Originally Posted by Granny
http:///forum/post/2465158
...... The Ich Protozoan Seems To Exist In All Tanks Unless They Maintain A Low Copper Level Or Utilize Uv Continuously. Weakened Or Stressed Fish Succumb To The Protozan As They Cannot Fend It Off Via A Healthy Slime Coat.
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I agree you need to get your Nitrates down. That, unfortunately, is about all I agree with in the above post.
Ich is a parasite with a known and well studied life cycle. It is NOT present in any tank until it is introduced. It is not airborn like bacteria, nor is it spontaniously generated when we set up our tanks. The aquarist MUST introduce it. A properly set up SW aquarium with proper QT procedures will NEVER see ich in it. That is 100% completely and scientifically proven.
Hypo salinity will kill your live rock. Do not do hypo in a tank with live rock or any other invert.
You can argue that chemicals like "Stop Parasites" by Chem Marine works, but the science is not on your side. A quick trip to the official website reveals many issues:
"it's a good idea to use Erythromycin along with Stop Parasites for best results"That is a great idea, IF you want to completely obliterate the helpful bacteria in your tank and want to start your tank re-cycling.... A broad spectrum anti-biodic cannot tell the difference between good and bad bacteria.
"Put 10 drops per gallon of water twice daily into the tank for 5 days.." Ich has a life cycle of around 28 days (somewhat dependent on temp). It has multiple stages. Treating a tank for 5 days does nothing excpet conveniently coinscide with the time it takes for Ich in the hosting phase to naturally drop off...
"Add 5 drops of Stop Parasites to the tank water twice daily for 4-5 days after new fish are introduced to prevent stress induced parasites in the new fish as well as the old ones..." Surprisingly, the maker of an expensive medication does not promote QT and instead subscribes to the mistaken belief that parasites are somehow magically summoned when a fish is stressed.
""..remember as long as the fish are in copper Parasites will not be visible and a untrained eye may purchase the specimen not knowing the problem that may lay ahead" I don't even understand this quote.. Apparently Copper allows parasites to cloak.
"...If these signs are present it most likely has or eventually will soon encounter a Bacteria infection that will cause a major outbreak of Ich which will not only jeopardize the fish infected but all the fish in your show tank" Absolutely, completely false. Ich, as we have discussed, is a parasite. It's presence and attacks are in no way related to bacteria.
This guy is selling his products, pure and simple. His limited (and faulty) grasp of Ich should warn off anyone contemplating dumping his snake oil into your tank.
Now, I respect your Marine Biologist friend. That said, a well respected expert in our hobby, Bob Fenner says "There is no such thing as a "reef safe" AND effective parasitic medication..." (taken from his website). He also says, when discussing this product in particular "Do know of other credible users that assert success using both of these... however, don't consider them completely safe or effective myself. Bob Fenner" He also says "there are NO reef safe anti-Cryptocaryon cures... NONE... What leads people to believe there could be? What would select this protozoan and yet leave others be? Arggggh" and when discussing medications in general for Ich says "Which we know don't work... Do wish we could expose the crooks (yes, that's what these charlatans are) that hawk the hot sauce, sugar and garlic "remedies" as "ich et al. cure-alls... You, I know who these folks, manufacturers, products are... They're likely single-handedly responsible for the loss of more hobbyists (let alone livestock mortality) than any other cause"... Fenner promotes the use of Copper for Ich treatment (IN A QT TANK ONLY). Copper, and Hypo, are the only two proven treatments for Ich. They must be done in a QT tank. Your display tank MUST run fishless to allow Ich to run it's course, and die out when it cannot find a host.
FW dips might rid your fish of some parasites, but does absolutely nothing for the parasites, in various life stages, in your tank. If you dip a fish then place it back into a parasite infected tank all you've done is stress the fish...
Garlic does seem to promote appetite (I use it myself for this reason alone), but only fresh garlic shows any signs of actually maybe boosting a fish's immune system. Again, garlic will not cure a tank of ich. (If your tank is overun with vampires then maybe this is a proper treatment
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