Ruby Reef Kick Ich questions

[8251Reefer]

Well, I have really done it this time...I broke the cardinal rule of quarantining fish prior to putting them into my tank. Now I have a 6 lined wrasse with a bout of ich that I am afraid will ultimately pass those lovely things onto my other fish.
I originally bought the wrasse to eat up the remaining flatworms in my system. think I would have been better off leaving them be.
The wrasse looked great at the pet store but developed some white dots on his tail after 2 days in my tank. All of my other fish look fine so far.
After listening to and reading Steven Pro's article about the different "reef safe" cures for bouts of ich and other ailments I have decided to order and try RUBY REEFS KICK ICH to see if it really works.
Steven never determined the effectiveness of the medicines only the fact that they are harmul/not harmul to Xenia (reef aquaria). I am just curious if anyone has had any good/bad experience with this product. I would also like to know what the outcome was if they have had a bout of ich in a reef tank and were like me un able to remove the sick fish. I have clams/SPS/LPS/XENIA/Bubble Tip anemone/ ZOANTHIDS a longnose hawkfish, Tomato Clown, Royal Gramma, Yellow watchman goby and lots of aphipds/snails/worms/etc... in the tank now and I don't want to kill anything....So please any and all people reading this please give me some advice...thanks..

One more question:
If I do end up dosing my tank I am going to need an exact gallonage for my tank. I only guess nowadays and with this medication I want to ensure I use a precise measured amount.

My tank is a 37 gallon Oceanic with 50 lbs of live rock and 40 lbs of live sand with a sump that has about 9 gallons of water and 2 lbs of rock. How can I tell the exact gallonage? Thanks all!!

[Rob]

i have never used it, sorry, i cant offer much info on it.
hopefully someone else here has used it and can be more helpful..

[kj_yoda]

If anyone else wants to read Steven's article:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php


I am lucky in that I haven't had to use any of these ich removers in my tank. I usually have some shrimp that will clean the fish of parasites, but that doesn't always work.

[JR Aquatics]

Have you looked at the ingredients on the bottle. I personally don't trust these poisons even at low levels supposevley safe for our inverts and corals. I also wouldn't worry too much right now, you most likely had ick in your tank before the fish was introduced to your tank. I believe that it was your stressed fish that attracted the dorment parasite. I have used Rally which is made by the same company "Ruby Reef" to rid my tank of flukes. It didn't work and seemed to kill off my biological filtration and coraline algae. I would look for other ways to help control the outbreak.

[8251Reefer]

Thanks all for telling me everything that I already knew..hehehe. I was really hoping for some new information. JR that Rally stuff according to Steven Pro's test will actually KILL and was deemed unsafe in reefs but the KICK ICH stuff is suppose to be okay according to that brief study...

I haven't gotten this stuff in yet from Marinedepot.com but I want to be sure about it before I use it. Know what I mean all?


Well how about the other question> How can you determine your actual tank water capacity. I am not going to dose my tank based on the LxWxH of the tank without taking into consideration the liverock and stuff...Anyone know how to figure the actual tank capacity?
If I do end up dosing it I need to be able to have my actual water capacity. AND If I do dose it I plan on doing a full documention of it cause if it does kill stuff in my tank I want to send it to those guys at RUBY REEF and my lawyer...hehehe. But seriously and most importantly it may help some hobbyist later on down the road...

JR,
You may be somewhat correct about the "stressed" fish. I heard that garlic can "unstress" fish to a certain degee and I actually crushed up a clove of garlic mixed it with some mysis and dumped it in my tank. My wife looked at me like I was some crazy mad scientist or something...lol

Anywho, how do you guys actual dose garlic? Crushed ? Minced. Garlic pills from GNC? OR Marine Grade Garlic extract stuff... Thanks again for any and all help guys....It's funny even folks that have been in the hobby for years need a hand once in a while..Take care all!!

[JR Aquatics]

I use the juice in the Large cut garlic in the jar, and replace the juice that I use with RO/DI water. I soak my pellets with the garlic then feed. This I found to be the best way in delivering garlic to your fish. It has work wonders for me. I also have been using the same jar for over a year. IMO, 8251 Reefer I would wait to see if you get further breakout before using any chemical in your tank. I own a bottle of Kick Ich too, but will never use it in my reef. How do you dose calcium and alk? That should determine the amount of actual water in your tank.

[gwen_o_lyn]

That's a lot of fish for a 37g tank. Do you think that could be causing stress to your fish? Just something to think about.

I have Seachem garlic. I've only used it a few times and just mixed it with their food. I *think* the only thing known for sure about garlic is that it helps build their immune system. Do a search for that Reefkeeping article from Dec/Jan about Garlic.

[8251Reefer]

I will try the garlic first and just wait it out. I personally don't think that is a lot of fish for my tank. I think it is the max I am putting in it but definitely not too much. And I am not really sure if that would cause the fish to stress out IMO. I have watched my other fish around him and they more or less pay him no mind. I think I may have just bought a weak fish and adding him to my tank made him weaker. My water params are perfect. I usually just dose my tank while after testing it. I have been pretty good at guestimating the water quantity but with the Kick Ich I just didn't want to chance it. Anyways . I will play the guessing game and if all else fails I will just get a sharp skewer and catch my Wrasse that way...OH my...did he just say that ? I am only kidding....:) Don't call the fish police on me please. Thanks for responding though guys!!

[Amphibious]

8251Reefer


I personally don't think that is a lot of fish for my tank. I think it is the max I am putting in it but definitely not too much. And I am not really sure if that would cause the fish to stress out IMO.One of the cool things about posting on forums is, you get the benefit of many reefer's experience. That way we all learn something new, as long as we keep an open mind. An open mind is like a sponge, it absorbs information willingly. So with that in mind.....

You have a 37 gallon tank with 9 gals in the sump for a total system of about 46 gals. You state that you have clams (plural), how many? Then, SPS, how many? Next, LPS, how many? Exenia, how much? A bubble tip anemone, how big? Zooanthids, How many? A long knose Hawkfish, a Tomato clown, a Royal Gramma, a Yellow Watchman Goby, and lots of aphipds (I think you mean amphipods), snails and worms, etc. In my humble opinion you had the tank over crowded and then you add a six line wrasse. Let's take a closser look at what's going on. Remember the open mind learns something new everyday.

Let's assume your tank, prior to adding the wrasse, was running properly with out a problem. Let's also assume that it wasn't over crowed but the capicity of the tank was, "to the max" as you stated. I don't know your level of experience so bare with me on this. An experienced aquarist knows that any new addition to an aquarium is going to be stressed because of the move from the store to the tank, the stress of acclimation, being the new kid on the block, and has to compete to find his nitch in amoungst everyone else who have already laid claim to "their" territory in "their" home. Are you getting the picture?

I've been in this hobby for 59 years and strictly salt for about 38 of those years. Please don't take offense to my final analysis of this common problem. All of us go through the, "MY tank is running so good, I can add one more, fish, clam, coral, or whatever it is that I saw at the LFS", syndrome. If you can learn from this experience, you will become a more responsible aquarist. Trust me on this.

One other observation.....
I broke the cardinal rule of quarantining fish prior to putting them into my tank.Of course this is a cardinal rule not followed by many. So, don't beat yourself up about it. Learn from it. I don't quarantine my fish all the time, but, I use a UV sterilizer 24/7 on all my systems including my quarantine tank.

I hope this helped you in some way.

Dick

[8251Reefer]

Well, thanks Amphibious for taking the time out to help. Although I had originally asked if anyone had ever used Kick Ich. I do appreciate the commentary.
The six lined Wrasse has since bounced back and he is doing just fine in my tank. And I am happily not going to dose the tank wioth kick ich. My tank maybe a little crowded but with 50lbs of live rock 50 lbs of live sand constant skimming and meticulous maintenance my tank stays free of elevated levels of phosphates.nitrates...etc. I guess success with saltwater really depends on how much time you spend on overall tank husbandry. By the way that is the last fish I am putting in the tank...I swear...maybe not the last coral, but definitely the last fish.

[ej1698]

Hi All,

Well, I'm in the same boat as you, My hippo tang is covered with ick and looks like a few of my other fish have it now as well. I am on my next to last dose of Kick Ick for my 90 gallon Reef tank.... and They do not look any better!!!! I'm really getting ticked off I spend $40.00 on this stuff. I don't want to rip apart all my rock and destroy my tank...I call it the ick tank now. I need a little advice as well from you guys/girls...any help

ALL watter parameter's are fine

1.022
AMM : .25
Nit : 0
Nitrate: 10
PH 8.3
78.5 STEADY TEMP

EJ

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8bpou/

[CarmieJo]

Sometimes raising the temp helps. I haven't ran into ick in my reef yet. Back in the old days we dosed with CU:)

[8251Reefer]

Well EJ it looks like your salinity might be a little low. How are you testing it? Do you have a refractometer? If not I would invest in one.. If you want a stable tank you have to start with the water. I got the Ruby Reef in the mail but never used it. Thank God! My poor wrasse mysteriously disappeared. He didn't carpet dive or anything. I think he might have just been a sickly fish to begin with and finally succumbed to whatever was ailing him...Maybe cyanide? Who knows. I suspect my Brittle Star ate him though cause he is now hanging out where the wrasse used to sleep...EJ I wish I had some good advice for you. I do know that the Hippo tang you have are notoriuos for getting ich. I think raising your temp and adding some garlic to the food may help but who knows they may not work...At this point I guess it's worth giving it a shot. Good luck.

[Amphibious]

8251Reefer & ej1698

Eradicating a disease is always more complicated than preventing it with forethought and planning. A UV sterilizer would help but I'm afraid that's not quick enough once the disease set in as you indicate. The UV is more a preventive measure. I've used a diatom filter very succesfully in the past. I keep the bigger diatom filter on hand ready to put in use for several reasons. It's great for clearing cloudy water on initial set up with aragonite sand and in cases such as you guys are experiencing. It works great, worth the money. Other than that I can't offer anything but sympathy.

Hope this helps.

Dick

[ej1698]

Thanks,

I've been feeding [soaking with garlic] and I do have a uv light hooked up [Gamma 8 watt] I am raising my temp to 83 degrees...sound good? and should I raise the salinity?

Thanks EJ

[Rob]

you can raise the salinity, but i wouldn't go over 1.027

if you do these, don't do them fast.. do it over a couple days

[Amphibious]

ej1698

Congratulations!!! On your wisdom to have a UV on your system, I'm proud of you!!! Probably the best investment you could have made toward having a disease free system. Now, let's look at the problem.


I am raising my temp to 83 degrees...sound good? and should I raise the salinity? YES and NO, in that order.

Raising the temp hastens the life cycle of the disease, that's good. Keeping the salinity low keeps the ichy little buggers from forming a strong exo-skelton making them weak and easier for the UV to kill.

Stay the course, ej1698.

Dick

[Rob]

Keeping the salinity low keeps the ichy little buggers from forming a strong exo-skelton making them weak and easier for the UV to kill.

ah.. had it backwards.. thanks dick for the correction..

[ej1698]

Great,

so I'm on the right track. As of right now my tank is 83.2 degrees and my salinity is 1.021 / 22, tonight is my final treatment with the kick ick. so far it hasn't done nothing as far as i can see. Wish I would have known to raise the temp earlier in the treatment.

Question:
after tonight's treatment how long should I keep the temp at 83 degrees and I have some left [kick ick] , should I finish the bottle? My water Quality is looking kinda grim, I'm sure from not doing a water change in the last 15 days and with no skimming in this time as well, Just going by the directions of kick ick. Just afraid to go too long without changing my water. My Green Brain don't look so good. Any Help in MUCH Apprecieated!!!!!

EJ

[ej1698]

P.S:

Awesome website dick!!

EJ

[Amphibious]

EJ

Thank you! My website has been on-line for 4 years anticipating our move to FL, which took 3 1/2 years to accomplish. My point is, I've promised several hundred people who joined our "Member" e-mail list over the years that I'd be offering aquacultured corals, clams and other neat things. Everyone has been so patient and now it's finally beginning to come together. Soon we will be offering corals, zoos, recordias, clams and more. Here's a link to my thread of the beginning of my system here in FL. It's a modest beginning but, after such an agonizing period of time we are back into marine production.

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9122#post9122

Check it out. If you are interested get on the member list on my website.


so I'm on the right track. Yes! I wouldn't go much higher. At 84 you are risking other maladies depending what you have in the tank. 84 is really pushing the temp thing.

Thanks again, EJ.

Dick

[ej1698]

Hey,

I joined the member's list. just wondering if you had an idea on how long I should keep my tank at 83 degrees Just did the last kick ick dose tonight.

Thanks
EJ

[Rob]

i would give it about 2 weeks or so and then drop to 80-82.
you can go lower, but i keep my tanks at 80-82 all the time.

[ej1698]

Thanks Rob,

Hope it works, I was thinking I should do a water change on saturday, It's been 15 days since the last change..what do you think... Start the skimmer again and run some carbon to get the water quality back in place....sound good... and keep the temp at 83 for two weeks then slowly bring it down to 80.

EJ

[Amphibious]

EJ

Here's what happens in the life cycle of the parasite we call ICH, as I understand it. Keep in mind, I have not had a case of ICH in more than 20 years. There are several reasons for this phenomenal record. But first, let's answer your question.

The life cycle of the parasite Ich, which is short for Cryptocaryon irritans, begins as a free swimming cell known as a tomite. When it finds a host fish it attach's to the gills or body, borrows in and begins to feed on the host's body fluids. At this point it becomes a trophont and feeds until it matures at which point it stops feeding and becomes a dormant cyst, the white spot we can see with the naked eye. Depending on the temp of the water the cell matures in about 5 to 12 days. During this time it is dividing by single cell division. I've read that a single mature cyst will divide into 360 new tomites. You can see the gravity of the situation. The cyst eventually ruptures releasing a whole new group of ichy little buggers eager to find a host. By raising the temp, as you have, you shorten the life cycle of the parasite. Having the UV running 24/7 you eradicate the free swimming tomites that pass through the UV lowering the chance of re-infestation. By lowering the SG to 1.023 or even lower, you further shorten the life cycle. In the past I've lowered my SG to 1.020 and kept it there for 14 days. It really isn't that drastic a measure when lowered over a few days with RO/DI water at the same temp as the tank. At the end of treatment, which should be 4 or 5 days since the last white spot disappeared, you can begin slowly lowering the temp and raising the SG back to normal.

Okay, why haven't I had any disease break out in more than 20 years??? Because, many years ago I decided I was going to provide my fish, reefs what ever aquariums I had the necessary equipment to prevent diseases from happening in the first place. The equipment you choose to run your reef will determine the level of success or failure that you achieve. Yes, there will be those reefers that will say, "I've never had a UV and I don't have diease problems". And, I say, "Yep, it's possible but my money comes harder than many and for my money, I'll provide the best equipment it will buy". I look at it as insurance that covers my fishy friends 24/7. I also over size my UVs to provide an added measure of killing power. I really hate the ichy little buggers and their friends, Odinium and Brooklynella.

Hope this helped.

Got your enrollement, by the way.

Dick

[ej1698]

Thanksfor the info

I am using ro/di water, i have a auto top off [ 13 gallon reserve] that is heated to 78 degrees before it goes into the tank, is the 8 gamma uv light to small for my 90 gallon? it states it's geared up to 200 gallons. should i put it directly in- line with the return line. Right now i have it hooked up to a seperate pump in the sump that feeds the uv light and kicks the waterback to the sump. I'm running a mac 12 pump for the return to the tank and I think the flo would be to fast for the uv to work properly. That's why I went to other way. for me to cut back the flo before going into the uv {in-line] I would lose to much GPH for the tank. I have a 18 watt turbo twist on my 55 gallon...I should switch them....?

EJ

[ej1698]

Can't thank you guys enough for the advice
Ej

[Amphibious]

EJ

I have a 18 watt turbo twist on my 55 gallon...I should switch them....?Absolutely!

[Amphibious]

In fact if there's any way you can run them both on the 90, do it until this problem goes away. Don't, under any circumstances, let any water from the infected tank get to the 55. Common transfer methods are hands, nets and othe equipment. Remember the tomites cannot be seen and can transfer with a drop of water accidently left on your hands or in a net.

Dick

Hey, good night guys, it's been a long day. Left this am at 4 am to take my mother-in-law to the Orlando airport. I'm beat.

[VistaMaster]

I ran across this post this evening. I am having a bad outbreak of ich in my reef and I have been out of town for the last 3 weeks, unable to properly treat the tank. I have since lost a naso and I have a anthias on the ropes. I'll finally get home tomorrow night and hopefully will be able to treat the tank even more. I am trying the Kick Ich product and I'll raise the temp in the tank tonight (if I can get hold of my wife and convince her to look to see if the heater is in the water properly...). All I can really do is raise the temp, change the UV bulb to make sure its new, and hope for the best. I don't think I can fresh water dip the anthias and save it, but tomorrow, I will try.

But the reason for the post is to thank you for the best straight forward response I have seen anywhere. If someone posts about an ich problem, they get blasted without any sympathy. ____ happens and we have to recover from it!!!

[clownfish4me]

i have heard of and tried on one occasion of dipping the affected fish in a freshwater bath for 10-15 minutes while keeping a close eye on the infected fish. i was told the Ph difference between the two waters makes the ich cyst explode almost on contact with the fresh water then dropping off the fish in the treatment bucket so you can add it back to the tank ick free. like i said earlier i tried it on my blue tang after i bought it. (he was a little fella) and it got better right away. if it was the fresh water bath, or just settled in to where the ick disappeared i couldn't say for sure? has anyone else heard of this before? its no dought a risky maneuver, i can only imagine the stress the fish goes through but i bet it fells a whole lot better without those buggers bothering it!....

[clownfish4me]

vistamaster, i meant to say......:welcome:, :welcome: to tr..... and hope you kick the ick! that goes for the rest of you thats infected with the ick.....

[CarmieJo]

VistaMaster,

First off :welcome: to TR.

Secondly, sorry to hear of the ich in your reef. I hope you are able to lick it. I am not convinced that fresh water dips are effective for ich. I have never heard of the pH change causing the cysts to "explode" although perhaps the change in osmotic pressure could. However, even if the freshwater dip will kill the cysts or cause them to otherwise drop off the fish in this case they are still in your tank. The UV should take care of the free ich in the water column but won't help with those on the fish or in the sand or rock. If your tank is generally healthy your fish may then be able to fight off the parasite but I would not consider it ich free.

IMO, in order to ensure that your tank is free of this parasite you will need to remove the fish, treat them with copper even if they appear unaffected and let the tank lie fallow for 4-6 weeks. The trophonts must have a host (fish) to complete their life cycle and this will absolutely break the lifecycle.

Here are a couple of articles on ich that you may find helpful. Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php)

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php)

[tdkarl]

I don't quarantine my fish all the time, but, I use a UV sterilizer 24/7 on all my systems including my quarantine tank.

Amphibious,
Do you run the UV sterilizer on your reef tank also?
Thanks,

[Amphibious]

Tony,

Yes, 24/7, a 25W on a 135 pushing about 300 gph through.

That's quite a lap full you have there.

Dick

[tdkarl]

I just heard you cant use them if you have corals. I dont want to hurt my corals but i would like to prevent future ich out breaks.

[Amphibious]

Tony, who ever told you that is lacking in the truth about UV. UV only has an effect on the water that passes through the UV. It has no effect on corals what-so-ever!!!

[aquaman0000]

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT USE COPPER IT IS A MISTAKE. Copper will burn your fishes gills it is not a good idea. Think about a real reef in the ocean, when is the last time a fish in the ocean, that had ich was take out of the ocean had copper pored all over it, then put back in the ocean after 6 weeks so the ocean could cycle, stupidest thing I ever heard. There are always side effects to trying to cure diseases with chemicals in a reef system or fish only, but the most natural ways are always the best, cleaner shrimp or cleaner wrasse. Or just keeping your water at consistent levels of ph, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, calcium, alk, or just sticking to the basics because ich is 99% in all tanks reef or not. But if fishes immune systems goes down or stress levels go up then ich shows, and when you can actually see ich its already laid the first set of eggs in, on or around your fish. When ich is maturing and about to die and fall off (which is why some days your fish look great and others like garbage) its not too late but it is defiantly time to look into the problem of WHY. And since we dont drink the same water that our fish have to live in, a lot of problems can be solved through a good water change and letting a fish build its immunity back up and i think garlic is a great organic way to help a not eating week fish to begin eating because without food you can not get stronger. When we get sick we dont take a flu pill and are ready to run a marathon and everything is back to normal but we do temporarily feel better, fish in some ways ( i know i sound weird) but fish are like people, but people have the opportunity to fix a problem or say something to fix the problem and fish have to show you with disease, dying, fungus, and other bad stuff that none of us like to see in our tanks. And please remember this is only my opinion but i know from experience that throwing chemical fixes at a natural problem like copper is NOT and i repeat NOT the way to help fish. Skimmers and UV sterilizers are sweet and they should be run all the time, And 1 more thing if ich attaches itself to a fish, and you take that fish out of the water expose it to air, then put it back into water that it can not breath in (no salt / freshwater bath), then put it in a new tank or put it back into its natural surrounding's, what is the stress level of that fish now and how much more susceptible is it to a disease that shows when a fish is stressed or sick. Its all commonsense. And please believe that any fish shop owner will try to make a sale and make a profit no matter how your tank looks or does at the end of the day and if they were there for FREE advice and not to make sales or $$$ then they would not be there at all. I have had in the past a $1100 fish/reef tank crash and had $250 in chemicals that are the "miracles" of "miracle" workers sold from 3 different shops around me only to figure out that my water was insanely out of line partial to the chemicals, skimmer was going crazy and no UV sterilizer because it would kill all the toxins i was trying to treat my tank with :) and I was doing exactly what i should not have been doing BUYING CHEMICALS AND DOING FRESHWATER DIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Amphibious]

Amen! Amen!

[CarmieJo]

I agree that natural methods are the most desirable but sometimes they are not enough. Copper is indeed a strong medicine and is quite capable of killing your fish! you must test for it. You need the a theraputic level that will kill the parasite but not the fish! Copper is just like everything else "Don't dose what you don't test!"

[blosserl]

I posted this information in another thread about ick, then found this one. This thread has received such a response with an incredible amount of info that I wanted to add it here as well.

I am dealing with, I believe, Amyloodiniosis (marine velvet), as my flame angel had a more velvety/cloudy 'powder sugar' coating and one eye cloudy. But the info applies to all parasites, so I believe applicable and hopefully helpful to this post.

I would love get your feedback and comments!

In The Marine Fish Health & Feeding Handbook by Bob Goemans & Lance Ichinotsubo, Copy right is 2008: It writes (p. 146/7) that a newer alternative to copper and formalin (less toxic than copper), is being used by professional aquarists - but little known in the marine hobby is "Chloroquine". A very interesting write-up on it, it was once a primary treatment for malaria in humans. It can be purchased from chemical supply houses with no special license or permit.

The book also recommends a freshwater bath; reporting that it will cause the parasites to fall off the fish yielding almost immediate results (for the fish not the tank of course). It suggest a 15 minute (wow) dip for best results. To make the dip significantly more effective, add formalin or malachite green (or combination of the two). This dip is to be used prior to quarantine and additional treatment via the above mention chloroquine (or treatment of your choice).

I did this dip (15 minutes of intense anxiety), with the formalin and malachite green for my flame angel (yesterday) and did in fact see the white particles (parasites?) fall off of her. The cloudy velvet is now pretty much gone yet her eye is still cloudy. Note (to first time dippers) when adding your fish to the freshwater they will immediately lay on their side at the bottom of the treatment tank. That is normal and is only very temporary. My angel got right up after about 4 seconds. I've read that in few cases you may have to nudge them a bit.

Something I did not know at the time (and read today), when using formalin "for any of the ectoparasites" be sure to aerate the water vigorously as formalin tends to rob oxygen from the water. Would this apply with any formalin dip for other parasites as well? I did not aerate my dip and my angel came through just fine... I suspect it applies to the specific dip for ectoparasites, as it is mention much later in the book and they are using a much higher concentration (37 percent formaldehyde solution!). But I did want to pass that on... 15 min. is a long time!

I am now treating the qt tank with a product by Chem-Marin (chem-marin.com), called STOP Parasites. You add this directly to your tank and it claims to be reef safe! ?? I am trying this but in a the quarantine tank not my display. Although I will try the preventative dosage for a couple of my small fish only tanks.

Its claims to speed up the fishes natural slime coat causing parasites to detach themselves - it also attracts the parasites as a non- nutritional food source - speeds up appetite and builds the immune system. Will not harm internal organs of the fish (as can copper)! You use it twice a day for 5 days (can be longer).

Check the website - there is a number you can call and believe it or not , I have read that the owner does answer (7 days a week), with a lot of help and follow-up.

It sounds too good to be true, but it is a more natural alternative to copper, and if it works - WOW!
I read a post (another forum when searching for more info on the product) that raves about the product and the customer service. Says that copper wasn't working when he came across this product and called to owner, talked to the owner at length and who called every couple of days to check on his fish :o

Does anyone have any experience or info on any of these products or treatments??
I hope this info proves a construction post addition. Should I have just started a new thread??:huh:

[CarmieJo]

I have never used Chem-marin and don't know anything about it. We know that some fish get better from ich of disease by their own natural immune system response. By this very means some fish will always get better. Because of this I am skeptical of the efficacy of remedies that aren't tried and true.

[Joyride]

I think I've got the ich as well in my new clownfish. Here are the pics I took today:

http://www.chenry.com/tankphotos/IMG_1422.jpg
http://www.chenry.com/tankphotos/IMG_1431.jpg

I've begun raising my temp and lowering my salinity over the next couple of days. I'm also soaking the fish food in garlic (Kent Marine's Garlic Extreme product). I'm hoping this will be enough as capturing these fish will be a big pain in the behind.

I've read this thread and think investing in a UV is probably a good choice. Any recommendations on one for a 45 gallon tank (35 gallons in the column)? I have a relatively limited budget and want to spend wisely.

Thanks!
-Chris

PS: The yellow watchman goby you see in the background was introduced at the same time and so far isn't showing any signs of the parasite.

[CarmieJo]

Chris, the damage is already done in your tank but I will take this opportunity to say this is exactly why I always QT!

To be effective against ich the SpG needs to be 1.009 which is WAY too low for the corals I see in your tank. Raising the temperature speeds up the life cycle of the parasite but does not really kill it. You could wait it out to see if they can fight it off on their own but I would really consider getting all of the fish out of the tank, treating them all for ich in QT and letting your DT fallow for 6 weeks.

[Seahorsedreams]

Just in case you were looking for a little more reading...

ICH (http://www.seahorse.org/library/TESTING/ich/newich.shtml)