My fish have ick, (I'm pretty sure), my LFS recommened the use of coral vital. He said that it stops the ick from adhering to the fish. I love the guy there to death, and I pretty sure he knows what he's talking about. I caught it pretty early on, so I think they'll be okay. I just want to know if I am doing the right thing. I really haven't been able to see any spots on my trigger, and I think I might see one on my tang. But I have seen them both scratching on rocks and stuff.

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And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,...

Hi Murchadh ~

Good luck with your Coral Vital as a "treatment for ich." At least I don't think Coral Vital has ever been accused of killing anything, including ich.

The guy at the LFS who sold you this as an ich repellent is either clueless or unscrupulous. In either case he's a jerk.

Obviously I do not give much credence to the myriad claims made by Marc Weiss for his collection of elixirs. But obviously they're quite profitable for the LFS.

Ninong [img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 10-30-2000).]

Personally I'd just mix some kyloric garlic in with the food add some selcon for vitamins and freeze some brocolli and thaw it for your tang to nibble on, the brocolli adds calcium which tangs need to stay healthy.. ever wonder why they graze on coralline algae all day? I would do this rather than any those supposed remedies. HTH

Henry

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Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an open manhole and die.
-Mel Brooks

I am at the tail end of treating a 180 gallon tank of sick fish (no inverts). Although my results have been less than successful (i.e., the remaining fish are not yet dead), I can share some of what I've learned.

I was reluctant to undertake massive treatments based on a belief that the treatments may be just as lethal as the parasites. But once the parasites were everywhere, treatment was not optional.

I can't tell ick from white spot (oodiniumn from cryptocaryon), so I looked for something that would treat both. I used Greenex (a formula of malachite green and quinine hydrochloride), and that worked okay. It took care of the visible parasites on the fish. But the "treats 600 gallons" bottle only treated about 300 gallons, so I ran out before I could finish the five day, three-treatment regimine. Two fish were dead the day after I applied the Greenex. Either they were too far gone, or the medicine killed them. I have heard that some fish are sensitive to malachite green, but I have no good information on this.

I know one of the keys is treating the parasite in its free-swimming stage. Specifically, the adult parasites fall off of the fish and burst into about 200 free-swimming "baby" parasites that must latch onto a host within 24 hours or they die. It is critical to kill the parasites during this free-swimming 24-hour period; you can't just kill the attached parasites...they come back.

So I added Mardel's Copper Safe to my tank. But, the next day I tested for copper and could not get a reading. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to add more copper.

I also did a freshwater dip of most of the fish...all but the two damsels, which I could not catch. Remember to match pH and temperature of the aquarium environment.

Here comes the best part. Although the parasites have not yet re-appeared, I noticed my fish have fin rot, a secondary bacterial infection caused by the parasitic infection. So now I need to apply antibiotics. In checking my options, I found that sulfur-based antibiotics and some others are poisonous to fish when combined with copper. Bottom line, I went with Mardel's Maracyn (400mg erythromycin), which is apparently okay for use in conjunction with copper.

Because the parasites may come back, I purchased a cleaner wrasse for $15 (probably the most cost-effective treatment available). He was a big hit with the remaining fish.

I have lost a powder blue surgeon, an emperor angel, a sohal surgeon, and I am about to lose a foxface rabbit fish, a lunar wrasse, a flame angel, and a couple of stripped damsels (although these les expensive fish appear to be invulnerable).

So given this experience, here's what I learned:
1) QUARANTINE: there is no substitute. I will use a quarantine/hospital tank from here on out (1 month of quarantine).
2) Freshwater dip all new fish before adding them to the show tank (the book I read says 5 to 15 minutes is good).
3) He who hesitates is lost. Treat the tank at the first signs of scratching. By tyhe time you actually see the first parasite, there are probably MANY more waiting to emerge.
4) Avoid copper if possible, because it is difficult to control and it limits your antibiotic options. I've also heard that it impairs the fish's immune system.
5) As soon as you begin treating for the parasites, treat for bacterial infections. The book I read recommends this, but I did not listen. I'll probably lose more fish to the bacterial infection than to the parasite.
6) Turn off the protein skimmer during treatment--it removes the medication I'm not sure as to whether or not it removes copper).

I'm still hoping to salvage the remaining fish. I will follow up to note whether or not the Maracyn does the job on the fin rot. I hope this helps. Contact me directly via e-mail if I can be of assistance.

[This message has been edited by slackman (edited 10-30-2000).]