Ich - getting rather aggravated

Chelsey · May 13, 2007

Ok, so I've lost a total of 5 fish to ich in the last two weeks. I swear that it popped up out of nowhere. I have liquid metronidazole in the water, have been giving them garlic and metro soaked food, been feeding about daily, and STILL nothing works. I went home this weekend for mother's day (just got back) and while I was gone I lost two fish that hadn't shown any signs of ich AT ALL. I looked around the tank and they didn't jump. The clown and royal gramma that I lost to ich were put in QT as soon as I saw white spots. The only fish that are left in the main display (aka ich tank

) are a leopard wrasse and a teeny tiny red goby. Neither of them are showing any signs of ich and are eating well, but I'm definately going to be keeping a close eye on them. I have one remaining black perc in my QT which was ironically the first fish I put in there. Do you guys have any ideas to help me beat this crap? I really like my fish and would like to be able to replace my stock that I've lost. Thanks in advance!

Chelsey

JGoslee · May 13, 2007

Sorry you lost your fish. I've lost a few myself a few months ago. The only sure way to get rid of ich is to take all of your fish out of your display and put them in a quarantine tank. If you leave any fish in your display then the ich will still be there. You have to leave your display tank fallow for at least 6 weeks. During that 6 weeks you should be treating your fish with either hypo-salinity or copper. These two are the only proven ways to rid your fish of ich.

Acro76 · May 13, 2007

Yup thats what I was going to say Jgoslee...

Metronidazole is not really the preferred treatment for Ick, although it can help. It might be slower acting than hyposalinity or copper treatment.

Also, look into Seachem's product: Paraguard. I've been using it the past few months as a dip, although you can also treat a quarantine tank with it. Supposed to be easier on the fish than copper or metro.

Good luck to you!

Kigs! · May 13, 2007

Sorry to hear that Chelsey... ICH is such PITA to deal with. Few cases of ICH that I went through was solved through boosting their immune system. Most of the times, ICH went away on the fish that were infected, resulting in the only loss of the fish that originally started it. From that point on, I just make sure I avoid LFS that has unhealthy livestock. Garlic is always a plus but I learned that variety of food helps them beat ICH as well. Also in one of the reefkeeping articles on ICH mentions that the substance found in garlic effective against ICH is only effective when it's freshly crushed, and once time passes by, the potency is decreased making it much less effective. If those two remaining fish are not showing any signs of ICH, keep a close eye on them. It's possible that they have already become immune to it. Keep us updated and good luck Chelsey!

vetteman · May 13, 2007

You might try Instant ocean's LIFEGUARD..... I bought 6 chromis and treated them in the QT with it as a preventive measure..... and its not an antibiotic..

Chelsey · May 13, 2007

Thanks for the heads up guys. Why does ich take so long to dissapate once the fish are gone? If the parasite is species specific they should die almost immediately. I'm confused

JGoslee · May 13, 2007

Here's a good article on ick and it's life cycle.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

Chelsey · May 13, 2007

I wonder if pouring frontline in my tank would work

THE BEAUT · May 14, 2007

Sorry to hear about your ich issues. I have to aggree with kigs, its a matter of your fish fighting it off on their own. I have had it in the past and did not use any meds, just soaked the food in garlic and then just let it cycle its way out. Also remember even if your fish dont have any physical symptoms, you could still have ich in your tank. It may just be in its dormant stage of its cycle. I also have a 36watt uv that runs all the time. I must say i have been ich free for about a year now. I still soak the fish food in garlic and i still run the uv even if there is no ich. Unfortunately some fish's immune systems are not strong enough the fight off the first cycle and die. I remember once i had a Powder Blue tang that got ich 3 times before i finally rid the tank of the ich. He lived for 2 years in my tank before i gave him to someone for being to aggresive. So there is hope.

weimers75 · May 15, 2007

I used Kick-Ich in the past with great results, and its reef safe (I had tons of corals and 3 shrimp, all were unharmed). I used the "heavy infestation" dosage". Just make sure you continue treatment the whole time, even after it disappears. Your best bet is to use the garlic and other methods to boost immunity, and the kick-ich.