Ich questions

A

AlreadyDead

Hi DFWMAS,

I have a 12 gallon Biocube with a fish that looks to have ich I am setting up a QT for him. From what I read I need to keep him there for 3 weeks. The 14 cube only has live rock so I was wondering if I drain the water and fill it up with fresh water and run the heat at 80+ if it will kill off the ich cycle. I then can add salt and cycle the tank again. Does freshwater kill the eggs and ich?

AD
 
It's a clown and there is a 6 line. I want to clear the tank of this parasite for the future. Will QT all fish from now on. So i am really looking to see if I freshwater bath the tank if I can start the cycle over.
 
My hippo tang had ich shortly after I got him. I started feeding garlic and seaweed. Bought a cleaner shrimp and have been ich free for 6+ weeks. I have heard a freshwater dip for a fish can rid them of ich. They drop off of the fish. Do both fish have ich?? Are they stressed?
 
Here's a good read on the topic and various treatment options:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

To address some of the things discussed, raising temperature can actually prolong the dormant stage, if I remember right, unlike the freshwater parasite where higher temperatures speed up the life cycle.

Freshwater dips can only really help where the parasite is exposed. If it is under the protective mucous the dip will not get rid of it or if it is embedded. You can have the parasite remain in the gills and other areas that are not visible. Freshwater also will not kill the dormant stage of the parasite that could be clinging to your rocks, sand, etc.
 
you could use the display tank with hypo salinity. I have dont that in the past even had a few soft corals that made it past the few weeks of it. Just did not have room at the time to setup a QT tank. now when doing hypo you need to read up on it. But the basics are just do it fast. if you go slow you will give ich a chance to get used to it. Or do like you said and fill it up with fresh water, but that will kill all your bacteria in the tank and will have to start cycle over again. Hope they make it out ok.
 
Garlic enhanced flake food. I don't think any one thing fixed the issue. I would raise the temp of the tank as suggested, and use your best judgement. I personally think copper treating fish can do more harm than good and you run the risk of contaminating your main tank. Definitely don't add anything else for 6 weeks, the life cycle of the parasite. I hope some more experienced members chime in to offer veteran suggestions.
 
I would not hypo a display tank with coral's. Raising temp on SW ich does no good as mentioned. The 3 day transfer method would be my prefered way of attacking this issue.

Cheers,
 
If you decide to setup a QT/hospital tank for hypo, there are three major things to watch out for:

1. Be aware that you will need to have an ATO and a well calibrated refractometer to get to and maintain the correct salinity during the treatment process. If you let it go out of range for even just a little while some of those buggers can survive and start the process all over again. You're riding the edge on what the fish can comfortably tolerate for lowered salinity and what level you need to maintain to ensure the free swimming infectious stages basically explode from osmotic pressure differences. Too low and the fish will suffer or die. Too high and some will survive to reproduce and start the cycle over rendering your previous efforts useless.

2. You'll also need to figure out what you want to do to try and maintain good water quality. That means maintaining stable pH with the lowered salinity and having biofiltration and other methods of processing ammonia. I've had good luck with these issues by keeping live rock and sand in the tank along with filter sponges, filter floss for mechanical filtration. I also dose alkalinity to help keep pH stable.

3. It takes time, as with just about every marine ich treatment, but hypo seems to take the longest if you want to do it right. I am waiting a full 5 weeks after the last spot disappears from the fish before raising salinity to make for an approximate 8 week (2 month) or longer treatment period. Figure about 1 - 2 weeks for no more spots to appear, 5 - 6 weeks to ensure no other tomonts are dormant and waiting to release more tomites/theronts, another week to raise the salinity, and another week of observation to be sure.
 
TANSTAAFL - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

:)

If you want to be ich free, you really do have to go fishless for 6 weeks minimum in the display tank and hypo / copper / 3 day transfer the fish (6-8 weeks, depending on which method).

Garlic, cleaner shrimp, Willy's Supa-Dupa Ich cure (now with more Cowbell!) won't do it, and freshwater dips don't cure it (the spots you see aren't ich, they're the fish's skin raised up being inflamed).

Of course once you're ich free, you really should practice a strict qt regimen. Otherwise, it's lather, rinse, repeat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top