Let's talk about ick, baby

[schunior]

My tank has ick. Doesn't matter how it got there. It is slowly taking fish after fish. My question is simple......is there anything I can do to stop it? I do not have another tank and I have invertabrates in the 90 gallon tank with the fish, so no meds.
Salinity is 1.023
temp is 82
ph 8
trites 0
trates 0
ammonia 0
Let me know what you think. Currently battling the ick are two clowns and a yellow tang.
At risk a lawn mower blenny and a six line wrasse.
Lost to the cause a dwarf flame angel, kole tang and a royal grammas.
Thanks for your help and suggestions.

 

[lion_crazz]

Your options are:
-Buy a quarantine tank and perform hypo on the fish
-Pick up some neon gobies (they eat parasites off of fish)
-Use a reef safe med like Stop Parasite (which does not harm inverts)

 

[schunior]

Thank you!

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
Your options are:
-Buy a quarantine tank and perform hypo on the fish
-Pick up some neon gobies (they eat parasites off of fish)
-Use a reef safe med like Stop Parasite (which does not harm inverts)

Lion, does stop parasite work very well? Have you ever tried it?

 

[beth]

Get a large rubbermaid container, add a few PH's, and a heater [if you need one], fill tub with water from display, move LR and inverts over. Then treat fish in tank using hyposalinity. The treatment info is in the FAQ Thread.
How's that.....babe?

 

[lion_crazz]

Alyssia, I have used Stop Parasite and it has worked very successfully each time I used it. I had to use it twice in my 75, and I have never had to use it in my 210 because I have not had ich there. I have also recommended it to customers of mine and it has worked for them as well. However, I don't like to push it onto people unless they ask my experience with it. I would rather just give people their options, and let them choose what they want to do.
Beth, I like your idea, but I have one problem with it. How would you stop the ammonia from spiking in the display tank? What if the live rock is the person's only form of biological filtration?

 

[schunior]

Thanks for all the input. I have started a course where I put the ick medicine in the food (the name of the med starts with a "m", didn't bring it to work with me) and added some garlic extreme. I am hoping as long as I can keep them eating they will stay alive. I am also making a big push to raise the pH in the tank, but don't seem to be able to budge it off of 8.0. I will post the name of the pH booster I am using when I find it.

 

[milomlo]

I like Beth's idea!! Along w/ feeding with garlic in the food. Beth states that soaking food in FRESH garlic is BETTER than garlic Xtreme.

 

[badoleross]

I have used Stop Parastite and Kick Ich. Both of these products are reef safe and both of them really didnt take care of the problem. The only thing they got rid of was my money. Hypo works! IMO.

 

[beth]

Originally Posted by milomlo
I like Beth's idea!! Along w/ feeding with garlic in the food. Beth states that soaking food in FRESH garlic is BETTER than garlic Xtreme.
Actually, it really is the only garlic treatment. Bottled garlic has no value with parasite control.

 

[schunior]

cool, everything has stabilized for the moment. everyone is eating. second question.....assuming I can keep everyone alive, how long will the ick stay on them? I read the life cycle info, but that amkes it sound like they will never kick it. Just curious.

 

[lstt]

I have used Stop Parasite it is the ONLY thing that has worked for me. I lost so many fish using a QT, copper, hypo , No Sick Fish Med, Kick Ich and probably more that I can't remember. Stop Parasite works . I use it along with decreasing SG to 1.018 for about 3 - 4 wks. Using a QT sounds good but then you have to put the fish into another new stressful situation and here comes the ich again. You can call the number on the bottle and get Al himself, great guy always helps me pull thru my ichy situations.
thats my 2 cents!!! Hope you will try and it works for you.
Lori

 

[luvtangs]

In my experience with ich, I've found that the fish need to be HEALTHY to stop it. Meaning, I use garlic in their food and feed them a variety. I have used a qt tank and hypo. But we all know fish are HARD to catch. I had an ich breakout a week ago on a few of my guys. Been using garlic and raised thr temp to about 82 and ich seems to be gone.

 

[3m]

who carries stop parasite, none of my LFS do

 

[lion_crazz]

schnuior, that is a tough question to answer. If you do not hypo your fish, you may always have ich in your tank because all they need to do is host once to begin their life cycle over again.

 

[schunior]

What I am running into now is the death of my invertabrates without exoskeletons. They are picking up the medicated food. Ick just kinda all around sucks. The fish seem to be getting through it and the shrimp/crabs have been fine. We will see, all I can do is hold on and wait for now.
Thanks for all your help everyone. I will keep my eyes open for Stop Parasite.

 

[lstt]

I think petsolutions sells stop parasite . if not go onto the chem-marin.com or call Al at chem-marin, tell him Lori told you to call, 570-651-0298.
good luck with your ich. it will go away. talk to al he will help you out
lori