Ich

[Istrom]

Hey,

It's very possible I have ich in my 90 reef. I just have a few questions:

1. If I were to set up a hospital tank, how would I quickly cycle it in order to get my fish in it ASAP?

2. Can freshwater (or parasite dips) be the only thing I need to do to get rid of the parasite? If so, how often do I dip each fish for? And for how long do I need to continue the dips for?

3. (CAUTION: Controversial topic)
I am considering using levamisole powder to treat the tank. If you're unfamiliar with the procedure, you're supposed to leave all living animals in the tank (it's coral safe) except for echinoderms (starfish and urchins). You dose 2.5 grams per 500 gallons, and deactivate protein skimmer and take out carbon. Let the levamisole stay in the tank for two hours (shrimp and crabs will be stunned by the meds, but make a full recovery within a day). After 2 hours, reactivate the protein skimmer and put fresh carbon in the tank, and do a 10% water change.

(To everyone who feels they need to respond specifically about the levamisole: I am fully aware of the risks I would be taking. People have lost tanks and all its Livestock by overdosing this chemical. I have read a lot about this, and in every case that I've read where the tank owner properly doses levamisole, nothing dies, and their ich is gone.)

 

[navaljonf]

can you provide more detail on your tank? (Fish, size, rock, feeding schedule, etc)


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[coralbandit]

I have to say I have never read of levamisole in marine tanks before even though I am well aware of levamisole.
I have lost fish to marine ich before (1 is too many but I lost several$$$).
I know only of three ways to cure ich.
I would not even worry one little bit about cycling the hospital tank if you think of anything besides the levamisole?(Still need to read so pardon my ????).
The other three methods use meds (copper) or daily waterchanges(transfer method) or hypo salinity(maybe a cycle tank is important here?).
My source of info if interested;
Marine Ich - Myths and Facts | Reef Sanctuary
Hope this helps,
Off to search levamisole for marine ich!
What do you know about Potassium Permaganate in marine applications?
It is a great oxidizer that kills almost ALL fw parasite on the outside of the fish!

 

[coralbandit]

Sorry to double post but..
Found the link ( a link) I think you read?
Fully stocked reef tank ICH Treatment!!!! IT WORKS!!! - Reef Central Online Community
It is indeed very interesting ,but I was skeptical ...
Until I saw Inkmaker on a reef froum!!!!
Charles Harrison(inkmaker) is the Levamisole got to guy IMO.
He still is around today and I just recently refered members of this forum to him to get levamisole for camalanus.
I say go for it!!
And please keep us posted.
Charles has a web site if you need to get levamisole or even consult with him possibly.
I am very interested now!
He has always been VERY helpful to /for me when I asked questions about anything fish!

 

[Burns]

If your doing this , I would still fresh water dip for about 3-4 min. They say you can do it longer. And get a cleaner wrass or shrimp


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[Istrom]

I have both a cleaner wrasse and a. Scarlet banded cleaner shrimp. But ich lives under the skin of fish, making the cleaners almost useless. But, I have reason to believe it might not be ich.

90 G Reef
55 G Discus
24 G Reef

 

[Sniperhank]

In a hospital tank, you can't really cycle it...we keep them bare bottom with PVC elbows to hide in so one can treat with copper based medications, nothing in there to prevent the copper from leaching into anything. Usually this is filterless and only a powerhead for movement in the water because the copper based medications will kill off the bacteria that completes the nitrate cycle, leaving water changes as the only means of preventing ammonia/nitrite levels from causing harm...though I've never heard of doing such I'm sure the use of prime or other product to make ammonia non-toxic would be beneficial.

 

[melosu58]

The best reading out there on the parasite

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro

 

[Breakthecycle2]

My tank is being ripped apart due to ICH or Velvet. I am going to research this drug, but what I do know is, fresh water dips do nothing by stress the fish out. They do not work for ICH.

 

[Mebbid]

My tank is being ripped apart due to ICH or Velvet. I am going to research this drug, but what I do know is, fresh water dips do nothing by stress the fish out. They do not work for ICH.

I beg to differ, I fresh water dipped my clowns multiple times with a noticable very rapid improvement after each dip. The dips are stressful, but are good for a lifesaving measure.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I beg to differ, I fresh water dipped my clowns multiple times with a noticable very rapid improvement after each dip. The dips are stressful, but are good for a lifesaving measure.

Are you sure it was ICH?

 

[Mebbid]

Are you sure it was ICH?

... yes. Are you sure you were dipping them in fresh water?

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I am going to agree to disagree. In my experience FW dips do nothing for ICH. There's also a whole long thread about it on another forum. Not sure. If it worked for you. Great.

 

[Sniperhank]

Freshwater dips and ich have been one of those hit or miss things depending on who you ask. If you have a procedure when you get a new fish, a freshwater dip on all incoming fish isn't a bad idea as long as one isn't talking about sharks and rays or even poisonous fish (only because if it happens to jump out it can get tricky to catch a poisonous fish off the floor). I've never known of a dip to up and kill any fish unless it was already beyond the point of no return.

 

[Mebbid]

I am going to agree to disagree. In my experience FW dips do nothing for ICH. There's also a whole long thread about it on another forum. Not sure. If it worked for you. Great.

I am not claiming they are a cure for ich, but rather a method to the number of active cysts on a fish. I did it multiple times when my fish originally got ich and appeared to be in danger of dying. After the dips there was a noticeable and very rapid improvement in the fish.