Is there an effective wayto treat ich without QT?

[Squado]

I currently do not have access to a qt tank and was wondering if there is a way to treat the main diplay tank without hurting other members. I have a royal gramma right now that looks like he may be aquiring ich. He has a couple of white spots on his body and a white ring around his eyes (I had this in another post as well). Anywaym is there anything that I could do to treat him for ich in the main tank without causing damage to the community? TIA......

 

[FishFrik]

Soaked food (garlic, selcon, etc.), UV, cleaner shrimp/wrasse can reduce the parasite population. If the fish is strong enough, it will develope an immunity against ick.

 

[Squado]

What about products that say that they contain a small amount of copper that will not harm any fish in the tank, but will kill the bacteria. Also, how do you soak food in garlic, Im not quite sure what you mean by that. Thanks

 

[neilster1]

Copper will kill your inverts and corals and from what I have read won't do anything for the ich.

off-the-shelf ich cures are a waste of money.. they just don't work - This is from my direct experience.

You should definitely QT new arrivals.. hypo works for ich. To get rid of ich from your main you must let the tank go fallow (fishless) for 6-8 weeks to break the life cycle of the parasite. If you don't wait long enough the ich will come back. You can build a fishes' resistance to the parasite by the use of garlic but garlic itself won't kill ich.

 

[FishFrik]

Never treat your main tank with copper. A tiniest amount could kill every inverts. IMO, those "reef safe ick medications" don't work. Well, they are designed to work but with all the LR and LS in the tank, their effectiveness is reduced so they end up being useless.

Garlic extreme or Garlic Guard are garlic extract (juice). Just buy either one of them, put a small amount in a small cup, then put fish food in there. Let the food soak for about 30 mins - 1 hour then it will be garlic soaked fish food

 

[roka64]

it will develope an immunity against ick.

I don't believe they will gain immunity. The garlic will boost their immunity, along with the other vitamins you recomended.

You could try to lower your salinity. I keep mine at 1.020, BUT, I have a FOWLR, and this might not be high enough for anemoeas or corals. This lower salinity will help the fish's natural breathing process and is less stressful.

I have never used and treatments or seen ick in my tank.

Like others said, don't treat your main, get a QT. For now, if you can't get a QT, try a lower salinity, soak their food in garlic, zoe, selcon and cross your fingers.

 

[Squado]

When you say soak the food in garlic, do you mean the liquid substance that garlic is packed in the jar?

 

[roka64]

I use this:

https://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/garlic/Class//T1/F29SX+0343+0270/EDP/33720/Itemdy00.aspx

i'm not too sure if you can use the stuff in the jar, it might contain preservatives, of course you can make your own. Some one posted on how, but I can't remember. I think fishfrik tried, if I remember....

 

[FishFrik]

I don't believe they will gain immunity.

I've read various articles and posts about this. Yes they can gain an immunity against ick. Just like the vaccine concept. A guy in RC has a 30+ years old tank. His fish had ick and he didn't QT them. He fed them well and helped them fought the parasites in his main (no medication). Now his fish never have ick again.

Same in my tank, i didn't have the time to maintain a QT tank when my fish had ick so i just risked it and bought an UV. I also fed them with garlic. Overtime, the fish got better and now, my fish have never been reinfected.

When you say soak the food in garlic, do you mean the liquid substance that garlic is packed in the jar?

Yea, it's a liquid

 

[neilster1]

Yes they can gain an immunity against ick

With all due respect I must disagree. Ich is a parasite, not a bacteria to be immune to. A healthy fish that is eating well can resist the ich attaching to them with a better slime coat than stressed/sick fish can whose resistance is lower. A stressed/sick fish is just more susceptible because of the stress, not because of the lack of an immunity to ich.

 

[Squado]

Due you think I should purchase a UV? There is a cheap Jebo on ebay thats is 9 watts (30 bucks). Is it a piece of junk or is it worth it for a 29 gallon tank? Im gonna start with the garlic stuff and wait for a response on the UV. Thanks so much.......

 

[roka64]

Yes they can gain an immunity against ick. Just like the vaccine concept. A guy in RC has a 30+ years old tank.

I tend to believe, if the fish are healthy and not stressed they would more than likely never get ick....but I could be wrong....

 

[neilster1]

Due you think I should purchase a UV? There is a cheap Jebo on ebay thats is 9 watts (30 bucks). Is it a piece of junk or is it worth it for a 29 gallon tank? Im gonna start with the garlic stuff and wait for a response on the UV. Thanks so much.......

You get what you pay for... doesn't sound like much of a light in there, flow would have to be really slow.

Shortcutting the process of using hyposalinity in a seperate tank and letting your main go fallow will probably result in the death of your fish.. I've lost my share of money and fish by not following the advice I got to take the above steps.

 

[demodiki]

There are no easy ways to treat ick. Without QT/hospital tanks you are just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

 

[FishFrik]

A stressed/sick fish is just more susceptible because of the stress, not because of the lack of an immunity to ich.

I tend to believe, if the fish are healthy and not stressed they would more than likely never get ick....but I could be wrong....

So you guys are saying the whole - "Feed fish garlic to boost their immune system against ick" is incorrect? B/c as you said, only the slime coat is needed against ick so why boost their immunity anyway?

 

[roka64]

No, we are saying to use it to promote healthy fish. A healthy fish has a better chance at not getting sick. Ick is a parasite and like neilster1 said, they will not gain immunity to ick. Parasites, think of mosquitoes, you don't have an immunity to them, but I have heard (and this is just a coincidence about garlic) that people who eat a lot of garlic are less likely to be bitten by them. I hope that makes a little more since....

 

[ellisz]

There are ways to boost immunity and keeping your fish in a stress free environment will keep fish happy and healty. Once ich is introduced, I think you need to QT. QT, should be first but if you have it, you need to remove all the fish. A 10 gal tank is only $9 and a filter is not much more. You could use a rubbermaid as well, you just wonf be able to inspect the fish very easily.