Kick Ick - tried it???

[Rlumenator]

I'm curious if anyone has used this in a hospital tank as an alternative to copper or hypo. Or, what results in the reef?

 

[Anonymous]

There isn't really any evidence that this stuff does anything for ich. Well, there is anecdotal evidence, but the results of it having an effect are about the same as not using the product. It can be tough to determine if an ich treatment works due to the nature of the lifecycle of the parasite, which is why we have such a plethora of ich 'treatments'.

There are mixed reports about this products and its safety in reef systems. Some say its safe, some say its not.

I wouldn't use it ever again.

There are really only two 'proven' treatments - hypo-salinity and copper.

 

[Rlumenator]

I'm hoping to get some answers from people who have tried it. There are so many people out there with diff. experiences!

 

[Anonymous]

I have tried it. My corals didn't like it but there was no permanent damage and the ich was unaffected.

I also think that just idea that there are so many different experiences with a product that is meant to cure a disease should be a big warning flag about its use.

 

[fungia]

i have tried it too, it didnt help. i tried garlic too and it did not help. only thing that worked is copper or hyposalinity but you need another tank to use these.

 

[pwj1286]

It works ok for being a reef safe formula. Better than most ick meds.

Copper Sulfate kicks butt though. Like Seachem's Copper treatments.
_________________
West Nile Virus Forum

 

[Anonymous]

It works ok for being a reef safe formula. Better than most ick meds.

I don't think we can say that with any confidence, as ich clears up equally with or without this medication (or any of the 'reef safe' meds). I only harp on this because the ich cure myth factory is constantly churning out new and old 'cures', and new hobbyists so often gravitate to 'easy' methods that may actually not even work.

I remember one person saying that they changed their light bulbs and the ich went away, so they were telling people that new light bulbs were the cure for ich.

 

[Rlumenator]

There are also those old salts that never look at anything new. The "pld" way is the only way.

 

[Anonymous]

That is absolutely true, but I don't think it is applicable in this case. Kick ich and similar meds have been around for years with the same kinds of non 'results'.

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/search.php?mode=results

A quick search for kick and ich.

This discussion has been going on for a long time.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's my anecdote.

I tried it with the very first salt water fish I bought. A clown fish. It had a nice spot on it a few days after I got it...then a few more a few days later.

After reading a lot, I decided to try kick ich because I had some LR in the small tank I was keeping the fish in and I didn't want to remove the LR or set up another small tank just to treat the fish with copper.

I dosed kick ich and, long story short, the fish died a horrible gasping death with about a thousand white spots burrowing into his flesh. The End.



I think the best thing for ich is low salinity treatment. I have successfully treated several fish for ich and flukes by putting them in a QT with sg 1.010 water for a few weeks. The fish don't seem to mind and there is no way ich can survive that...it is impossible.

The problems with this approach are that you have to be very precise with the salinity. A little higher and the ich can survive. A little lower and your fish cannot. The other problem is that some fish do not tolerate this treatment very well. But those fish are the same fish on the list of fish that do not tolerate copper and other chemical treatments very well either, so that point is sort if irrelevant. The last problem is that the bacteria in your tank will have to adjust to the new salinity and that takes time, so you might have to do massive water changes for a while.

I even started using low salinity as a preventative measure on new fish that looked healthy. They don't seem to mind.

 

[Anonymous]

I used it twice in my life, and both times, it seemed to work great.

Never had a problem with coral or inverts.

Ich was gone with no losses.

 

[Anonymous]

Didn't work for me. It didn't harm anything, the corals and inverts didn't seem affected at all, but the fish still died of ick before the 3rd treatment was supposed to occur.
If it works, then it must only affect the larval stage of the parasite. It certainly doesn't stop or slow down the white spots from appearing on the fish, let alone make them go away.

 

[slapshot16]

I am currently treating my 55 with it. I am only on my second dose. Over the last few days, it seems like there are less spots at night and more in the morning. I have a hospital tank set up for copper just in case. I hope I caught it early enough. I removed all the carbon from my filters (2 HOB power filiters). Time will tell.

 

[Anonymous]

I am currently treating my 55 with it. I am only on my second dose. Over the last few days, it seems like there are less spots at night and more in the morning.

That often happens with ich, as it is part of its life cycle, and prolly has nothing to do with the medication .

 

[Rlumenator]

slapshot- keep us posted with your results! How long have you been using it- and how long does the whole course of treatment run??

 

[slapshot16]

I add 4 ounces every other day. I started on Tuesday. 2nd dose Thursday and my next one will be on Saturday. There will be 5 to 7 doses in all. The bottle said to go every 3 days, but if the infestation is high, to go every other day.

I have live rock, snails, crabs and a serpent star along with two small zoos - - for starters. The LFS said that the main concern with the treatment of the large tanks is that it will be absorbed by the live rock and crushed coral.

Here are few photos from this morning. Most spots are gone. The clowns and gramma had a ton on them earlier in the week.

 

[Rlumenator]

Thanks Snapshot! Great fish! Please keep me up to date on how it goes. I have a Hippo tang that has been in QT for 2 weeks today. I am putting him in my reef today (11 day battle with ammonia despite large daily water changes- now affecting his skin. My vet is gone til Mon. and no one else here is competent to anesthetize,scrape, analyze,etc.) I still fear an ick outbreak, and it would be impossible to catch him in the reef, thus my high interest in this matter as a last resort if necessary. Good luck to us both. Regards, Dawn

 

[Anonymous]

Didn't work for me. It didn't harm anything, the corals and inverts didn't seem affected at all, but the fish still died of ick before the 3rd treatment was supposed to occur.
If it works, then it must only affect the larval stage of the parasite. It certainly doesn't stop or slow down the white spots from appearing on the fish, let alone make them go away.

Actually, I think that is how it works...treats the free swimming parasite, and the fish is secondarily helped. It is more for getting rid of ich from the tank than it is to cure the fish directly, although it really did seem to clear the tang up well.

damn tangs. Both outbreaks were from tangs lol

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... /mini4.htm

Reef safe medications

Despite the product claims of various manufacturers, I have not seen any of the so-called reef safe medication work with consistency for the treatment of Cryptocaryon irritans. When these treatments do appear to work it may be a matter of misdiagnosis or the fish's own defenses developing partial or full immunity (Burgess, 1992). It is also questionable as to just how safe these treatments are for invertebrates, including those invertebrates that are photosynthetic. In my opinion, using "reef safe" medications can be a waste of precious time when fish are gravely ill. A chemical treatment that is safe, effective and can be used with food fish is still awaited (Colorni & Burgess, 1997).