Author Topic: Ugh, Ich, whats going on (Read 3098 times)

DarinSchmidt · « **on:** October 11, 2011, 23:48:43 »

Well it seems that the Ich bug is going around. Yesterday when i looked at my fish, i didnt notice anything, but today when i came home, my Clown tang was COVERED!! my clown fish and my Chocolate tang had a little, and a few other fish had very little. I couldnt catch them all in this vast sea i call an aquarium. So i got out what i could in the past 3 hrs, get a 55gal aquarium setup and dosed it with Coppersafe. I was going to do hyposalinity but i dont think that the Clown tang would have made it a week while i was lowering the salinity. So hopefully tomorrow i see some signs of improvement and i'll be doing 10% water changes daily and monitoring the water quality in case i need to do more than that.

I was thinking i prob should have freshwater dipped them for a bit before i put them in the tank, but i was in a hurry as its getting late and need sleep. I'm going to try to capture some of the other fish tomorrow with all the time i'll have off so i can get them all treated. those damsels are fast....

I'm thinking i'm going to have to take out all of my live rock (well at least 1/2) so i can capture them and then i may have to increase my water changes due to bioload to 30%.

lazylivin · « **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2011, 00:00:15 »

Just FYI. Fish can go from full Salt to Hypo immediately. No more then a normal acclimation of 30 minutes is required. Just don't try that the other direction. Keep us posted. Good Luck

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2011, 00:04:24 »

If I don't see any improvement over the next couple days I may switch to hypo. I had read about it a while back and they mentioned having the fish gradually go into hypo. Or I could be remembering wrong

lazylivin · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2011, 00:09:29 »

Some sites say that but it isn't required. BTW: You won't see any improvement with either Hypo or Copper until the parasite has exited the fish. They are protected from both while they are inside the fish. Both Hypo and Copper are just as effective pick one and stick with it.

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2011, 00:14:14 »

Yeah I know their shell protects them. Raising the temp to 82 causes them to.open in 4 days, so I'm hoping ill see something in the next 2-3 days. Too bad you can't do hypo to your hole tank. Would end up killing your corals I believe. And I read that once the salinity gets that low the bacteria in the rocks pretty much go dormant... so that's not going to work well.

lazylivin · « **Reply #5 on:** October 12, 2011, 00:20:16 »

Yes it will kill everything in the tank except the fish. I use rock, single pump and heater in my quarantine tank. No other filtration. Here is a short and good guide to both copper and hypo. http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2011, 07:18:28 »

Thanks for that article, the other one i read i believe was just on a forum, this one has actual references, better source

Viggen · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2011, 08:45:25 »

I have had GREAT luck with coppersafe over the years.... one of the best things about it is that if you overdose it will not kill the fish!!!

They should be looking a lot better in a very short time.....

Sunny · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2011, 09:31:11 »

That sucks Darin. Hope everything goes well.

micki · « **Reply #9 on:** October 12, 2011, 09:36:43 »

That's a bummer Darin! What is going on in the fish world??? I talked to a friend of mine in another state and he too is having issues with his fish! Yesterday was a full moon but really?...

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2011, 15:17:12 »

well, i was able to get almost all the fish out, at least the ones that showed signs of ich. The ones i put in there last night already look 98% better. So tahts good. I just fed them, i'll do a 20% water change in a few once i know they are done eating and suck out all the left over food.

Cole Harlow · « **Reply #11 on:** October 12, 2011, 20:19:58 »

this looks like a good idea http://reefbuilders.com/2011/10/11/dr-gs-antiparasitic-fish-food/ wonder if it works

micki · « **Reply #12 on:** October 13, 2011, 08:00:08 »

Interesting... If anyone uses it let us know what you think!

Sunny · « **Reply #13 on:** October 13, 2011, 08:55:13 »

It would be a good thing to have on hand, if it works.

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #14 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:39:58 »

I was looking up the chemical used in that food. Chloroquine phosphate, its used in malaria pills. http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-8633-Chloroquine+Phosphate+Oral.aspx?drugid=8633&drugname=Chloroquine+Phosphate+Oral

according to that website it "by killing the ameba" kills the ameba. So how this relates to the claimed curing of fish diseases yet i am unsure.

http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com/pdf/Anti-ParasiticRxMSDS.pdf

So i guess you could buy some malaria pills, crush some up, add a small amount to your food and let them eat it. But how much to use yet i am uncertain.

Boonjob · « **Reply #15 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:44:12 »

I problem with this is that there are already CP resistant forms of malaria... It would be expected that that Ich would be the same... Also Prolonged use of CP can cause blindness... It could be expected to have the same effect on the fish, if you dosed often or constantly feed as an alternative ??

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #16 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:47:54 »

it states on the packaging to dose every other day for 3 weeks and then allow 3 weeks between treatments. Long term effects i am sure are unknow still as i'm sure they havent tested this for 5 years on fish before releasing it with constant treatments as they describe. But if they have tested it for a year on the same fish and then analyzed the fish for blindness and such, that would be some interesting data to get a hold of.

Boonjob · « **Reply #17 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:59:43 »

It would seem they know the effects of prolonged use with those restrictions... I doubt they have fully tested it though... certainly not for any length of time

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #18 on:** October 14, 2011, 12:04:49 »

it would be worth a shot making your own, you can get these pills http://www.rightshoponline.net/buy-aralen-usa.html which would last a long time so it may be cheaper. Or for ease, just buy Dr G's food.

Boonjob · « **Reply #19 on:** October 14, 2011, 14:54:33 »

Possible yes, Questions are though.... how much is a safe dosage for live body fish(especially since you have no control over how much they eat once it hits the water)... 2.... You could be creating a more resistant form of ich by either low dosing or high dosing(granted this form could be "quarentined" to just your tank provided you never sold or gave away anything from it to someone else.... the same would apply for their food aswell.... since CP is listed as a vet drug and Pet food is not regulated(for the most part) they could practically do with it as they please with little to no testing and sell on the open market.

DarinSchmidt · « **Reply #20 on:** October 14, 2011, 17:53:35 »

yeah, so who knows what amount they are putting in the food, they never actually showed any fish healed by their product.

rancoo · « **Reply #21 on:** October 17, 2011, 21:07:01 »

They have A lot more products on their website http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com/frozen-fish-food.cfm

reefer-oz · « **Reply #22 on:** November 13, 2011, 20:15:02 »

I've tried lots of things. The best think I did was adding a UV sterilizer. Dips don't seem to fix the problem. Particularly if you have many fish in your tank.

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Author Topic: Ugh, Ich, whats going on (Read 3098 times)