currently treating ick with formalin 3

[bzolnowski]

i have been treating for ick on 3 out of 10 fish for the past 15 days. i have still light spots on my blue tang as well as puffer. they are better then they were. they have ligthened up on some days and then they seem to come back. i have been treating with formalin 3 and plan to use it for a total of four weeks due to the life cycle of ick. i have inverts, live sand, and live rock so i have been careful to choose something that wont hopefully harm them. the only thing i have lost due to the medication was my cc starfish. all the fish seem to be doing very well, eating, etc. even the ones with ick have been fine. i started treating the day after it first appeared. my question is, should i begin to see better progress soon or is something wrong? i want to make sure i kick the ick. i have no shot at qt so i have been treating the whole tank. please help!

 

[beth]

Formalin is formaldehyde. Very toxic treatment, particually to reef tanks. And, it is also ineffective for ich. You're wasting your time, and the health of your tank with this ineffective treatment.
You need to stop putting formalin in your tank immediately. Do a very large water change, and continue doing large water changes until you have done a complete change out of the water in your display tank. I am serious about this. If you have carbon filtration, also use this for the next month changing out the carbon weekly.
The only effective treatment for ich is hyposalinity and cooper. These treatments need to be done in a QT. You can set up a great QT for $100. or less. So, why sacrifice the hundreds of dollars you have invested in your tank by using toxic substances in it? Do you know, that there are some states that won't even allow the sale of formalin because it is that toxic. Formalin should be used for short term bathes only and only for specific ailments, such as brooklynella and black ich.
Please don't take this as a "know it all" lecture. I am dead serious.

 

[bzolnowski]

thanks beth, my whole problem is not being able to qt, i just dont have the space. i appreciate your help. i really hope i dont lose everything. i stopped the formalin tonight.

 

[beth]

Well, I don't see a happy ending here without adequate treatment. Do as I suggested with t mass water change to get the formalin out. You can then try a "reef safe" med. They are not reliable or full-proof, better its better than nothing.
Also, if you have 30" of space in some corner of your home, then you can set up a QT. My QT is 12"x30".....20gal Long.