cupramine.

• When administering copper treatment, it is advised to slowly increase the copper level to allow time for your fish to adapt. I start with 1/4 the recommended amount suggested by Seachem. I then add 1/8 dose twice daily splitting between am/pm over a 4-5-day period until I reach the recommended level of .50ppm.

 

[MERKEY]

This is all such good advice!!!

Have any of you administered copper treatment without a tester?

 

[Aaron88]

Well it looks like I’ll be going and picking up some copper and and tester tomorrow. The Hanna is really nice but is also outside of my price range. Is there another option?

 

[MERKEY]

Sorry I'm not good with links but there are cheaper ones from different companies that dont work as well but before Hannah had a saltwater tester a lot of people used salifert to seacham. Once again not as recommended as hannah.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

There are different types copper which need different test kits. I personally like Seachem Cupramine and the Salfert test mentioned by @MERKEY works well or Seachem makes its own cupramine test kit.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

How is the clown today?

 

[Aaron88]

So I had the day off work today and the time to sit and watch my tank. After a few hours I notice some white specks in my tank and little white specks going and sticking to the fish and falling off. After investigation what was causing the white specks in my tank I found that the chem blue bag had a small hole leaking out the white stuff inside. Once I removed the chem blue and gave the tank time to filter I notice all the white specks gone and nothing attaching to my fish. So I feel confident in saying, I don’t have Ich.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

So I had the day off work today and the time to sit and watch my tank. After a few hours I notice some white specks in my tank and little white specks going and sticking to the fish and falling off. After investigation what was causing the white specks in my tank I found that the chem blue bag had a small hole leaking out the white stuff inside. Once I removed the chem blue and gave the tank time to filter I notice all the white specks gone and nothing attaching to my fish. So I feel confident in saying, I don’t have Ich.

Thats good news. Congrats LOL