Treating Black Ich

[somethingfishy]

Treating Black Ich
I just inherited a yellow tang from my neighbor. She is getting rid of her tank and didn't want to deal with this ill fish. Anyway it has what appears to be Black Ich. I have never encountered this and was woundering if anyone has any treatments they would suggest. I read that copper could be ineffective but I'm not sure if this is true. If you have successfully treated Black Ich I would love to hear you story.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[OoNickoC]

wow, i havent seen black ich in 4 years.....not as bad as regular ich but need different treatment mothods. THe best ive seen is a series of fresh water dips and the addition of formaline meds to them. If the fish isnt showing very visible signs of sickess (dissorientaion, severe twitching, or very rapid breathin....2or 3-4 times per second) then i would do a fresh water dip for 2-4 miuntes with the addiction of a formaline based med regularly until the slk ich is gone. It is a substrate dwelling flatworm that reproduces far less than regular ich, but is just as contagious. Dont worry as if yuove battled ich before (won or lost) it is not as bad...just less commin. I've only seen it start on tangs ironically enough....but it can spread. i would isolate the tang and give it dips every 4 days in FW and every 8 days with formalin......so first with FW and formalin.....4 days later fw.....4 days later FW and formalin....ect. I do 2 treatments then wait a week and do 2 more. Just think of it as its not nearly bad as regular ich. I hope this helps...il read other posts and sites before treating though.....but isolation and treatment is the key.

[Craig Manoukian]

Good luck and keep us posted. Great advice SeA_SpLeNdEr!

[reiple]

i'm curious. is it transmittable to humans? (Oh no...)

[somethingfishy]

Treatment

Well I decided last night that I would treat with Formalin today. Guess what I couldn't find it at my LFS. So I picked up Formalite I. It is a combination of Formaldehyde 15%, Malachite Green & Copper Sulfate. Formalin is 37% formaldehyde. Anyway I couldn't find anything for a dip, this stuff is meant for use in the tank. I decided of a 1ml/1gal ratio. WARNING: this is total experimentation and I don't recommend this treatment. I did this in a 5gal bucket filled half way. I dipped for 15 min, the problem with this stuff is in a orange bucket I couldn't see the fish. I pulled the fish out and put it back in the QT. It seems as though it caused minimal stress so Wens. I will probably do a 30 min dip.

[somethingfishy]

I thought it was kind of strange. I posted this same thing on Michiganreefers.com and 2 people replied back saying their tangs had this. At the present time they neither of them were doing anything to treat it.

[Craig Manoukian]

Thanks for the report and continued good luck! Keep up the good animal husbandry.

[Birdlady]

Saltyfish,

How is that tang doing?

[somethingfishy]

Well heres an update on the treatment. *I did a dip on Wed and Sat (Dec. 8th & 11th). *These were both 60 min treatments with a dose of 1ml per gal. *I also have be using an air stone in the dip bucket and the QT tank to keep the water highly oxygenated. *The last 2 dips were also done in a white bucket and I was able to observe the tang. *The were still some slight signs of the Black Ich after the 3rd dip. I believe the spots are a reaction to the worm and not the actual worm so I assumed they would go away once the fish healed. *I had to leave the 12th for a vacation to Virginia so I was unsure of what I would come back to. *All is well I came home and the tang looks great with no signs of the Black Ich. *I like this treatment and would recommend it to anyone with this problem. *If anyone has any questions on treatment I would be more than happy to answer them.

Again this was an experimental treatment. *I take no responsibility for fish that this treatment is used on.

I will also be QTing the tang for 4-6 weeks and will be doing a major water change tonight.

Oh yeah, BL it is funny that you called me Saltyfish. She is the one I got the tang from to nurse back to health.

[Craig Manoukian]

Great news! Glad the tang is OK!