ophiura
Active Member
There are two PROVEN methods for treating ick.
Proper hypo (must be done long term and with a refractometer)
Proper Copper (must be done with a copper test kit)
No other treatments, including garlic, are proven to work in all cases. Garlic may be most effective in encouraging fish to eat, IMO, but other aspects of its reported effects may not be scientifically supported. Sometimes it works...but IMO what ultimately works is addressing the STRESS that the fish is exposed to. Many other treatments may help, many may work for certain people in certain circumstances, but the above two are pretty much sure bets.
It is very important to research both methods before doing them - and NEVER in a main tank.
Proper QT a new fish really MUST be for at least a full period of hypo or copper treatment. There is little good, IMO, in QTing a fish and then putting it into your tank if you do not treat it as though it has ick. Because basically, they do. It may just not be apparent.
The only way to keep your tank free of ick is to do a full course of hypo or copper on all fish, including any you add, and to leave the display tank free of fish for around 6 weeks or so. Otherwise, you will still have ick in the system, and it may become an issue whenever a fish becomes stressed. The weakened immune systems allows the parasite to ramp up and become a problem.
IME, I had a kole tang and coral beauty who did not get along. After several days of sparring, ick set in on those two. It would be apparent for several days, then appear to be "gone" then it would be back in force. The solution, though I did feed garlic enriched foods, was to assess and remove the stress in the tank. In this case, it was primarily the other fish. Once that was done, the rounds with ick gradually improved in both fish. The tang I had for about a year with no signs of ick. The coral beauty was established in another hobbyists tank for at least that long. But along came the ick as soon as there was a stress. And it will always be a risk which is why it is critical to not overstock or allow things to slide. However, the sixline wrasse, which didn't much care at all, never showed any signs of ick.
In fact, some suggest QT of ALL animals and LR in a tank...not with hypo or copper, obviously, but in isolation to allow the parasite to die off. For most hobbyists, ick will always be a potential issue because few will go to the lengths required to truly have an ick free system.
You've tried adding some of the most delicate tangs into the tank. Is this a standard 120g tank? If so, it is not ideal for some of these tangs, IMO.
Proper hypo (must be done long term and with a refractometer)
Proper Copper (must be done with a copper test kit)
No other treatments, including garlic, are proven to work in all cases. Garlic may be most effective in encouraging fish to eat, IMO, but other aspects of its reported effects may not be scientifically supported. Sometimes it works...but IMO what ultimately works is addressing the STRESS that the fish is exposed to. Many other treatments may help, many may work for certain people in certain circumstances, but the above two are pretty much sure bets.
It is very important to research both methods before doing them - and NEVER in a main tank.
Proper QT a new fish really MUST be for at least a full period of hypo or copper treatment. There is little good, IMO, in QTing a fish and then putting it into your tank if you do not treat it as though it has ick. Because basically, they do. It may just not be apparent.
The only way to keep your tank free of ick is to do a full course of hypo or copper on all fish, including any you add, and to leave the display tank free of fish for around 6 weeks or so. Otherwise, you will still have ick in the system, and it may become an issue whenever a fish becomes stressed. The weakened immune systems allows the parasite to ramp up and become a problem.
IME, I had a kole tang and coral beauty who did not get along. After several days of sparring, ick set in on those two. It would be apparent for several days, then appear to be "gone" then it would be back in force. The solution, though I did feed garlic enriched foods, was to assess and remove the stress in the tank. In this case, it was primarily the other fish. Once that was done, the rounds with ick gradually improved in both fish. The tang I had for about a year with no signs of ick. The coral beauty was established in another hobbyists tank for at least that long. But along came the ick as soon as there was a stress. And it will always be a risk which is why it is critical to not overstock or allow things to slide. However, the sixline wrasse, which didn't much care at all, never showed any signs of ick.
In fact, some suggest QT of ALL animals and LR in a tank...not with hypo or copper, obviously, but in isolation to allow the parasite to die off. For most hobbyists, ick will always be a potential issue because few will go to the lengths required to truly have an ick free system.
You've tried adding some of the most delicate tangs into the tank. Is this a standard 120g tank? If so, it is not ideal for some of these tangs, IMO.
