no ich

Mark Peterson wrote: To my knowledge, it has been determined that the "ich" parasite is always present in our aquariums and perhaps rides on our fish in small numbers continuously.

???

Well, unfortunatly the "no ich" did not work for me. My Chaetodon
punctatofacsiatus died. I have now removed all of my fish from
the tank and lost my Cryptocentrus cinctus in the process.
This sucks! Three of my bigger fish are spending their time at the
LFS and all the little guys are in my 10g quarantine. I had to remove
almost all my rock to get them all out. Did i mention this really sucks
. So now my tank is epmty except for the inverts for a month.
Moral of the story: no matter what anyone tells you quarantine or at
least dip them all before you put 'em in your tank. (yes i know
everyone knows this already) Why didn't I just listen to myself??
What really baffles me is that I even spoke with the guy who makes
the No Ich and he assured me that it would work and that he has
never seen it not work. And since it didn't work he says that it must
have been something else other than ich. Sorry I just don't think that
was the case, I don't know what else it could have been.
oh well, i miss my fish.
By the way since this has happened I have been reading heaps of
papers on Cryptocaryon irritans and it is not something that is
always present in the tank, or at least it shouldn't be, and if it is then
one will forever be battling it. While it can remain dormant on the
fish for some time, it will eventually rear its ugly nasty head. I think I
will just not let it in there period. I have read that a FW dip w/
methylene blue will kill C. irritans and others. If
anyone is interested in reading the liturature on C. irritans let
me know and I will get the links for you.
sorry this was a long one.

Edited by djangoboots

http://www.breeders-registry.gen.ca.us/Reprints/SeaScope/
v11_sumr/crypto.htm
http://www.aquarium.net/0297/0297_2.shtml
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/mini1.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm

these are just some of the links that I have found. The references at
the end of these papers are quite usefull as well.

There really are tons of articles. Just type in
Cryptocaryon irritans in google.

Edited by djangoboots

ffc3 wrote: I think most of the people (not including me) on this board believe that ich is always present in our tanks and garlic is a good cure.   I've tried both and copper plus quarantine has worked the best for me.

This is also what I was told at my LFS, and why I did not quarantine
fishes. They told me that it would just cause additional stress and
that it would be best to get them into the big tank asap. Why oh why
didn't i listen to myself!
So, do use copper in your quarantine tank? I tried using it once, and
was very carefull about testing and everything, but it killed the fish
and not the parasite. I think it really does quite a number on the
fishes immune system. I know tons of people use it but it just scares
me a bit. I have read lots of good things about methylene blue used
as a dip, ie it is very safe, it's an oxengenator, and it kills protozoas
and other parasites. Has anyone else tried using it?

Edited by djangoboots

I've used methylene blue in a quarantine tank once before and it worked rather well.  My Yellow Tang is free of ick and has been alive for about 9 months since i treated him.  Now I feed my fish garlic periodically and they don't have any more problems.

Djangoboots, I have used different medications including Coppersafe.  Coppersafe caused my fish to breath hard and didn't do anything to the ich.  I ordered Cupramine online and kept my fish in it for a month, including lionfish which are supposed to be sensitive to copper and had no problems with it and it got rid of the ich.  Most of the LFS sell Coppersafe, the only place I have seen Cupramine is Pet Planet in South Jordan on 12?000 S. and Redwood Rd.  They moved a little north of where they were before.  Also, I've read to leave the main tank fishless for 6 weeks instead of 4.

We've got a cleaner wrasse.......and a cleaner shrimp in a different
tank. We haven't lost a fish for years.....I'd let you borrow him, but
first I'd have to catch 'em!

And if the quarantine tank is just a 10 gallon thrown together just last night (or even last month!), the fish is probably being done more harm than good.

What I've heard people who quarantine successfully do is always keep a small sponge or HOB filter running in an established tank.  Then pull that filter/sponge out and use it on the quarantine tank.  Frequent water changes are also usually part of the regime.  I've never quarantined myself for the very reasons Mark states:  it's tedious and troublesome.  But I'm still of the opinion that if one was very regimented about how/when livestock is added to a tank, said tank could be completely ich free.

Edited by jfinch

I put some neon gobies in my old 120 and saw them for about 30 seconds and never again. But I bought them from petco when I was first getting started.

Carl wrote: Is there a possibility that the ich was caught too late and had already done too much damage to the infected fish? Was the case bad enough to up the dose by 50% as it recommends on the label?I lost a fish early on to ich, but the rest cleared up and hadn't had an issue... until I moved everything to the new tank. Now I have it again. I guess I'll be the guinnea pig. I will keep you informed.

When i stated treatment it was at the one or two spot stage and for
the most part everyone was fine. I actually spoke with Dr.Prescott
who makes the no ich and he had me dosing everyday untill it
cleared, but it just kept getting worse.

Edited by djangoboots