How to prevent Ick?
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tmncali
New Member
from another board
fresh garlic cloves in water and applied it with some flake food every other day for 10 days......at the end of 10 days the coral beauty was back to normal(except for a small splotch where the open wound was)
Still doin good to this day
now just to ease my feeble mind I dose 1 clove of garlic each Sunday morning along with that days food........not a problem since the first out break
and another post from else wheres
First of all, treating ich with garlic will only work if the stressor in your tank is removed. In my experience, ich is usually a secondary cause to what is actually stressing your fish out. What are your water parameters like? Nitrates? Ammonia? etc.? Has your tank gone through any major changes as far as temps., fish additions, etc.? Have you ever thought that perhaps the idea of getting a tang in such a small tank could have something to do with it as well? Tangs, IME, are ich magnets. And perhaps putting him in such a small tank only stresses him out even more. Tangs need lots of room to swim since they are constantly grazing for food and in a 46G bowfront, i wouldn't think that he has enough room to roam.
As for feeding garlic, you'll need to get some sort or garlic liquid and not the minced garlic. You can try some kyolic gel caps where you can break em open and have some highly concentrated garlic come out of it, or you can try the supermarket for some McCormicks garlic juice. I've tried the latter and it worked somewhat, but perhaps the kyolic would work best.
HTH
As a disclaimer none of the above is an original thought from me. i copied from elsewhere
Tony
[ July 19, 2001: Message edited by: tmncali ]
fresh garlic cloves in water and applied it with some flake food every other day for 10 days......at the end of 10 days the coral beauty was back to normal(except for a small splotch where the open wound was)
Still doin good to this day
now just to ease my feeble mind I dose 1 clove of garlic each Sunday morning along with that days food........not a problem since the first out break
and another post from else wheres
First of all, treating ich with garlic will only work if the stressor in your tank is removed. In my experience, ich is usually a secondary cause to what is actually stressing your fish out. What are your water parameters like? Nitrates? Ammonia? etc.? Has your tank gone through any major changes as far as temps., fish additions, etc.? Have you ever thought that perhaps the idea of getting a tang in such a small tank could have something to do with it as well? Tangs, IME, are ich magnets. And perhaps putting him in such a small tank only stresses him out even more. Tangs need lots of room to swim since they are constantly grazing for food and in a 46G bowfront, i wouldn't think that he has enough room to roam.
As for feeding garlic, you'll need to get some sort or garlic liquid and not the minced garlic. You can try some kyolic gel caps where you can break em open and have some highly concentrated garlic come out of it, or you can try the supermarket for some McCormicks garlic juice. I've tried the latter and it worked somewhat, but perhaps the kyolic would work best.
HTH
As a disclaimer none of the above is an original thought from me. i copied from elsewhere
Tony
[ July 19, 2001: Message edited by: tmncali ]
blueberryboomer
Active Member
We use garlic from a jar that is already chopped and is packed in its own juices. We use it for about 3-4 days when we get an outbreak, no longer than 4 in a row it will cause your water to be cloudy.(learned that first hand) Garlic does work to kill ick....
Cleaner shrimp do help, we have one in our 200 and he stays in his own little corner, everynight you can see the fish take turns getting cleaned, pretty cool. We feed garlic once a week now to help prevent the outbreak of ick. Later Lisa
[ July 19, 2001: Message edited by: BLUEBERRYBOOMER ]
Cleaner shrimp do help, we have one in our 200 and he stays in his own little corner, everynight you can see the fish take turns getting cleaned, pretty cool. We feed garlic once a week now to help prevent the outbreak of ick. Later Lisa
[ July 19, 2001: Message edited by: BLUEBERRYBOOMER ]
jimi
Active Member
Do not count on cleaner shrimp to get rid of ick they MAY get some but no where near enough to help. Garlic itself does not kill ick but repels it in mild cases not severe ones. Quarantine all new comers and use hyposalinity for treatment is one of the best preventitive measures you can use.
andymi
Member
I think cleaner shrimp are fantastic especially in pairs. These little things work their tails off. I have two tangs and on occassion I will see what looks like a few white spots on the fish at night, and in the morning they are gone. One night the blue tang had about 10 and I was getting ready to break out the hospital tank. Next morning...clean as a whistle. Mine have done wonders for my tank, I have 2 in a 70 gallon.
--Andy
--Andy
slowest is fastest
Member
I agree in part with most of what has been said. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
So a fish who isn't stressed and has the benifit of good water is less likely to have a serious case of ick. But that is not the most important factor. It is kind of like a person who is in good health walking through a room full of people with the flu. There is a good chance(not 100%) they won't catch a cold. Take the same person who has worked 3 or 4 double shifts in a row (or in the middle of finals week etc), hasn't been eating right and generally isn't up to par. Walk them through the same room full of sick people and guess what....Chance are they will get sick.
As for quarantining the fish...this is by far the best way to guard against spreading disease of any kind to your main tank but only if you treat the fish while they are being QT. This is also by far the most important step. Simply isolating the fish for a month doesn't prevent the spread of any disease they(the fish you are QT) may have but are either resistant to, or unaffected by, to your other tank. You must assume they have something even if they are not showing signs of disease or parasites etc.
If you want to try and avoid ICK and other diseases maintain a stress free enviornment with as near perfect water quality as you can. Quarantine and treat all new fish appropriately according to symptoms they exibit and consider copper for the QT tank as a peventative measure. In 15 years of keeping saltwater fish I have lost only a handfull of fish. All but a few from not QT.
SiF
So a fish who isn't stressed and has the benifit of good water is less likely to have a serious case of ick. But that is not the most important factor. It is kind of like a person who is in good health walking through a room full of people with the flu. There is a good chance(not 100%) they won't catch a cold. Take the same person who has worked 3 or 4 double shifts in a row (or in the middle of finals week etc), hasn't been eating right and generally isn't up to par. Walk them through the same room full of sick people and guess what....Chance are they will get sick.
As for quarantining the fish...this is by far the best way to guard against spreading disease of any kind to your main tank but only if you treat the fish while they are being QT. This is also by far the most important step. Simply isolating the fish for a month doesn't prevent the spread of any disease they(the fish you are QT) may have but are either resistant to, or unaffected by, to your other tank. You must assume they have something even if they are not showing signs of disease or parasites etc.
If you want to try and avoid ICK and other diseases maintain a stress free enviornment with as near perfect water quality as you can. Quarantine and treat all new fish appropriately according to symptoms they exibit and consider copper for the QT tank as a peventative measure. In 15 years of keeping saltwater fish I have lost only a handfull of fish. All but a few from not QT.
SiF