question on Ick

Talked to lfs and guy that I do trust very much says Ick can't cycle unless there is a period of darkness. He said like old wives tale that if you leave th lights on Ick will soon dye off. Anybody else hear anything like this.

 

never heard anything like this before, would be curious to see if it is true. I would think that it wouldn't be true just because it would be a very easy solution and many people have problems with ich and have never mentioned this.

 

Well so far tang has not shown any signs of ick since starting treatment like this. I have also use malachite green but only a double dose of this. I did notice that when I did shut lights off Ick was covering the fish like mad then a few days under the light it appears to have gone. Fish seem happy too. Hoping that it don't stress tang out that lights are on all day

 

I've heard something like this only with the lights being out all the time. The reason I got is that the Ick will normally attach itself to the fish in the early morning. My guess is that that thought process is by having the lights on or off it throws off that part of the cycle, maybe.. Not saying this is my thought but what I have heard.

Me personally-- Hypo or copper is how I have treated in my Red Sea Tank.. I tried the lights out thing but it is difficult to do that when you have corals.

 

yea just don't have a hosiptal tank yet and trying to wing it. will probably get one after holidays. hope he makes it that long.

 

Hippo tangs getting ick is the norm. As long as he's eating seaweed and vitamin-rich foods, maybe with garlic, his immune system will fight it off. Meds never seemed to be the solution in my experience. In the long run, a hospital/qt tank is the best solution/prevention from causing problems in your main display tank.

 

I know what that is like. very helpless feeling.. Other things I tried when I was without a hospital tank was lowering the salinity to 1.019 and raising the temp a to 80-82 (Be careful if you have corals.) This is said to speed up the ick cycle. I then would keep my lights off or in your case on.

I think before I had my Hospital tank if someone would have told me to shake a stick over my tank while hopping on one foot singing "Don't worry be happy" I would have done it!!!!

 

I agree with Bogie. I've learned with my 120 from people on this site that it's more stressful to take the fish out then to leave it in. My hospital tank sits empty most of the time unless we bring someone new in.

 

well it was a starting tank and didn't think it would cause much problem. DUH. Yea I know now. plus this is my only second tang and the whole reason for getting this bigger tank is cause I have an anemone that ate my yellow tank the 2nd day I had him. But all in all he is eating a ton and white spots are gone but funny thing is fire fish showing no signs of ick. Could out break be only contained to tang. plus not very many corals in tank just transfers from smaller tank. Just want to keep parameters to a normal leval not to stress anything else out.

 

imo, leaving the hippo tang by itself without dosing and leaving it in the tank is the ideal way to get rid of ich. when a fish is sleeping at night, its immune system is not as strong as it is during the day because it is not very active. i have seen many times first hand, when my hippo tang did have ich, that as soon as i had turned on the lights and he swam out of his crevice where he sleeps, he eats and shakes off some ich off its body. try to feed with garlic guard once a day, just a very small amount, maybe 2 teaspoons and mix it with brine shrimp or mysis or whatever it is you are feeding and eventually it will fight it off on its own. most of the time, this should work, and if it doesn't, i always like to believe imo that this hippo tang just wasn't meant to make it as this will cause a lot less stress than isolating it into a hospital tank, good luck buddy and make sure to give it a wide variety of food. I have a few different diets i give my fish, but during stressful ich times, i like to give mysis, brine shrimp, seaweed, squid and omega1 flakes, this gives them a wide variety of diet which boasts their immune system