[River Rat]

We brought home a gorgeous coral beauty 3 weeks ago, put it in our quarantine tank and it promptly developed a mild case of ich. The angel is eating well and not rubbing at all. We have been treating the water with copper sulfate for the last two weeks but the ich is slightly worse. We have also done a couple of water changes recommended by our local store. Can anyone tells us how long should we expect it to take to eliminate this problem? Is there anything else that we should be doing? We are anxious to add her to our show tank but won't endanger it until she is in the clear. Thanks in advance for your advice.

[reseter5]

it seams like every time i got a coral beauty it had ick... i dont know whats wrong with these fish ..but always had a problem...

[leebca]

Congratulations on using a quarantine system. Very smart on your part.

Usually, a two-week treatment cycle will kill the majority of the parasites. It depends on the medication. If you're truly using a straight copper sulfate, there may be complications. See this: Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems

It could take up to 6 weeks to eradicate the Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) in the QT, depending upon the choice of medication. What is very important during any such treatment is that the copper concentration is maintained in the 'parasite killing' zone and neither allowed to go too low or too high. So, when you make a water change, you have to add back copper to bring the copper concentration to the proper level. If the copper concentration has been allowed to drop too low, the treatment will be interrupted and the parasite will continue to spread/reproduce. The only way to control and know what you're doing is to be testing daily for copper concentration, using a test kit recommended by the medication manufacturer.

As the above reference indicates, the choice of Cupramine for the medication would take care of the Marine Ich in about 2 weeks.