Treating for ich but still spots, need help

melypr1985 · Apr 19, 2017

Jberge said:
Ok sounds like a plan. I'll get started on it tomorrow night. I have everything except the furan 2 but I'll get it. Since one bath apparently didn't work last time should I follow up with additional baths just to be safe? Also, I used vinegar last time to sterilize, is that still good?

Since you can't let it dry for several days, lets go with bleach this time. Use a hair drying, fan or something similar to speed the drying process. Additional baths are always a concern with brook. It may be needed. Let's take it one step at a time though and see if you can get this licked.

Jberge · Apr 19, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Since you can't let it dry for several days, lets go with bleach this time. Use a hair drying, fan or something similar to speed the drying process. Additional baths are always a concern with brook. It may be needed. Let's take it one step at a time though and see if you can get this licked.

Ok. Thank you. I'll give an update after the bath tomorrow

Jberge · Apr 20, 2017

After almost 4 hrs everyone is back in the qt. I scrubbed everything with bleach while the fish were in a 5g bucket and the formalin was being aerated. This gave me plenty of time for everything to dry and set up again before the treatment was over. A hair dryer helped too. I moved the coral qt to opposite side of the room (about 10-12ft away) before bringing back the sterilized qt. I soaked a new sponge with some stability for about an hr to see if that helps the bio filter. The ammonia badge had read 0 for the first time the day I noticed this new problem. I guess I'll just be doing wc's til the end if I have to. Anyway, I moved the fish back in and dosed with metroplex and kanaplex. The furan 2 will be here tomorrow. Thanks again for the help Meredith! I'll check back tomorrow with an update.

Jberge · Apr 20, 2017

I just checked on them and it looks like whatever it was is falling off them. I'll see better with some light tomorrow.

Jberge · Apr 21, 2017

This is unbelievable but both clowns look like they're 100% clear. I don't see any spots on either of them and the little guys fins look almost normal now too. I know last time it took about 4 weeks for something to show up again after the bath so idk if I should follow up with another just to be safe. Although this time using bleach instead of vinegar to sterilize with I feel much more comfortable about. I'd just hate to have something pop up again in a few weeks once they're back in the dt. Fallow is over may 2

Jberge · Apr 22, 2017

The clowns still look good but I'm paranoid now. Do you guys think another formalin bath is a good idea? I'm leaning towards yes and thinking that I could start going with my gut thanks to all the help on here.

Humblefish · Apr 22, 2017

Jberge said:
The clowns still look good but I'm paranoid now. Do you guys think another formalin bath is a good idea? I'm leaning towards yes and thinking that I could start going with my gut thanks to all the help on here.

Formalin is pretty effective at clearing surface parasites & worms, provided you transfer the fish into a new/sterile QT afterwards.

If you are still worried about brook you could dose metronidazole in the QT as an insurance policy.

Jberge · Apr 22, 2017

Humblefish said:
Formalin is pretty effective at clearing surface parasites & worms, provided you transfer the fish into a new/sterile QT afterwards.

If you are still worried about brook you could dose metronidazole in the QT as an insurance policy.

So are you saying the formalin could be effective after only one bath? I'm only hesitant because I went through this a month ago and it reappeared but I'm doubting how sterile the qt was that time using vinegar instead of bleach. I dosed metroplex right after the bath. So if I don't see any signs of the brook now I should leave things alone?

Humblefish · Apr 22, 2017

Jberge said:
So are you saying the formalin could be effective after only one bath? I'm only hesitant because I went through this a month ago and it reappeared but I'm doubting how sterile the qt was that time using vinegar instead of bleach. I dosed metroplex right after the bath. So if I don't see any signs of the brook now I should leave things alone?

Formalin often knocks out brook after just one bath. If your clownfish look clear, I would leave well enough alone.

Jberge · Apr 22, 2017

Ok great! Thanks!

Jberge · Apr 23, 2017

Humblefish said:
Formalin often knocks out brook after just one bath. If your clownfish look clear, I would leave well enough alone.

I have a question. How do I stop brook from entering my dt with new fish in the future? I know common qt treatments would only include prazipro and cupramine.

melypr1985 · Apr 23, 2017

Jberge said:
I have a question. How do I stop brook from entering my dt with new fish in the future? I know common qt treatments would only include prazipro and cupramine.

I would only prophylactically treat for brook on clownfish or fish that have come from a system that has been known to have brook in it. In that case a formalin or acrilfavin dip would probably be good enough, but continued observation for evidence of brook would be needed afterward to determine if another bath and/or metroplex is needed.