Failed Medication Horror Stories?

I notice there's been a lot of lively discussion re: treatment & diseases of fish, where we all make recommendations to one another primarily based upon our own successful experiences. What about cases where medications/treatments failed? What products and/or procedures have failed to live up to your expectations for the treatment of fish illnesses? What is the efficacy of products like Kick-Ich and are they truly reef-safe?
Personally, I've had limited success with many meds. through the years, until I experimented with garlic. My experience with garlic as a treatment is limited, so I'm curious to hear if anyone has had poor success with this treatment. :confused:
[ June 11, 2001: Message edited by: tangs_in_pacifica ]
 

playtime

Member
i have to say that I have used the garlic and I did have success. I was treating my singapore angel who had a few ich spots. What I noticed with the garlic is that he would eat it and the ich would fall off but during the night (lights off) they would go crazy.(or so it seemed) In the am (lights on 10.am) he would have lots of spotts. I used it for about 8 days with what I called good success since the blue damsel in the tank with him didn't get ich at all. But felt sorry for the angel because he still had signs. I decided to take him to my lfs so they can copper him. ( my qt isn't large enough to not stress him out) and he died the next day. My thought is that maybe something more than ich was the problem. by the time I took him down there, his eyes started to get cloudy and I am not quite sure about that. My personal opinion of garlic is still good. Blue damsel is still ich free. I will continue the garlic treatment to rid the tank of the nasty ich and then add another fish in about a month. I want to try water sol. garlic. right now I am using self crushed garlic mixed with flake. Its ok but want to use it with frozen so the other sounds better.
playtime
 

playtime

Member
sorry, you said horror stories didn't you. How about this. I used melafix once for what I thought was ich on a spotted box fish. first, it stinks, and it didn't work, the boxfish died. I think that is horror, don't you!!! Oh, this treatment was suggested my a dummy at my lfs (he doesn't work there any more) and I was new to the hobby. I am smarter now. I think. LOL!!!
playtime
 

pufferlover

Active Member
Melafix bad stuff as I have said numerous times. For evey good post there is 4 or 5 bad ones on that stuff.
Good stuff I have used is Paragon2, Greenx. Biosphere beads from Mardell for bacteria, Seacure Copper (my favorite copper treatment has never failed me).
 
Originally sent in an email to Chem-Marin by T_I_P:
<STRONG>Shame on you! Why do you advertise reef safe! Your
product has almost wiped out my reef! About a week
ago, I noticed a few spots on my Tang. Other than
that, my reef was doing fine. I administered Stop Ich
and now my reef is in chaos.
-The ich has gotten worse and has spread to my
Oscillaris... all fish are very stressed!
-My Maxima and Chrocea have both died
-2 cleaner shrimp have died
-My Colt and Open brain are near death
-My Mushrooms are all withdrawn and have strings
floating from them.. I believe that many are dead
-I seem to have lost my entire population of Amphipods
and Copipods
You, Chem-Marin, have wiped out my reef. I would've
done far better relying on my UV filter (the one that
your instructions told me to turn off) and letting the
fish fight it on their own.
</STRONG>
I was searching for an old email, when I came across this one. It's a message I sent to Chem-Marin re: their Stop Ich. This was over two years ago... I discovered garlic for light infestations right after this. I'd also NEVER again shut off my UV, as the Chem-Marin instructions suggest.
BTW, my clams did die. I think I lost two cleaner shrimp and two LPSs. I turned on my UV, fed my fish garlic, Water-changed and skimmed all of the Chem-Marin Crud out of my tank.... eventually, the fish and inverts recovered. It's amazing how harsh the Stop Ich was on my inverts. Besides, IMOHO, turning off my UV filter and killing the two cleaner shrimp weren't exactly doing wonders for the fishs' ability to fight off tha parasites. IMOHO: Stop-Ich is a product of questionable efficacy with unquestionably bad instructions.
[ June 23, 2001: Message edited by: tangs_in_pacifica ]
 
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