Reef Safe Ich Treatments

[Shawn White]

Hi everyone I noticed tonight one of my clown fish has some ich been searching online for the past few hours looking to see what to do I was wondering are there any reef safe treatment you guys have used I don't have a a Q T tank I have some hermits and a few snails and a starfish so copper won't work thanks

 

[Josh]

The only real option i can think of for you is a 2nd tank as a hospital tank to treat the fish then to fallow your tank for the 70 days. Any in tank treatment is going to haunt you for years to come.

 

[Matt1997]

There is no reef safe treatment for ich. Only ich management can be used in the display.

 

[Luke.]

Agree with @Matt1997 , what gets me . And I could be wrong but I thought it was reaalllyyyy hard for clowns to get ich (they have a much better slime coat then other fish) and will get marine velvet before ich / that’s like ich to them .

 

[TORX]

Reef safe Treatment - Medic by Polyplab

Reef safe Cure - none

The common confusion is terminology. There is a difference between treatment and cure. As a harsh example, chemo is a cancer treatment, not a cure. It works for some and not others as well as every level in between.

The only reef safe cure is to QT amd medicate all fish and leave the tank fallow to allow the parasites to die off. Even then there have been a few reports of the parasite living through that due to it going dormant for a short time.

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[Shawn White]

Ok so I picked up a 20 gallon tank to QT the fish what treatments do you guys recomend

 

[Shawn White]

So I put him in hospital tank for good measure what what is a good medication to use when I did fresh water I would have turned up the heat and added a bunch of salt lol

 

[Matt1997]

First are you sure it’s Ich? Clowns are usually a little more resistant to ich

 

[Shawn White]

Think it's ich tiny white spots I didn't really notice them until I switched lights on the week en

 

[Matt1997]

Take them out of display into a QT tank to treat. If you have friends, buy the good medications...Leave display fallow for 8-10 weeks. Or buy two QT systems and perform tank transfer method

I personally don’t QT. If my fish get ich I feed a little more heavily with vitamin and garlic soaked food, keep water quality pristine and it clears in a few days. I’ve had ich three times over a few years. Only on newly introduced fish. My new gem tang, yellow, and powder brown currently have ich. I guarantee each one will be fine by end of week. The only downside of ich management, it’s always in your system.

 

[Shawn White]

So what would be the best food source to feed them

 

[Jason Bell]

What worked for me with yellow tang was Omega One with garlic, I know flake is bad to everyone, but my guys devour it, from damsels to tangs to angels, it may be the nutrition of a potato chip, bit hey I eat them too time to time.

 

[Matt1997]

In my opinion the most important thing is to keep the fish feeding. This will give it the energy needed to overcome the parasite. Second is the highest nutrition food that the fish will accept.

When I first introduced my copperband 2 years ago he got ich immediately. He would only eat brine shrimp and shredded mussels so I soaked those in vitamins With garlic and fed him twice daily until he recovered. Took about a week and ich has never come back.

For tangs I use nori followed by mysis. Clowns I would use mysis and pellets.

If the fish is being stubborn and not eating feed brine shrimp. I’ve never had a fish not go crazy over them. They are not nutritious, so soak them in pure vitamin solution until they thaw, then leave them for another hour or so to ensure they soak some in. Your clowns will look like balloons after the feeding.

 

[Matt1997]

My experience with treating fish has been very positive in terms of recovery %.

Ich is a parasite you do not need to worry about on MOST fish. I find that trying to net the fish, transferring into another system, and then subjecting to harsh meds is what pushes a lot of fish to death. If the fish was healthy when you got it, it will likely be fine without treatment. This is your fish though, so do as you see fit.

Certain diseases/parasites time is critical. Velvet and flukes come to mind immediately. The faster you eradicate the problem the higher your chances.

 

[Luke.]

Agree with @Matt1997 , I’ve had success that way , in fact i even had bought live or hatched my own brine shrimp and sucked them out as babies (they have more fatty acids in them when newly hatched) and then put them on a spoon of vitamins and same garlic plus . Can’t get better then that for live brine , and I’d let it sit for 20 min

 

[Shawn White]

Ok so I will try not to freak out and wait and see I have a hospital tank ready of needed does anybody use marine new life spectrum I used new life when I had front and they were very healthy is the garlic just to intise the fish to eat or is there other benifits

 

[Luke.]

Boosts the immune system, and yes I use that fish food , a like a mixture , just keep in mind nitrates will rise so make sure you keep up on water change