That Darn Ich!

doesnt a uv sterilizer also help in the dt for ich?

 

I don't think I would do any dips, the fish are already stressed and you don't wanna stress them more and send them over the edge. \

I do believe a UV kills ich, if you have one, run the water through it nice and slow and it may help.

 

From my reading UV will only kill the free floating parasites in the water column that happen to get sucked up into the sterilizer. Once they're already attached to the fish the UV cant get em.

Okay, good point!

Anybody know how to properly dose with garlic?

 

yea uv not so much a cure as just a slow down for ich.

you want to soak the food in garlic for a minute or too, some people have told me to dose it but i think its more important to get the fish to eat it, then have it in the water supply.

you can probably uses extract or just some garlic juice, but they do sell aquarium brands and they come with vitamin c too

 

Thanks so much for your help! I'll post back when I have an update!

 

Have been through this as well. I dosed food with garlic guard and added a UV and within a week had no more spots. We also used the stress coat to help the fish restore their slimecoat. Not sure if it was one or a combination of all but it worked. First time we had this happen we tried the dips and quarentine and both fish were dead within three days. I would say if your fish is eating well go with the garlic soaked food first before trying any meds or quarentine.

 

Well I set up a quarantine tank over the weekend and got everybody moved over. My puffer seems to be less active and the yellow tang is being super shy, but both are still eating. I can't afford the commercial garlic drops so I got a few cloves from the store & will puree them and then soak the food in it. Hopefully this will have the same effect as the drops. My ammonia, nitrite & nitrates are trying to spike but I'm dosing daily with Amquel and it seems to be keeping it under control. I've dosed the QT with copper, but have read that it only kills the parasites when they're in the free floating stage. Should I try something else? I've read that tangs can get bacterial infections along with the ich, should I be adding something for that? Would a hyposalinity treatment be a good idea?

 

Marine ich seems to be a very common problem. Alot of people suggest the quarantine tank method and frequent freshwater dips. However, fish typically get ich when they are stressed, living in poor water conditions, and an unhealthy diet. Pulling them out of the tank when they have ich will usually just stress them further. What I did when my fish had ich was first to mix up a batch of garlic soaked brine shrimp. I just got minced garlic and extracted the juices from it. Then I took a healthy portion of frozen brine shrimp and soaked it overnight in the refridgerator. The fish loved the new food. It helps boost their colors and is supposedly good for their immune system (what you want when your fish have ich.)

Second, I found ich medication called Kick Ich by Ruby Reef. This medication contains no copper. It is safe to use with live rock and and the biological filter. This medication attacks the ich while it is free floating. If you have a protein skimmer, turn it off for the day or two after you give the medication. This with frequent water changes of 20-30% weekly will kill the ich in no time, with no need to quarantine and stress the fish out further.

Purchasing a cleaner shrimp at your LFS is also a pretty effective method of the parasite removal. These shrimp go all throughout the tank and eat parasites. They clean the live rock, sand, and the fish from the parasite. It is amazing to watch them in action on a fish. It is a true show of symbiosis in nature and brings a more diverse ecosystem into your aquarium. Not to mention the fish love getting cleaned!