ich meds..

[chadman]

everyone says how non copper products don't really kill ich...i was thinking...if taking fish out of your dt will kill the ich because it doesn't have fish to live off of...then why wouldn't the "organic" ich treatments work as well? they do something with thickening the fishs' slime coat or osmething which makes it so the ich can't latch on to the fish...so if the ich can't latch on to the fish...then wouldn't the ich still die just the same in time?

 

[earlybird]

Does it actually work? I was under the impression that such items like stress coat are all B.S.?

 

[chadman]

i mean if it does work like it says then wouldn't it technically kill off the ich once the ich has run its lifecycle?

 

[earlybird]

I would think so. If there was a product that could make the slime on a fish more dense or thicker and if ich could not attach to a fish b/c of this excess slime then yes, it sounds feasible. I would think?

 

[chadman]

could this be a break through conversation in defense of alternative methods?

 

[earlybird]

I think that if stress coat or similar product worked people would be using it to control/kill ich. Since they don't it must not work. Which is why it is considered bs. There are only 2 ways to treat and kill ich copper and hypo (that I know of).
I just don't see how a product could add to and adhere to the slime on a fish to make it thicker. And even if it was thicker who's to say that ich still can't take hold. Some fish are naturally slimier (is that a word) than others. When I'm catching bait for large snook I try to get lady fish. These are the slipperiest fish in the work imo and have a lot of slime. Is this fish more resistant to ich because of its slime, I don't know but I would guess no.

 

[chadman]

i would say so actually...but i am no scientist

 

[geridoc]

I suspect that one of the problems with the "slime coat enhancers" is that ich doesn't only attack the outer skin. It also attaches to the gills, which is why the heavy breathing and scratching at the gill covers. It is not possible to thicken the coating on the gills - the fish will suffocate

 

[chadman]

funny you say that...i am in the middle of an ich outbreak and my yellow tang has no white spots but he is breathing heavy...i thought he made it unscaved...i guess i was wrong...