Help Ich In Saltawater!

[stargirly1208]

what is the best medication to use with invertebrates like starfish and featherdusters?? (available in the US) i need help quick before it spreads!

 

[enjoiskater158]

i would try catching the infected fish and treating them in a seperate tank if thats possible.

 

[Lynden]

Agree. That is always the best option.

Another is a freshwater bath. Capture the infested fish and place it in R/O water for five minutes, then flick the fish back in your tank. Saved the life of my Sailfin Tang and caused him to survive an outbreak that killed all but one of the rest of the fish in his tank! Ultimately, the fish was given away to a friend.

-Lynden

 

[SkiFletch]

And if quarantine is an option, treat with a copper based med.

 

[stargirly1208]

thanks for the advice guys! another tank isn't really an option due to lack of space, but i might try the freshwater bath that everyone seems to be talking about. it's just a little bit scary to do since they are saltwater fish.

anyone know about the whole garlic supplement thing? someone mentioned it to me and i want to know what it's all about.

 

[andywg]

Once ich is in the tank is there really any point in quaratining the fish? Essentially once a fish has it, expect the pathogen to be on all the fish in that tank. Pulling all the fish would be better, but not easy.

For some good advice, Reefkeeping isn't far from ideal:

http/www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

The garlic is explained in the second page fo the link above:

My biggest problem with the use of garlic is the mythology that has developed regarding it. This all began quite simply and innocently. Kelly Jedlicki was studying the use of garlic as an intestinal dewormer. For those who don't know who Kelly is, she is affectionately referred to as the "Puffer Queen" as they are her favorite fishes and oftentimes are brought into the trade polluted with various worms. As I said, she was examining the effectiveness of garlic against nematodes and cestodes on impacted puffers when she noticed a general decrease in Cryptocaryon irritans incidence. Later on, she proposed feeding garlic to fish as a preventative for Cryptocaryon irritans. From there the legend of garlic has spread. Feeding garlic to fish is now an accepted cure for Marine Ich by some individuals.

 

[tomstanks]

Get a UV Sterlizer and the problem will diminish and nevr return. (As long as you keep the bulbs fresh)

 

[BlondeBrutality]

My yellow tang had ich and it started to spread to my clowns, we got a product called stop parasite and that stuff was terrible, it smelled like death and we lost a couple fish while we were using it. It never cleared up the ich. We then got some stuff calle no ich and used half the dosage and it started clearing up the ich by the next day. My tank has been ich free for a week now. I've heard some people that don't like the no ich, but ill swear by it. You can find it at jacks aquarium. It has no copper and is reef and invert safe.

 

[Matty P]

Yeh a UV sterilizer would be next best from quarantine

Good luck

Matt