dipping for ick...

[ryangrieder]

tanks got ick. how, i really dont know, but it does. wonderful. its mainly my one spiny box fish who has it, which is weird because he NEVER swims lower then about 10 inches down from the tank. i dont think it has ever even seen the sand bed. so, i thought it would be super easy to catch because the fish is retarted, i could probably grab him with my hand, thats how non shy it is.

what would be the best thing to dip him in if i did catch him?
freshwater dip or something else? and how long & often?
or something better then fresh dips?

 

[knugenx]

You can try Kent Rx-P...last week I used on a clown that I picked up. It had some fungus due to poor water quality...15mins or less...(just observe fish)

 

[ryangrieder]

RX-P scares me because it has pepper smelling and alot of random chemicals in it...

 

[jrobbins]

Dipping won't get the spores that are inside the fish. And be careful trying to catch him. stressing out a boxfish is never a good idea.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Remove to a hospital tank and treat with copper. Feed using garlic to boost immune system

 

[stunner620]

where do you get copper and for how long?

 

[ryangrieder]

where do you get copper and for how long?

any lfs. i usually use copppersafe. just sucks, i broke my qt tank down awhile ago...

 

[stunner620]

how long to keep it in the qt ?

 

[aquascaper82]

that sucks... i think keep the fish qt until the ick cycle (on the fish) is over? and plus i think the ick dies when it comes off the fish from the copper in the water... right? haha i don't know if this is right correct me if i'm wrong please experts

 

[ryangrieder]

depends on how long. i use to use my copper qt tank all the time when i bought new fish, but i have not bought any fish in a long time so i broke it down. usually a week to two weeks and the ick would be gone, then id let the fish settle a few more days when i saw it gone, gave it a good new clean stress coat and the fish was good to go...

 

[reefprobe]

Freshwater bath is your best bet....first match ph and match your temp(float the bag) in your tank with no lights on then put him in the dip for 5-20 min do this every day for 3-5 days and the ich will be history. If you really want to do a hospital tank(don't recommend it) use cupramine by seachem its the best and least stressful copper on the market. Keep at a level of .50 for 3-4 weeks. The only way to properly test your copper levels is with a digital laMotte kit everyday until your level stabilizes. The drop and powder test kits by seachem and aq pharm are not accurate and impossible to read.FW bath is your best bet, after you dip keep him in a floating container in your tank with holes for waterflow so you don't have to chase him down every time and stress him out and stir up your tank and cause more ich to spread around your tank. This has worked like a charm for me countless times and good luck......

 

[JavyJaverson]

Removing that one fish and dipping him with any sort of treatment is useless. Treating the fish in qt is also useless if you plan on returning him to the same tank. You may not see the spots on the other fish but they could be hosting it within their gills. Unless you plan on removing all the fish and placing them in qt for 2 months while the tank goes fallow, i suggest not doing anything in terms of removing fish. Perhaps a large water change to dilute the free floating parasites. Also, qt-ing usually turns out deadly when it has no established bio-filter, and this can take up to a month to accomplish. good luck

 

[reefprobe]

OK so when you see ich on one fish you should remove all your fish and QT them for 2 months and keep your tank empty......makes sense??????????
Or do a water change and dilute the parasites in the tank (thats a new one) but how in the heck does that treat a parasite on a fish??????
The reason QTs don't work is because they crash ...... not too many people have QTs that are fully established and are ready for the new bio load and a treatment at the same time without crashing.
To suggest that "freshwater dipping is useless" when one has had success countless times through many years of trials is not very intelligent without reason to prove otherwise wise sir lucidheights..........

 

[Arati]

OK so when you see ich on one fish you should remove all your fish and QT them for 2 months and keep your tank empty......makes sense??????????

Its one thing to give bad advice... its another to be rude about it. reefprobe you could not be more incorrect.

actually this is exactly what you need to do.

The tank needs to lay fallow for 72 days.


As we know there are 4 stages in the Cryptocaryons life cycle

1- Trophont-this is the parasitic stage on the fish
2- Protomont-this is where the parasite leaves the fish to encyst on the substrate to reproduce.
3-Tomont- This is the reproductive and longest lived stage
4-Theront- Free swimming looking for a host.

The trophonts will mature and leave the fish after 3-7 days
The Protomont will encyst within 24 hours
The Tomont can last up to 72 days(in rare cases). That is the reason ich is so difficult to remove from a system.
The Theront will die within 24 hours without a host.

The life cycle can be as quick as 7 days, usually 24 days But can go as long as 72 days. 60 days without a fish will eradicate ich 99.9% of the time.

In that time you will need to QT al;l of your fish. this is how I do it

http://www.reeflounge.com/showthread.php?p=246084#post246084

you would just drag out the last bit to clear up the tank.

 

[reefprobe]

Hey if you want to look at your tank empty for 72 days go ahead I think only a fool would do that but that is all by choice. Because the next time you add a new fish and he gets stressed out and stirs up the bottom a little and hides in the corner for a bit and shows up with ich are you going to empty your tank for another 72 days????????
Why is it you can have certain fish in a tank get ich and some wont? Could it be because some fish are more stressed out than others? Some are more susceptible than others? Ich is like the common cold in a tank when fish are beat up stressed out new to the tank hanging out on the bottom they are most likely going to get ich. The stronger healthier fish who have built up their immune systems and are not all stressed out will not contract the ich weather it is in the tank or not.
You feed your fish good foods loaded up with vitaman C and Garlic, dip them if they are sick and you will have no problems. If you are going to take all of your fish out of your tank for any leanth of time especially 72days ugh.......whats the point of having a FISH tank if you can't enjoy the FISH????????? There are many other ways to treat ich in a reef tank without ever taking the fish out of the water but I will save that for another time.

Aratty please your advice could not be more incorrect you will never fully irradicate ich ! Please stop with your inconceivable advice.

 

[Arati]

sigh...

 

[marrone]

.To suggest that "freshwater dipping is useless" when one has had success countless times through many years of trials is not very intelligent without reason to prove otherwise wise sir lucidheights..........

Do you understand why freshwater dips are usless? The ich that you see, on the surface of the fish, can live in fresh water a lot long than the fish can. Also the ich probably wouldn't release from the fish during the fresh water dipping anyway. The fresh water dip will not have any effect on the ich living inside the fish either. So basically the ich will still be on/in the fish when you return it to the main tank, at that point it will work its way though the fish and start the cycle all over again.

I suggest you look at the life cycle that Arati posted

 

[marrone]

Hey if you want to look at your tank empty for 72 days go ahead I think only a fool would do that but that is all by choice. Because the next time you add a new fish and he gets stressed out and stirs up the bottom a little and hides in the corner for a bit and shows up with ich are you going to empty your tank for another 72 days????????.

Whether a fish strirring up the bottom, or hanging out near it, has nothing to do with a fish getting ich. If you looked at the life cycle that Ararti posted you'll see that ich goes through a free floating sage, at which point a fish can get it. If you QT all you fish, before placing them into the main tank, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

Why is it you can have certain fish in a tank get ich and some wont? Could it be because some fish are more stressed out than others? Some are more susceptible than others? Ich is like the common cold in a tank when fish are beat up stressed out new to the tank hanging out on the bottom they are most likely going to get ich. The stronger healthier fish who have built up their immune systems and are not all stressed out will not contract the ich weather it is in the tank or not.
You feed your fish good foods loaded up with vitaman C and Garlic, dip them if they are sick and you will have no problems. If you are going to take all of your fish out of your tank for any leanth of time especially 72days ugh.......whats the point of having a FISH tank if you can't enjoy the FISH????????? There are many other ways to treat ich in a reef tank without ever taking the fish out of the water but I will save that for another time.
Aratty please your advice could not be more incorrect you will never fully irradicate ich ! Please stop with your inconceivable advice.

You do understand that ich is a parasite and not a virius, don't you? Not the same as a common cold. A stressed out beaten up fish wouldn't get ich if it's not present in the tank, regardless of how stressed out the fish is, or if it's on the bottom of the tank. Now having a good immune system may help the fish fight off the parasite, but it wouldn't kill the parasite. By the way, plenty of health, non-stressed out fish, get ich too, and some do die from it.

I guess what is better, to QT you tank and treat your fish or just keep putting fish in a tank and watching most of them die.

 

[reefprobe]

Hey Morrene don't tell me that FW dips don't work I have been doing them forever I can promise anyone here on the forum they work! And you are way wrong about the ich returning to the tank after the dip the parasite is killed when it hits the Fresh water it explodes from the pressure difference. It kills the ich on the outside of the fish and inside the gills,and I have brought countless fish back from near death by this process. They breath way better and most of the ich is gone after the first dip in 24 hours.

You don't think stress has anything to do with ich? Just coincidence the fish who are the most stressed get ich? And when people stir up their tanks and move stuff around all their fish get sick with ich coincidence?

And you do understand I was comparing ich to a common cold not calling it a common cold? In other words Ich is as common for fish... as a cold is as common to people....
when we are run down we are more likely to pick things up and get sick then when we are 100% healthy...

If everyone tries to use a QT tank I would bet that more than half will crash it from a spike in ammonia or nitrite or the fish will die from some other reason(overdose) long before the QT period is up. I have heard all the stories a large majority of those who use QTs fail.If you buy a healthy fish thats eating and your tank is stable give it a dip before you add it thats your best shot. I have never seen or heard of anyone leaving there tank emty for months because one or two of the fish got ich? They do what they can and move on.......will they get ich in the future maybe? Probably not if the fish are healthy and they buy them from a good source.

Lets put this to rest and let this guy make his own choice.
He can decide between guys who read from textbooks
And a guy who has been dipping fish forever and has amazing results!!!!!!

 

[125reefer]

marrone you have a bunch of good posts but im with reefprobe on this .ive tried qt on fish and every time the fish dies.ive been using fw dips for a long time as well along with fresh garlic and the ich alwats goes away.i will never qt a fish again