ich is the downfall of this hobby

tonypittman · 03-05-2007, 11:16 PM

There is a lot to read about ich, and there are certainly many opinions.

In my opinion, ich is just plain evil.

So, I recently moved and re-setup my tank from scratch. I QT'd every fish in coppersafe and didn't add anything "unclean" to the tank because I really wanted to avoid ich.

Now, after about 6 months, I began adding corals. Brains mostly. Suddenly, it appeared. ich.

My LFS swares that it is impossible to keep ich out of reef tanks because even if you QT the fish, water from corals (actually IN the corals) can contain ich, and even if the coral is dipped, the ich can still make it into your tank.

The ONLY way I can see to 100% avoid ich would be to start the tank with corals first, and wait 4-6 weeks after ALL corals are in the tank before adding QT'd fish.

In any case, ich has been the only thing that has made me consider bailing out of this hobby. It is quite a @#$@#$ pain.

And, with 100+ pounds of live rock and now a bunch corals, it would be impractical for me to tear everything down and get the fish out into QT.

Quite depressing.

Anyone else gone through this?

I thought I had everything covered..QT, UV, multiple heaters to avoid swings, CA reactor to avoid pH swings, etc... Terrible to have to see ich appear!

Any advice? (yes, I use garlic)

gwen_o_lyn · 03-05-2007, 11:32 PM

I feel your pain.

I tell everyone my tank has herpes. And then my friends will say "so my kids can't play with your kids, huh?" I just laugh.

I've never delt with ick, but I have the zoa eating nudi funk. It does make you want to give up, but somehow I just keep on going.

**Amphibious** · 03-06-2007, 10:25 AM

tonypittman,

Every feeling you have about Ich is justified, it is the bain of aquariums and hard not to introduce to a system. It can come in a drop of water from the bag you just brought home from the LFS no matter how hard you've tried to avoid contaminating your system. There are two things you can do, besides the usual cautionary measures when introducing new critters.

First, Get a good strong UV Sterilizer installed on your system. I say good and strong in the sense that you want a good brand and at least one size larger than recommended by the manufacturers specs. Some manufacturers will tell you their 8 watt will handle up to a 100 gal aquarium (as an example only), do not believe it. Go big or go with out!!! You want the UV to take out your rath on those little free swimming @%#@@*$#!!! Spend a little more, kill them for sure!!!

Second, there are some reef safe medications for Ich. I've never used them because they scare me. I do handle one, "No Sick Fish" is the brand. I've sold many bottles without one complaint yet. You should keep a bottle on hand, just in case.

Hope this helps.

Dick

saxman · 03-06-2007, 11:53 AM

the only caveat about oversizing a UV unit is heat production. they can, and do heat up the water, especially at the slower rates needed for killing larger pathogens like ich.

that being said, i DO like them, and recommend them.

of course, you can always do like me, which will help even more: don't touch tangs with a 10 foot pole...

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-06-2007, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amphibious

I do handle one, "No Sick Fish" is the brand. I've sold many bottles without one complaint yet. You should keep a bottle on hand, just in case.

Do you have the inside scoop as to what is in this?

tonypittman · 03-06-2007, 10:26 PM

Not sure what's in it...but I just ordered some!

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-07-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonypittman

Not sure what's in it...but I just ordered some!

I could never put anything in my tank that didn't list ingredients in it. It hasn't gotten rave reviews "out there" and has been referred to as snake oil like all the other magical ick "cures". I'm not talking smack about the product, but don't you think if it actually cured this common plague the news would be all over the place!

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-10-2007, 03:59 PM

They won't tell me what's in it and they told me there has been no independant studies. I'd like to know what I'd tell poison control if a kid chugs down a bottle of it.

lanesreef · 03-10-2007, 07:32 PM

another good thread about ich. Good luck fighting it off. I have had an outbreak on my tang and it cleared up with garlic and addition of UV.

I beleive ich can also develop itself in the tank without outside sources (drop from LFS, contaminated rock, etc.) Then stressed out fish will 'catch' it. Anything you were doing in the tank to stress them? Is your tank in a high traffic area?

graveyardworm · 03-10-2007, 08:14 PM

Something to read from over at RC about No Sick Fish

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-10-2007, 11:48 PM

And I guess that's all that needs to be said about that....

tonypittman · 03-13-2007, 12:16 AM

Didin't help my situation. I decided to do some water changes, add some carbon to remove the meds, and add a 36W UV sterilzer to my setup.

I ended up removing my Powder Blue Tang to QT with coppersafe to try and save it.

So, it looks like none of the wonder cures work, including the Sano formulation that is specifically for PB Tangs.

Maybe the FDA needs to get involved with this hobby!