reoccurring ICK problem

[inline6]

Anybody have any expereince with a reoccurring ICK problem on just one fish? My tricolor wrasse comes down with very light signs of ick (white spots on the fins usually) every couple of days, any ideas on how to rid this fish of this problem?

I've tried vitamin enriched foods and a wider range of foods to help it ward off the ick.

Any ideas beside trapping it?

 

[samster]

freak i hate ich it never seems to rid -=T i hypo my fish i left them outta the tank for 2 months n it happend again and now im hypoin them all again they are in hopsitol tank with the display fishless and i hope somone could answer me to finally get rid of all ich itself~ lol

 

[inkblue]

:grumpy::screama: ...i had a simiLar proBlem and i couLdnt get rid of it untiL i trapped tHe infected fisH and copper'd him. i tried a bunch of 'reeF-safe' medicatioNs aNd none worK'd unTil i used pLain ol' coPper.

 

[inline6]

Sam,
Does it usally happen to just one fish
or do you find it on all your fish every so often?

S

 

[ulmo]

Sharn,

Did you try adding garlic extract to the fish food? I have a hippo tang that came down with ick , so I tried this method for a month and have been ick free.

 

[inline6]

Sharn,

Did you try adding garlic extract to the fish food? I have a hippo tang that came down with ick , so I tried this method for a month and have been ick free.

Yeah, I started heavier doses of garlic extract in the food now.
Gotta nip this problem in 3 weeks!

 

[Pedro]

From day one in this hobby i have always used garlic to treat for ich. I buy those garlic caplets in powder form at the health food store. I then mix it with the frozen food and feed. From what i understand, the ich hates the garlic and jump off. Since i feed all the fish, it helps in keeping it spread.

Right now i have a yellow tang that has a few spots on it's fins (new addition). I take it that the garlic is helping in keeping it away from the body. As it flies off it's host, i hope that the ozone will also help contain it.

But give the garlic method a try, it's natural so there's nothing to lose.

 

[pecan2phat]

Been fighting ick in my 90g fowlr since Sept of 05. Tried everything from single, double, triple doses of Kick-Ick, Rally, No Sick Fish and hypo'd for 38 days at 1.009 and the ba$tards still came back. Had almost two complete wipeouts of fish already and am currently in my 2nd attempt with hypo at 1.008.
Next course is to copper the entire tank since no corals or inverts will ever go into that tank.
Everyday for the last 5 years, their food is soaked in garlic, so that doesn't work. I've tried ginger extract also no luck and even mixed Metronidazole into their foods. Nada....... it's a strain from Hell I say!

 

[DEEPWATER]

wrasse?

JMO ,but do you think it could be sand particals from when its sleeps ,Thats if you have a snd bed ,My mandarin covers himself in the sand at nite ,sometime it semd that way to ,JM ,2

 

[lazyreefer]

did you guys try UV?

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Next course is to copper the entire tank since no corals or inverts will ever go into that tank.

Just watch out the water chemistry will change drastically during treatment. This is a very dangerous procedure!

it's a strain from Hell I say!

Sounds like so

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Does it usally happen to just one fish

It's because the fish is already weaken and the spot infected before were even more likely to have reinfection.

or do you find it on all your fish every so often?

S

It's because the amount of the free swimming ich are in large qty.

 

[marrone]

Been fighting ick in my 90g fowlr since Sept of 05. Tried everything from single, double, triple doses of Kick-Ick, Rally, No Sick Fish and hypo'd for 38 days at 1.009 and the ba$tards still came back. Had almost two complete wipeouts of fish already and am currently in my 2nd attempt with hypo at 1.008.
Next course is to copper the entire tank since no corals or inverts will ever go into that tank.
Everyday for the last 5 years, their food is soaked in garlic, so that doesn't work. I've tried ginger extract also no luck and even mixed Metronidazole into their foods. Nada....... it's a strain from Hell I say!

Hypo only works on ich, so you need to make sure you have ich and not some thing else. Also even though 38 days is a long time you really need to treat close to 2 months and you need to get the SG down to 1.006-1.007 range as a slight flux can causethe SG to rise enough for the ich to start again. If you going to use copper I recommand Power Copper as it's strong but you can dose high levels without any problems and it last for a # of months without levels dropping.

 

[marrone]

Just watch out the water chemistry will change drastically during treatment. This is a very dangerous procedure!



Sounds like so

If you add copper over a couple of days it will be fine. There isn't any danger to worry about as long as you do it slowly and not all at once, which if you do can cause the bacteria to crash cause you to go through a cycle.

 

[spykes]

after keeping fish for 3 years, i dont think there is a better treatment then water parameters. People said that hippo tangs, powder blue, and achilles tangs are probably most infamous with ich. Only time you will see ich is when your tank has something stressing the fish. Just find out what is stressing your fish and ich will go away. I battled ich till my fish was not breathing and not swmming anymore. Then i found out raw A/C electric was shocking the tank. Once i figured that 3 days after my fish came back swimming out. Ask SlamaJama his powder blue doesnt have ich whatso ever. As for warren's tank. I think Warren has alot of fish and comming out of hypo stresses the fish.

 

[marrone]

Some times the only way to get rid of ich is to use copper. That being said there are strains of ich that can handle the copper. Even if you use copper the ich may still be resistance to the copper and lead to wipe out in the tank. What will happen is some fish will become Immuned to the ich and you may have a couple of fish left over that make it.

The biggest problem with fighting ich is not the ich but that the fish may come down with a secondary infection which is worst than the ich and harder to fight. This is some thing that you need to watch out for.

 

[jhale]

warren after fighting ich that long I would take some drastic measures.

first I would break down that tank and dry everything out. that will make sure the ich is dead and gone from your system.
I would use the three tank approach to combatting the ich you have.
I think dave told me about it, or I read about it on RC. Either way it involves recognizing the three life cycles of ich, on the fish, free swimming, and on the bottom. as the fish show signs of ich you move them to the next tank, hopefully leaving less and less ich behind as you do this. In your case with many fish infected you may need multiple sets of three tanks. I don't remember the specifics but when I heard about it the procedure made complete sense. Maybe Dave or a search on RC can give all the details. If I had to deal with ich again this is the way I would go. good luck!

and once you win the battle don't forget to QT ALL the new fish.

 

[cali_reef]

warren after fighting ich that long I would take some drastic measures.

first I would break down that tank and dry everything out. that will make sure the ich is dead and gone from your system.

And I would get a new, larger tank as the second step.

Some of my fish get ich when my tanks' temp changed more than 4 deg or if I added a new fish, they eventually go away after a week or two. I think nothing short of copper will kill ich, UV does not kill the cycle for sure. Garlic just entice the fish to eat so they have the energy to fight off the ich.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

First things first. Any and all doses of anything should not be in your display tank but a main tank (JIC a newb reads this it puts it right there cut and dry for them).

Second Stress on the fish is the biggest causes of ich in any tank. I would check everything, water params and add a grounding rod these things can cause stress on a fish. I think Jh has a great idea with the 3 tank system I have never heard of it but it makes great sense.

Last I think with auto top offs and drip acclimation and QT are the best ways to combat stress and ich in a tank.

Keep in mind that I am still a newb at this and most of what I have said has worked here. Vitamins and garlic are great preventative measures.

Also try this brain fart I just had, look to see if another fish is causing the ich'd fish any undue stress by chasing or picking on the sick fish. That could be a thing to watch for. I remember someone here suggesting that to me at one point in time. Good luck.

 

[regal]

did you guys try UV?

I know this topic is controversial. I had the same problem when I got my PBT. Tried everything you guys mentioned. Hospital tank, hypo, garlic, ginger and diatom filter except copper. But once I re-introduce the fish back to the main, he gets it again. Finally bought a 80w UV (my tank is 400g BTW) and now ick free with a PBT, sailfin, hippo and chevron.