Ich Treatment Diary(Polyp labs, neem oil, UV etc)

[TurdFerguson]

I have a major Ich outbreak. I am not in a position to deal with it properly. There are no stores near me so I had to order Polyplabs medic, Parashield, and a UV light. While waiting for those items there have been deaths. I am trying many different things simultaniously (explained below) including dietary changes and reef safe treatments and I will report semi-daily with progress or lack thereof.
Specs:
40g IM AIO
Mixed reef
77F
1.025
5 PPM Nitrate .01 Phosphate.
11.5 dkh
Casualties so far:
Orange back fairy wrasse
Royal Gramma
Mandarin
Survivors so far:
Pair of clowns
Pair of PJ cardinals
Watchman Goby
Inverts include shrimp, softies, SPS, LPS, anemone, feather duster, emerald crabs, hermit crabs and pods.
Remedial measures:
Started Polyp Labs medic yesterday. two scoops disolved in tank water and poured into the filtersock.
UV light started yesterday and runs all the time except 30 mins after treatment.
I am now adding garlic extract to the normal food which consists of Marine Cuisine, TDO pellets, and flake food.
Mardel Parashield arrives Saturday and I will run a course of that then.
Progress after day one:
Fish are healthy with big appetites. Visible white spots remain.
Corals seem fine although anemone is deflated a bit more than usual. I will keep an eye on it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a major Ich outbreak. I am not in a position to deal with it properly. There are no stores near me so I had to order Polyplabs medic, Parashield, and a UV light. While waiting for those items there have been deaths. I am trying many different things simultaniously (explained below) including dietary changes and reef safe treatments and I will report semi-daily with progress or lack thereof.
Specs:
40g IM AIO
Mixed reef
77F
1.025
5 PPM Nitrate .01 Phosphate.
11.5 dkh
Casualties so far:
Orange back fairy wrasse
Royal Gramma
Mandarin
Survivors so far:
Pair of clowns
Pair of PJ cardinals
Watchman Goby
Inverts include shrimp, softies, SPS, LPS, anemone, feather duster, emerald crabs, hermit crabs and pods.
Remedial measures:
Started Polyp Labs medic yesterday. two scoops disolved in tank water and poured into the filtersock.
UV light started yesterday and runs all the time except 30 mins after treatment.
I am now adding garlic extract to the normal food which consists of Marine Cuisine, TDO pellets, and flake food.
Mardel Parashield arrives Saturday and I will run a course of that then.
Progress after day one:
Fish are healthy with big appetites. Visible white spots remain.
Corals seem fine although anemone is deflated a bit more than usual. I will keep an eye on it.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

If you can post pictures/videos, I can try to confirm the diagnosis and assess the level of infection for you. Typically though, once fish loss has begun, "ich management" methods fail to stop the infection, the number of parasites in the water is just too great. There are some other methods (like nightly siphoning of the tank's bottom) that can help the overall process. This post gives some information about that:

"Ich Management"

Because this topic continues to come up, I wanted to create a sticky thread so that it is more easily referenced. Please understand that I am NOT presenting this as an optimum method for controlling marine ich, just putting it out there for people who want to try it. Also, do not pick and...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Lavey29]

Agree pictures and video needed. Very unusual for a mandarin to get ich.

 

[vetteguy53081]

MEDIC is peroxide salts and rarely if ever works

 

[TurdFerguson]

Here are some pics. Here are infected fish, deflated new, and some of the other corals. I understand there hasn't been great success with these measures. My options are this or empty the tank of either inverts or fish and try again next year. I mainly wanted to document and hopefully learn a few things. Worried about the new though. Can the peroxide kill the nem?

 

[TurdFerguson]

Here are some pics. Here are infected fish, deflated new, and some of the other corals. I understand there hasn't been great success with these measures. My options are this or empty the tank of either inverts or fish and try again next year. I mainly wanted to document and hopefully learn a few things. Worried about the new though. Can the peroxide kill the nem?

 

[Lavey29]

It looks like brook on those clowns

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It looks like brook on those clowns

Could be - or it could be "stale ich", which is what ich looks like after a long term infection; with fewer defined white spots, and more coalescing mucus. The cardinal seems to be showing classic ich. It is possible for fish that have both infections at once, and that's a problem, because the treatments are different.

 

[Lavey29]

Could be - or it could be "stale ich", which is what ich looks like after a long term infection; with fewer defined white spots, and more coalescing mucus. The cardinal seems to be showing classic ich. It is possible for fish that have both infections at once, and that's a problem, because the treatments are different.

Doesn't it depend on rapid death (brook) versus death in weeks or months with spots coming and going (ich)

 

[TurdFerguson]

Doesn't it depend on rapid death (brook) versus death in weeks or months with spots coming and going (ich)

For what it's worth the clowns were the very first in the tank. Goby after. 6 + months ago. Could they be carriers of something? BTW, I gave a freshwater dip to the two cards and the clowns on Sunday. Couldn't catch the Goby. The others died between Thurs and Sat last week. I'll take more pics tomorrow

 

[Lavey29]

For what it's worth the clowns were the very first in the tank. Goby after. 6 + months ago. Could they be carriers of something? BTW, I gave a freshwater dip to the two cards and the clowns on Sunday. Couldn't catch the Goby. The others died between Thurs and Sat last week. I'll take more pics tomorrow

A fish can bring disease into the tank of course buy not typically the fish that have been ok for multiple months. It's usually the most recent fish added. Stuff like ich or velvet can live on inverts to for periods of time so they can be carriers, even coral can have diseases to bring into your system but acquiring a tank disease via invert or coral frag is very uncommon. Probably one of the last fish you added in the past month or so.

Jay is much more knowledgeable but the tank medication you got probably won't help. Velvet and brook kill fish very rapidly. Ich tends to get progressively worse over time. A few dots become many dots over weeks or months then the fish decline

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree on stale ich and even secondary bacteria often confused with ich.
Are fish eating or loss of appetite?
Can you post a you tube video under white light intensity for at least 20-25 seconds

 

[TurdFerguson]

Agree on stale ich and even secondary bacteria often confused with ich.
Are fish eating or loss of appetite?
Can you post a you tube video under white light intensity for at least 20-25 seconds

I will film feeding in the morning under white light. Appetite seemed good today. Thanks.

 

[TurdFerguson]

Here is a link to a Youtube video I made this morning. I will try and get better at filming. May post another today.

 

[TurdFerguson]

Here is a clowns close-up.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Here is a clowns close-up.

The first video looks like ich to me. However, that shimmy swimming seen in the second video of just the clownfish can be from later stage ich, OR Brooklynella.

You may need to treat for both issues......

 

[TurdFerguson]

It's been a week. Visible spots have mostly fled. The large PJ doesn't look like he'll make. No appetite. The rest have large appetites and appear on the mend. The nem, the Duncan, and Zoas are suffering. The second I put the peroxide in the polyps close right up and stay that way most of the day. I have the temp up to 80f. After there are no more spots I will continue for 2 weeks more.

 

[TurdFerguson]

I should note that the Fritz Parashield does not seem to have ill effects on the coral unlike the peroxide salts.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I should note that the Fritz Parashield does not seem to have ill effects on the coral unlike the peroxide salts.

Peroxide is tricky - it oxidizes organics. As those are oxidized, more unreacted peroxide is left in the water. The net result is that peroxide becomes more toxic to the animals the longer you dose it. I no longer use peroxide unless I measure the residual with low range test strips (tough to find those though). Do you have any shrimp in the tank? They are really sensitive to unreacted peroxide - so if they die, you’ve gone too high with the dose.

 

[TurdFerguson]

I do have a skunk shrimp who cleans the Goby which is why I think the Goby was never sick. One Clown does not seem to be getting better. Here is a pick of the afflicted fish and the other clown for comparison. Could it be taking longer for the other clown. No other fish in the tank seems to continue to be in acute infection.