API's "Super Ick Cure"

[treesprite]

I could not get a copper test kit today and won't have time tomorrow, and I don't want to do absolutely nothing, so I got this stuff and want to hear what other people have to say before I go using it.

 

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals "Super Ick Cure"

3.6mg malachite green and 60mg nitrofurazone per 10g dose

Empty 1 packet per 10g of water, repeat after 48 hours, wait a second 48 hours then do 25% water change.

Not reef-safe.

 

I'm not comfortable with not changing the water every day in a QT. 10g QT with a small y. tang in it (fits in the coffee cup hideout).

 

Any thoughts on this stuff people?

[Coral Hind]

That stuff works well. If you have some kind of air stone, filter or water movement in the tank it would be fine letting it go for that long. That small fish is not going to pollute the water that fast. Just don't over feed it.

[Amuze]

What fish are you trying to treat? I don't use any meds for my tangs, just garlic extract from Brightwell. It has worked well. My regal tang fought through ich 3 times and now no longer gets it unless I move a bunch of stuff around.

 

Nothing really "worked" until I used garlic when feeding. Ich's in your tank so it's better to help the fish build it's immune system up. Garlic helps their metabolism which in turn helps the fish fight the disease naturally. This means less stress.

[zygote2k]

What fish are you trying to treat? I don't use any meds for my tangs, just garlic extract from Brightwell. It has worked well. My regal tang fought through ich 3 times and now no longer gets it unless I move a bunch of stuff around.

 

Nothing really "worked" until I used garlic when feeding. Ich's in your tank so it's better to help the fish build it's immune system up. Garlic helps their metabolism which in turn helps the fish fight the disease naturally. This means less stress.

Garlic has not been proven to do anything beneficial for any non-human critters. It is 100% marketing hype. Any tests that have been done weren't done properly. There's a good article on reefcentral about it somewhere...

[Jon Lazar]

You can go 48 hrs with no water changes in a 10g tank with no filtration and a single small fish.

 

I always put an ammonia badge in my QT just to be safe, and I test regularly for nitrite.

 

Jon

[Amuze]

Garlic has not been proven to do anything beneficial for any non-human critters. It is 100% marketing hype. Any tests that have been done weren't done properly. There's a good article on reefcentral about it somewhere...

 

Have you tried it? Worked great for my fish. I tend to go by my own experience and not what I've only read. I'm not saying it's the only thing to do and that it's a "cure". Frequent water changes and maintenance should always be done as well. I was reluctant at first to try it, but after soaking food in garlic I have had no losses to ich. You can treat fish with meds in a QT and return them to your system, but they are only going to come down with it again. Isn't it better to have their immune systems strong enough to fight it off rather than keep treating them with meds, further stressing them out? If you have LR and sand in your tank, you have are more than likely to have ich present. The only real way to rid the tank of it is to break it down and sterilize it. I don't know many who are willing to do that. Again, this is only what I've experienced and had luck with. Every fish in my tank from tangs to wrasses started feeding on nori after I started using garlic 2 times a week. No ich or any other signs of parasites and everyone is happy.

Edited December 3, 2008 by audible

[Jon Lazar]

If you have LR and sand in your tank, you have are more than likely to have ich present. The only real way to rid the tank of it is to break it down and sterilize it.

 

The other way to positively eliminate all ich from the tank is to remove all fish from the infected tank and treat them by whatever method you like (copper, hyposalinity, etc.) in a separate tank. After 30 days with no fish present, there will be no more ich in the previously-infected tank. Once the ich moves from the dormant stage to the infectious stage, it dies if it can't find a fish to feed on. Ich cannot infect snails, crabs, pods, or other critters...just fish, so by removing the fish, you kill every ich parasite in the tank. This is one area of our hobby that has been well studied and subjected to peer review.

 

So long as you also kill all the parasites on the fish before reintroducing them, you create a tank which is ich-free. Ich can be reintroduced later by adding unquarantined live rock or live sand from a tank that contained fish, even if the previous owner had no signs of ich. But if you quarantine the rock and sand in a tank with no fish, you are guaranteed to kill all the ich parasites. Ich parasites are only infectious for a few hours after hatching, so it is unlikely that you "catch" ich from another tank's water.

 

Removing all fish is easier than you think. Just drain your tank into a suitable container until there's only 5-6 inches of water remaining. Herd the fish into one end of the tank, and stick a piece of eggcrate in as a fence to keep the fish in one area. Then use a speciman container to scoop up the fish and move them to a QT. Once done, pump the water back into the tank. I learned this method from Anthony Calfo, who is the guest speaker at our next WAMAS meeting.

 

Jon

[Amuze]

Maybe I misspoke. Yes, removing all possible hosts is another way.

 

My main point was garlic did exactly what it was supposed to. That's all.

 

Good luck with the tang.

[sen5241b]

The other way to positively eliminate all ich from the tank is ...

 

Removing all fish is easier than you think. Just drain your tank into a suitable container until there's only 5-6 inches of water remaining. Herd the fish into one end of the tank, and stick a piece of eggcrate in as a fence to keep the fish in one area. Then use a speciman container to scoop up the fish and move them to a QT. Once done, pump the water back into the tank. I learned this method from Anthony Calfo, who is the guest speaker at our next WAMAS meeting.

 

Jon

 

No so. Some troublesome fish cannot be trapped or herded into the corner of a drained tank. The "drain the tank" method has not always worked for some. I started a post about this a month or so ago.

 

Fish traps