trying to cure the ich

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases' started by brittany biggs, May 30, 2014.

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  1. brittany biggs

    brittany biggs Plankton

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    Ever since I bought my blue tang it has had the ich. It was the only fish I bought from a pet store I had never gone to or knew anything about it was like a little corner store. I've tried fresh water dipping three times now and every time the ich goes away and comes back. Today I finally decided to get a cleaner shrimp and all day long they have been side by side and the shrimp seems to be doing his job. Any tips or recommendations on getting rid of this parasite ? I hope this shrimp does the job.
     
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  3. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    Hi and Welcome to 3reef,

    The parasite Cryptocaryon irritan lives deep in the tissue of the fish, neither a fresh water dip or cleaner shrimp will do much for the fish other then provide some brief relief. The fresh water dip is probably pretty stressful.
    Tangs are prone to ich so quarantine of fish is your best defense.
    If the fish is eating supplementing it's diet with marine algae and Seclon is recommended.
    This parasite is only visible on the fish for 3-7 days, the parasite then falls off the fish to complete it's life cycle in substrate. Just because you do not see the parasite does not mean the parasite is gone or has been effectively treated.

    Here is a nice little link to give some basic guidelines.

    http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/23132-marine-ich-myths-facts.html
     
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  4. mdbostwick

    mdbostwick Vlamingii Tang

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    Welcome to 3Reef!

    What size is your tank, and what other livestock do you have?
     
  5. flynhawaiianz28

    flynhawaiianz28 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Welcome to 3Reef! Listen to Corailline as she has sound info! I know what you are going through as I am in my last week of cupramine treatment and then 4 weeks of observation in the HT/QT tank. Best bet is to quarantine, treat, and leave the tank fallow for 8 weeks if possible. That will allow the ich to run through it's life cycle and die off since it won't have a host. Plenty of members here to offer advice and help you get through this :)
     
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  6. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Thread moved to Fish Diseases forum.
     
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  7. brittany biggs

    brittany biggs Plankton

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    It's 100 gal and it has about 8 live rock a gold face goby, a clown fish, the blue tang and a scooter blenny as of right now.
     
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  9. brittany biggs

    brittany biggs Plankton

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    Thank you so much for your help I also did some kind of dip that someone at the pet store gave me it's blue stuff you put in a smaller tank with the tang and we tried it and the ich is back worse than ever. I have tried every single thing I hate to see this little guy so sick
     
  10. FeedYourMachine

    FeedYourMachine Feather Duster

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    Hi there,
    I have had many battles with ich myself in the first years of diving into this hobby..
    What has always worked for me is hyposalinity treatment..It actually reduces stress on the fish and is all natural ..There have been rumors of resistant strains of ich out there but i have not seen any..My last addition just came out of hypo a few weeks ago and is in the DT and is doing well.
    If the blue was in the 100 it is unfortunately infested with ich also..
    Ich is a nasty persistent little bugger and does need to be eradicated IMO..
     
  11. JMorris271

    JMorris271 Plankton

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  12. mdbostwick

    mdbostwick Vlamingii Tang

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    If you are able to treat all your fish with hyposalinity treatment in a hospital/quarantine tank i recommend that along with everything Corailline said. That is pretty much the standard with everything, always follow Corailline's advice, she knows all! :)