rookie ick mistake, help!

[slouiscar]

While I was away, my wife saw ick and panicked. She went out and bought some Greenex.
Does it contain copper? It did not indicate that it did on the box.
Right now my 29 gallon only has live rock, snails, crabs and 2 clowns… and they have mild ick. I would like to treat it in this tank since it is small and only has the two fish but I do not want to contaminate the tank with copper.
I know the pros in here are going to send me out to put together a QT tank but I just can’t swing it right now.
Has anyone else been through this? What did you do? What would you not do again?

 

[robn]

I believe that Greenex is a combination of malachite green and quinine hydrochloride, so I don't believe copper is an element in it. It is made by Aquatronics.......check it out on the Net but I don't think it has copper in it. I would still QT your sick fish and use Greenex rather than use Greenex in the main tank, just in case. The Greenex will also permanently stain your silicone in your display tank, so aesthetically it is not a good choice.
There are other methods of treating them such as hyposalinity and copper. You might check into those, plenty of info about it on this board.
I have 2 tangs in QT right now....I am just using a Rubbermaid 40 gallon container....it's about 3' so it gives them some swimming room, plus it was cheap. Don't put any live rock in there because your medication will get into it and reduce its effectiveness. Just use some PVC pipe to give them a place to hide.

 

[beth]

Greenx is not a good treatment for ich, and I strongly advise putting it in your tank where you have live rock and inverts.
There is no easy solution if you can't QT. Hyposalinity is the best treatment. Bit the bullet, and set up a QT.