I don't know if LFS's sell No Sick Fish, but if they do, it would make it easier to get it quickly. There are lots of treatments on the market, and most are copper and/or malachite based. Copper is dangerous, and must be monitored VERY closely. Too little, and it's not effective. Too much and you kill your fish. Cannot be used in the DT. QT needs to have no sand or rock, as the copper will absorb into them, making them un-usable in the future. Malachite is a poison, which if used correctly will kill the free-swimming stage of Ick. The downside is... it's poison. Many wild fish are captured by being poisoned with Cyanide, which renders them unconscious. This greatly decreases their lifespan, and to poison them again in the tank is just downright cruel. Copper and poison destroy the fish's liver. No Sick Fish is a much better alternative, and the only one that I would use. I am not familiar with these other natural, herbal, or whatever they want to call them... so I can't say how well or how safe they are. I do know from first-hand experience that NSF works, and it didn't affect anything in my DT. Most of what I read about "reef-safe" treatments say that snails are not safe. I have hundreds of snails, and as far as I know, every one survived my treatment of NSF. I was very skeptical until I called and talked to Tyler, and he assured me that it had been extensively tested in reef aquariums, and they had not lost anything... ever. I'm like, yeah... right. Turns out I had the same success. No losses, but 100% Ick cure. I also had to make an emergency purchase for velvet. Once the Ick passed, I had an outbreak of velvet. Guess where I turned. NSF. I treated for velvet, and in a few days, it was gone. My coral beauty angel had it the worst, and still bears the ugly scars on it's head nearly a year later. I nick-named him "Scarface".
