Let Me Pass On What I Have Learned.

[SubMariner]

Ick...

That's right folks, Ick can devastate a tank immediately. I wanted to pass on what I have learned in treating this disease. So here we go...

Recently, I purchased a couple of fish from a Local Breeder, which will not be mentioned. I did the usual thing that a Fish Geek does and so I quarantined the fish for 5 days and even gave them a bath of Formalin to knock off any parasites that they may have been carrying.

Nevertheless, I placed them in my tank full of Peacocks and Haplochromis, thinking that everything should be safe. Within 2 days, Ick had infiltrated the tank and all of my precious fish had become infected.

But wait, I had recently moved a fish from that tank a day or so ago not knowing that it had been infected by the ICK. Also without knowing I vacumed the gravel of the tank and did a water change without noticing the ick in the tank.

I then did a couple of other water changes in some of my Mbuna tanks and Malawi Peacock tanks with the same gravel Vacumn gravel cleaner and somehow infected them as well. DAMN IT! SHOOT! I had just infected a bunch of my other tanks.

I was so upset, I could not believe this happened to me, only because I brought 2 new fish into my system. This is why you guys have to be careful on how sneaky Ick can be. It is very rare for this disease to hit, but if you're not careful...BAM!!!!!!!!

I immediately took action and attacked the disease with a medicine that I recommend highly;

CUPRAMINE by Seachem.

Thanks to the great Architect in the Heavens I was taught how to use this medicine and use it effectively.

It is the best stuff out there. I had 5 tanks infected and now they are all clean and Ick Free. NOT ONE CASUALTY. Not one...


1.) Remove the filter media in the tank or sponge and put it in a zip lock bag and place it in the refrigerator.

2.) Place regular filter fiber media in it's place.

3.) Raise the temperature of the tank to be between 80-85 degrees plus.

4.) Example, if you have a 40 gallon breeder, drop 40 drops of Cupramine (Buffered Action Copper) and let sit for 2 days.

5.) After 2nd day, do a water change and retreat tank with 40 drops and wait 2 more days.

6.) By the 2nd Treatment, if you still see ick on their bodies do another water change and a 3 treatment, only half a dose. Wait 2 more days.

7.) Now, you're fish should be cured. Do another water change and place the zip locked good bacteria filter media back in and you're set to go. No more Ick and your fish will be happier than ever.

P.S. It is recommended for you to have a Copper Tester and make sure you don't overdose because you could kill your fish.

Anyways, I am quite confident on this method and I am sure there are other alternatives on how to treat this disease.


Good Luck,


RM

SubMariner

 

[maddog10]

Most of my fish end up in their own tanks so quarantine is an ongoing process. However, if I have a fish that needs to be added to an established tank I will quarantine it for 4-6 weeks. 5 days is not long enough, some diseases/parasites have life cycles or stages that take weeks to show up.

If I do get a disease, and I do not notice it right away, I will probably transfer it to all of my tanks. I use the same gravel vacuum and nets in all of my tanks. Ideally you should have an assortment of equipment to use. Use it in one tank and then put it in a chlorine bleach bath, then use another piece of equipment on the next tank. After the equipment is removed from the bleach bath be sure to soak it in declor. That is how I was taught to do it at the NAIB, but I haven't transfered it to home use.

 

[SubMariner]

I have several gravel vacumn cleaners, but for some reason I used the same one on a handful of my tanks. You're right about 4-6 weeks, but I was confident about this breeder and have never had problems in the past. I should have been more careful, thankfully my fish are doing fine.

The whole point of my thread/topic is to help other people out on how to attack the disease in case this parasite compromised their tank and their quarantine method. Thanx Maddog for your input.


Good Luck,


RM

 

[maddog10]

Ich is one of the easier disease to get back in control, if you catch it early enough. Most of the commercial remedies seem to work well enough. I used Rid Ich the one time I needed it. I followed the directions on the bottle, except that I continued the treatment for twice as long as stated on the bottle. No problems since *knocking on wood*

 

[phishphorphun]

Never had Ick in my African tanks. I think salt helps prevent it. I've always had Instant Ocean in my water.

 

[dogofwar]

Thanks Richard for the tips!

I had a couple of REALLY resistant/strong cases of ick a couple of months ago that emerged during quarantine on some new, wild fish. I had used prophylactic formalin but it didn't matter.

I've typically treated with heat, salt, and malachite-green based remedies (nox-ick)..and this has worked well in the past. I'm going to try the copper.

Fortunately, the new, wild fish recovered, but a couple of dithers that I had used to cycle the quarantine died (it appeared) a painful death...

Matt

 

[F8LBITE]

Good info here, I had an outbreak not too long ago but was able to overcome it mainly with increasing temp to 86 degrees and quick ick and 50% water changes. I treated for 2 full weeks to make sure it was all gone. I did lose three fish though. *sigh* Richard, you mentioned saving the filter media and reusing it later, wouldnt this bring the ick back or does the lower refrigerator temps kill it?

 

[Jumbie]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (phishphorphun @ Aug 5 2008, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Never had Ick in my African tanks. I think salt helps prevent it. I've always had Instant Ocean in my water.[/b]

I have never had ich in my African tanks either and I use salt in them as well. (Tropic Marine salt) However; one time I added a small clown fish into one of my reef tanks after 10 days in an isolation tank and that little guy almost killed of an entire tank of fish. It is a lot harder to treat ich in a reef tank trust me. Maybe I just got lucky with my Africans...hurry someone knock on some wood for me lol.

 

[SubMariner]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (F8LBITEva @ Aug 6 2008, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Good info here, I had an outbreak not too long ago but was able to overcome it mainly with increasing temp to 86 degrees and quick ick and 50% water changes. I treated for 2 full weeks to make sure it was all gone. I did lose three fish though. *sigh* Richard, you mentioned saving the filter media and reusing it later, wouldnt this bring the ick back or does the lower refrigerator temps kill it?[/b]

I believe that after 3 days the ick parasites die because they can't find a host. Nevertheless, I haven't had any problems so far. Here is a link if you need more information on the disease.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

However, I do believe any disease is easy to treat if you attack it fast before it takes over the tank, but if you wait it can be devastating. I've been on a handful of fish forums and there are always several threads on people needing help because all their fish are dropping like flies due to Ick.

It's not that simple ya know, because you have a lot invested on these fish financially and emotionally. Yet for some, it comes natural after years of practice or they're just plain lucky. I'm not saying I know everything, but I wish a couple of years ago I had someone there with a least one answer.

There are times you feel helpless and embarrassed to even ask anyone, but you learn the hard way and lose some prize fish. I know that feeling for a fact, but now I thought you guys should have a least one turn key solution for that nasty little bug.

Hey, I'm a Cichlidholic just like the rest of you.


RM

Hey, you guys wanted more fish topics in the 1st place.

 

[Julie]

I also rarely have ich... and I do attribute it to the salt in my african tanks. Just lucky for the most part in the softwater tanks.

And remember, ich is always present everywhere!! It can stay dormant for a long time. And it's not always the new guy that brings it in. Sometimes diseases are present in your water, that your fish are used to, and are immune to, but the new guy isn't!! Makes it look like it's the new guy's fault, but that's not always the case.

I too am very guilty of using the same net, gravel vacuumn, etc on all my tanks. Lucky for me it hasn't bitenme in the a@@ yet!!

I agree.. the best is prompt treatment. Quarantine is great when you can, but not always feasible.

 

[mscichlid]

Hey Richard,

I am sorry for your struggles with ich! Believe you me, all of us struggle one time or another. Even though I consider myself a seosoned fish keeper I still struggle when it comes to treating ailments of my charges. For example, and I only told one person about this, but I bought a pair of Cr lenticulatus and was very proud and excited about my purchase because they were a pair. I paid a lot of money for these fish and put them in a tank with 2 future show winning red shoulder severums. Everything was going along smoothly as I decided to wean these fish off of feeder goldfish from the seller. Immediately the pikes started to go for the severums. The severums came down with a serious, serious case of ich therefore developing into a secondary bacterial infection for the pikes. Silently, and in panic, I started meds without resolving to using the salt remedy. Needless to say. I lost all four of the fish because I started with meds without considering the two complicated illnesses I had going on in the tank. So the moral to this story is as we all make mistakes and totally and completely feel horrible for the losses and the feelings of inadequency it truly turns out to be a lesson learned for sure. But at the same time it is also an opportunity to share our struggles and queries with our club members to ease the load.

Thanks for sharing your problem and hopefully we can all reach out when something goes wrong in order to save our fish.

Francine

 

[SubMariner]

Thanx Franny!

I just thought it would be a good idea to share some valuable info and talk about fish stuff at the same time.



RM

 

[longstocking]

It's been about 4 years since I have seen Ick. I don't use salt though.... hmmmmmmmmmmm I attribute it to buying from the right people and the right fish. I'm sure I have it... it's just hiding and not showing the symtoms. That's where not stressing my fish out comes in.

 

[SubMariner]

Thanx for your input Sarah!



RM