Help!! Ich!!

[Lofus]

I woke up this morning to find my A. nigricans (aka white cheek tang, aka powder brown tang) covered in spots. The lights had not fully come on so they looked like little brown dots but now that the lights are on the show up white. there are also a few on his fins.

The tank is 72 bow with LR and a few corals.

Also, in the tank are two percula clowns, four green chromis, and a bicolour blenny. none of them appear to have any of the spots.

Any suggestions on what my course of action should be? I'm currently setting up a hospital tank (30 gal). Should I try to treat him in the main tank? This is my first ich episode so its all new.

Jim

[BMW Rider]

I really hate ich. I've battled it in my fish only tank. I tried everything to eliminate it, and finally ended up stripping the tank bare turning it into a hospital tank and going with copper treatment. If you have the hospital tank, move all the fish and use copper, it was the only thing that has worked for me. All the other treatments abated the outbreak for a while, but did not eliminate it. I ended up ditching all the rock and sand out of the tank to be sure it no longer was present. Fortunately there was no live rock there. If there had been I would have had to leave the tank fallow for a couple of months with the fish in another tank. The whole experience was a major PITA. If you don't remove all the fish from your tank for treatment, the ich will still be in the tank even if there is no obvious sign of it. You need to treat all the fish and fallow the tank to be sure it is eliminated.

[Lofus]

I took some photos to get a second (3rd, 4th) opinion...

I never really noticed how much crap was in the water untill I took these...might have to look at upgrading my sum/finler... :rolleyes:

This one he was moving so the bits in the water don't show up as much..

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/568Tang_03_04-07-11-med.jpg?8262

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/568Tang_02_04-07-11.jpg?6355

This one is clearer but it is hard to see what is in the water versus on him..

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/568Tang_01_04-07-11-med.jpg?3067

Jim

[psuedo]

Just do what the ocean does. Nothing. Do regular water changes and dump more live rock in there. Maybe get an anemone or a long tentacle plate, as when one of my tangs had ich it just rubbed it off on the anemone

[Lofus]

I have a cleaner shrimp and a BTA but I have never heard of anemones cleaning ich

[Lofus]

I was looking at running the salenity low and feeding garlic rather then the copper thing.

[LostMind]

My purple tang got ich after being in my tank for 3 months with no new fish being added...

All I did was step up my maintainence and feeding regimen. I went from feeding once a day and hanging some nori every few days to putting in nori everyday and feeding 2-3x a day. Started soaking the food in selcon and the kents garlic stuff and within days (perhaps a week) the ich fell off and I have never seen it in my tank since.

With all that feeding, I have added a couple of powerhead filters and change them out every 3 days or so. I didnt feel my skimmer was able to adequately keep up with my input of wastes...

My fish are fatter then ever too :)

[EmilyB]

Garlic. I've got some Kent Garlic Extreme, and is that ever wicked stuff !


I agree, leave the tang, work on the water quality. And use garlic.

[Lofus]

What is in the Kent Garlic extreme? Can I use regular garlic juice?

[EmilyB]

What is in the Kent Garlic extreme? Can I use regular garlic juice?

Sure. Just use a couple drops. The Kent stuff has Vitamin C in it as well, and it is in a nice eyedropper bottle, so easy to work with. Garlic up the nori as well.

[DEAD_BY_DAWN]

when my clowns got ich i used garlic to,just made my own by mushing a little raw garlic then adding a small amount of water leaving it over night then strained the mix and just put a small amount of the liquid on the food for a week ,no more ick and that was two months ago.

[bulletsworld]

I really hate ich.

:lol: I totally agree. It is a P.I.T.A (pain in the ..). You got that right! :lol:

I have battled ich on numerous occasions. And have even bought ich infected fish such as porcupine puffer's, boxfish & filefish just to save them & treat them of this disease. But with heavy infestation of ich it’s usually to late. Time is of the essence.

I use garlic as an added boost to help the fish fight the disease. I use Garlic extreme $10 @ Big Al's & soak all their food. But garlic alone will NOT rid your tank of ich or keep your fish or new fish from being re-infected.

Only two methods of treatment to RID of the disease ich
1) Hyposalinity- which I use & recommend

2) Cooper- which I DO NOT recommend. For many reasons: It's VERY easy to overdose. Copper is very toxic and may weaken or kill the fish if not used with care. Lots of fish like the tangs are VERY sensitive to copper. Many fish like a porcupine puffer's & boxfish can NOT be treated with copper. I have also found after copper treatment that it seems to fade the fish of their natural color. I prefer a more natural treatment, Hyposalinity.

Lofus,
It definitely looks like ich. These treatments above can only be treated in your 30gal QT tank. Here are some links with a collection of good reading & understanding of the disease and treatment. Step by step. Best of luck.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282934

[Quinn]

Maybe get an anemone or a long tentacle plate, as when one of my tangs had ich it just rubbed it off on the anemone

In my opinion not exactly good advice.

[Delphinus]

Jim, what are your current water parameters? Specifically, what's the daytime max temp, nighttime min temp, specific gravity, pH (mix/max over a typical 24hr period), NO3, ammonia, etc.?

Last time I battled ick on a tang, it was on my recently-introduced red sea sailfin tang (almost 2 years ago). I checked the above parameters and found my SG to be 1.027... I lowered it to 1.025 as well as soaked my nori in garlic oil (from the garlic pills you can get at the grocery), and the ick was gone within a week.

[Lofus]

I'll check my params tonight. Normal daytime high temp is around 27C. It has been a while since I tested the water. I should know better.

I figure the addition of the Quinn's blenny was enough stress to set the ich off in him.

I've been soaking his nori in garlic juice from a bottle of minced garlic. All the fish seem to have a taste for it now. Next thing you know they will be wanting a chianti with it....

[TaTtOo]

I have been following forums here and on RC for quite some time now, although I am not even close to being a reef or ich (I hate even saying that word) expert, I have had some dealings with ich in my reef tank. I have tried Hypo and copper in my QT and have had sucess with both, BUT, this has not stopped tich from reoccurring. The best success I have had in dealing with this problem has been by simply adding a bottle of stress coat (following the proper dosage instructions) or slime coating to the tank EVERYTIME I added a new fish. I have found that this helps the fish adjust or become immune to ich (or something). Ever since I started doing this (about 10 months ago) I have not had an outbreak since.

This is just my $.02, and my experience, might be worth a shot. Its a better option than removeing all of the fish for 6-8 weeks for hypo and copper.

Thanks
TaTtOo

[Lofus]

I getting mixed signals...to the QT or in the Main tank?

it is definately ich. the spots are out on him now.

[TaTtOo]

If you use copper or hypo it has to be in QT or else the inverts/corals will likely die. The stress coat or garlic you can do in the main tank.

[Cap'n]

I would never use copper and I don't use a QT. Just give the infected fish a better, stress-free environment to live in and it will cure itself. Ich is always there, it just shows up when the fishes immune system is low.

There is no way to avoid getting mixed signals with this and many other topics in the marine world, everyone has their own opinion based on their experience. Take it all in and do what feels right to you.

[DiscusZ]

I have had my 1st ever ick outbreak recently/. never had it in a SW tank (Had it once in a FW tank with some fish i had shipped froma friend in New Jersey (Discus fish) box got lost and water was cold took me a long time to acclaimate and they all got ick.

My Hippo tang (who I got from mike noll) got ich a couple weeks after i got him, no one else got it I crushed some fresh garlic and rubbed it on some nori and feed that for a week. All seems fine (knock on wood)

[Lofus]

Feeding Garlic soaked nori for four days now...can't really say if he is any better but at the very least he is not dead yet... :rolleyes:

[EmilyB]

What other steps have you taken for stress control (water change, temp, possible tank mates, caves available etc). :mrgreen:

[Lofus]

Well The temp is controlled by airconditioning in the house so no big fluctuations. Have done water changes to improve quality as well as feeding more regularly. Skimmer is going nuts now.

Ich is still there on him but he looks healthy enough otherwise.

[bulletsworld]

I would never use copper and I don't use a QT. Just give the infected fish a better, stress-free environment to live in and it will cure itself. Ich is always there, it just shows up when the fishes immune system is low.

Wow, ich is always there? You don't use a QT? Wow, you gotta lot of reading to do. Knowledge is power! Ich is a parasite with a complex life cycle and it is not always present. Here yeah go....

Quarantine Methodology, part one
http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com./quarantine_methodology_1.html

Ich & its life cycle
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

Other posts
http://reefcentral.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=3363696&sortby=replies&sortorder=descending

[EmilyB]

How long have you been in the hobby bw?

[bulletsworld]

Have you ever had ich?

How about successfully cured it?

Ich is not always in your tank. Countless animals have been lost due to this negligence. A few well-planned steps of prevention by QT can save a great deal of money and, more importantly, animal’s lives. Just giving you my 2cents since I had to learn the hard way.

[EmilyB]

Yes I have on numerous occasions - I keep tangs and move tanks and have created stress for them many times. Last one was the 108g (skimmer pump was leaking 25v - skimmer was in-tank not in-sump) Everyone was covered. They are still here and I think the locals will vouch for that.


I'm sure I am not alone here with the non-stress about ick ??

[bulletsworld]

I keep tangs and move tanks and have created stress for them many times.

I hope you meant to say no stress. Not "have created stress". :lol: :lol:


I don't disagree with you more that a stress FREE environment is very important especially when dealing with Cryptocaryon irritans/Marine Ich. But a stress FREE environment is not going to solve Lofus problem, nor will it rid their tank of ich, resulting in the demise of the fish under heavy infestations.

[EmilyB]

I UNINTENTIONALLY created stress for them. And if Lofus eliminates stressors I believe all will be fine. IME.

[bulletsworld]

:eek: OMG! I'd hate to be your fish!

Well nite nite stressor!

Good luck Lofus!

[EmilyB]

:eek: OMG! I'd hate to be your fish!

Well nite nite stressor!

Good luck Lofus!

My originals are still here after five years...so don't be too quick to judge.

My fish are pretty happy with their Euroreefs and waterchanges and massive feedings. :rolleyes:

[MitchM]

I'm sure I am not alone here with the non-stress about ick ??

You're not alone....... :wink:

Providing a stress-free environment should be the first step in keeping ANY marine organism.
You can quarantine and treat all you like, but if the fish' immune system is going to be compromised by being kept in an inadequate set-up, it will shorten it's life one way or another.

In the early stages of ich infestation, I believe that it can be overcome with a simple reduction of stress factors.
If the infestation is too great, then it will probably have to be moved to a hospital tank, with hypo, IMO.

Over the years, I've seen ich in my tanks a few times, have only had to "hospital tank" one fish, and have never lost one due to ich.

Mitch

[Aquattro]

:eek: OMG! I'd hate to be your fish!

Well nite nite stressor!

Good luck Lofus!

If I ever died and came back as an aquarium fish, I would want to be in EmB's tank. I have seen her stop at nothing to provide the absolute best environment she can for all her charges. Her fish have been with her for years and years, and anytime she has inadvertently caused stress to her fish, she has done anythig andeverything to corect the mishap.
She also gives great advice when it comes to treating fish. I agree whole-heartedly....clean up the water, and feed garlic. None of tis stupid hyposalinity and copper crap, just clean water and an immune system boost. I have used this method the one time I had a huge ich outbreak 2 years ago, and have not seen it since.
If you don't like the garlic trick, don't use t. But it does work, we'll continue to post this advice here, and it would be appreciated if you refrained from insulting other members. If you have adive to give, step up the box, politely say your bit, and step down.

[AJ_77]

I've got to go with EmilyB and Carpentersreef on this one, mainly because they're the high priests of my order, so to speak. Any success I've had in this hobby so far has come from listening to them and experienced hobbiests like them, and reading up on the variables and diseases that may confront me.

I don't see why this thread should have gotten snippy at all.

<edit - I see Brad has addressed this.>

[Cap'n]

Wow, you gotta lot of reading to do.

If you only knew the amount of reading and research I have done!

Here's one of the brainstorms from one of the articles you provided:
If an aquarium has no fish in it, and there are no additions of fish, or anything else that could be carrying trophonts, tomonts, tomites or theronts for a period of 6 weeks or longer, all parasites will have died. An aquarium such as this is an obvious exception to "Ich" always being present.

An aquarium without fish won't have ich? Who knew?

I believe people all too often look at fish care too clinically, you have to remember, they are people too. I have a cold right now. I don't have it because I was introduced to a new environment that contained the flu virus. I caught this through trying to maintain a nightowl lifestyle while getting up for work extremely early (IMO). I let my immune system weaken, my defenses went down and voila! summer cold.

Bullet, I always appreciate advice, that's why I'm here, but don't TELL me I'm wrong, SUGGEST you know an alternative. Take a look at the tone of the other regular posters and you'll see how we can all disagree politely,

Cpt Constraint

[Cap'n]

And no, I don't use a QT. I believe they cause unnecessary stress.

[Lofus]

Update...a lot of controversy here.

The Ich appears to me mostly gone with the garlic and water changes having done the trick. I am thinking of upgrading my skimmer now as the added feedings are causing a diatom bloom. (or perhaps I just need a reason to play with the gear! :biggrin: )

Until a few weeks ago I can say with certainty that there was no Ich in the tank. Every fish with the exception of the last addition has been QT'd for at least 4 weeks to break the cycle.

I got impatitent with the blenny I recently added and he went in the main tank after only two weeks. Now I know better. I've been at this hobby for about a year and a half now and this is my first ich case.

None of the other fish are showing any signs.

Thanks for help Em, Carp, Riff, AJ, etc..

[bulletsworld]

I'm sure I am not alone here with the non-stress about ick ??

I never disagreed. I totally agree that water quality, temp, stress reduction and preventive measures, etc, all play important roles and are extremely important.

I practice this in my own experiences with housing boxfish that have the ability to release ostracitoxin, a poison that can kill ALL tank inhabitants (a total tank melt down) when stressed. Many hobbyist stay clear of this fish for that reason alone. Hence why my boxfish is named “Bullets” (user name). :lol: :lol: For this reason I must emphasize the importance of creating a stress-free environment to successfully house these fish. But it didn’t stop ich from entering my tank after I didn’t QT the new addition, which seemed free of disease at the time. Guess I had to learn the hard way, as I know others here have too. * hugs *

So, I must say again I never disputed or disagreed about the importance of maintaining a stress-free environment. But what I do disagree with, IMO & my own experience is that ich is not always present, and creating a stress-free environment, hoping that the fish gains immunity or partial immunity alone, to the fast reproducing parasite, is a BIG risk and is not a cure. The risk could result in the demise of the fish that is heavily infected. If you have an infected tank that has not been treated, any new fish added in the future may become infected. Yikes!

I think we can pretty much all agree that prevention is preferable to treatment for any disease. IMO, I do believe that the practice of quarantining is often overlooked but is a crucial step toward prevention. So IMO, I would suggest quarantine, the use of no nets to capture and a natural method of treatment, garlic soaked foods and hyposalinity to eliminate ich. IMO, I will choose the cure anyday over juggling the dice, taking that big risk and hoping the fish will fight the disease themselves. Not to mention the stress one goes through & loss of sleep you experience if you see another white dot on your fishy friend. Or how about the emotional break down you go through after you lose your favorite friend. :frown:

Please note, it was never my intention to insult any members. My apologies if you feel that was the case. I feel that regardless of how long you have been in this hobby there is always something new to learn & discover. We all rely on one another, as well as other sources of information, to help us care for our marine friends. I think it is safe to say that all of us have a genuine passion & appreciation for our marine friends. We all want to see them in good health or we would not be here, sharing our own personal experiences and opinions to help one another.

Bulletsworld has stepped up to the speaker, politely said my bit and has now stepped down.

Good nite everyone & fishies! Sweet dreams!

Best of luck Lofus!

[Beverly]

Last time I battled ick on a tang, it was on my recently-introduced red sea sailfin tang (almost 2 years ago). I checked the above parameters and found my SG to be 1.027... I lowered it to 1.025 as well as soaked my nori in garlic oil (from the garlic pills you can get at the grocery), and the ick was gone within a week.

Finally had to read this thread to see what folks have been saying about ich treatment as I have battled it on and off over the past several months and am about to begin stocking my upgraded tanks.....

Ich will drop off a fish in a week whether or not you do anything to your tank. The on-the-fish stage of ich lasts only about a week. The rest of the time, the ich is going through the rest of its life cycle, and will reinfest fish once they get to the on-the-fish stage again in 2-4 weeks if fish are left in the ich tank.

Also, if one fish has ten ich spots, those few ich spots will multiply like crazy while in the not-on-the-fish part of their life cycle. When they become apparent on the fish again, there will be bazillions more that what you started out with, reinfesting the original fish and any other fish in the tank. For example, if a fish gets ich in the ocean, the fish will likely not die of ich because its range will be great enough to be able to avoid fatal reinfestion. In the closed and relatively small systems we run in our homes, there is no place for fish to go to not be reinfested.

As some people have pointed out, the use of LOTS of garlic soaked food has some positive effect on keeping the new on-the-fish ich off the fish. While I am not sure exactly why that works, my guess is that the garlic makes the fish reek of garlic and the ich will not attach to the stinky fish. I have used the garlic method with success and with failure as well.

From the reading I have done, mostly the links Leeanne has posted, it is best to remove all fish from the ich tank to a hospital tank. Treat for 6 weeks, while keeping the ich tank fallow for six weeks. If there are no fish in the ich tank when the on-the-fish stage of ich develops, the ich will simply die due to lack of hosts. Once the ich fish have been successfully treated, which, in some cases may take longer than 6 weeks if treatment proceedures have not been followed properly, there should not be a recurrence of ich in the used-to-be ich tank. That only holds true, however, if ich is not reintroduced in the tank at some point.

Also from what I read, stress in and of itself will not cause ich if ich is not present in the tank. Some people say their fish have developed ich after a long period of time in their tanks, yet no new fish have been added. Well, ime, something MUST have been added to the tank to introduce the ich. It could be some rock, LS, a coral or frag, or ANYTHING ELSE that came from a tank where ich was present but may not have been noticed.

All that said, I will be setting up my 20g as a Qtank for any new fish I plan for my upgraded tanks. Choice of treatment will by hyposalinity should ich be a problem. If my fish develp velvet, I will use copper to treat as hyposalinity does not have any effect on velvet.

[Delphinus]

Ich will drop off a fish in a week whether or not you do anything to your tank. The on-the-fish stage of ich lasts only about a week.

I was really only offering my experiences in a "for what it's worth" perspective, nothing more. There was a little bit of ick on a fish, I found something that I suspected was a stressor, I thus removed that stressor and things seemed to improve. The spots did not come back. Take it for what it's worth, an idle comment from the peanut gallery.


my guess is that the garlic makes the fish reek of garlic and the ich will not attach to the stinky fish.

I suppose that's one guess... I would have guessed something along the lines of garlic being an antioxidant, perhaps some kind of immuno-booster (if there is such a thing), or perhaps even as simple as "garlic'ed food smells better" and a fish that eats "more" as opposed to eats "less" stands a better chance of getting its strength up and fighting off nasties on its own. But those are just my guesses. :razz:

But, I would guess that for a really bad ick outbreak, feeding garlic laced food is a bit optimistic, all by itself.

[SuperFudge]

As some people have pointed out, the use of LOTS of garlic soaked food has some positive effect on keeping the new on-the-fish ich off the fish. While I am not sure exactly why that works, my guess is that the garlic makes the fish reek of garlic and the ich will not attach to the stinky fish. I have used the garlic method with success and with failure as well.




You could look at it like the guy next to you who just ate a pile of garlic.....youd leave him alone too. :lol:

Actually i dont believe it does anything but stimulate appetite.

Alot of fish that get ich, dont die from ich, but die as a result from not eating during the illness, becoming even more suseptable to re-infection in following life cycles of the parasite.

Out of all the treatments ive tried in the past, none have been as successful as just making sure a good diet is maintained and varied.

Marc.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK to dig up an old thread, my Hippo Tang has a few spots of ich now, because I quarantined him for too short a time. He looks healthy aside from the spots of ich on him.

He is in a reef tank with a Yellow Tang and two ocellaris clowns, none of the other fish have any spots on them.

Anyway looking at everyone's advice I have elected to ride it out with attention to diet and water conditions. I could move all 4 fish into quarantine and treat them but this would be a tremendous hassle.

The worst case scenario is I lose all four fish and leave the tank fallow for two months after that.

I believe the folks who say that offering good conditions will enable the fish to fight off a mild to moderate case of ich.

[Bob I]

Now that we have had pages, and pages of theories, explanations and possible insults.(I really don't believe that), I would like to add more mystery to the equation. I have had a small cowfish for exactly TWO MONTHS. He has been by himself in a 15 gallon tank, which has been set up for many months. A few days ago I purchased a RBTA, and put it in that tank for a few days. A couple of days ago I noticed the fish had white spots all over including the eyes. For now I am not treating him, as he shows no discomfort. The anemone has now been moved to my larger tank. does anyone want to try an explanation :question: , as this goes beyond anything I know about Ich.

[Beverly]

Sounds to me that there might have been free-swimming ich in the water the RBTA came in. Only explanation I can think of.

Sorry to hear about your ich :sad:

[yifan917]

IMO, get a neon goby.

:mrgreen:

[Bob I]

This is a follow up on my last post. The day after I made that post, I began a KickIck regimen. The fish was in a 15 gallon tank by itself, and some Peppermint shrimp. I removed the shrimp, and began treatment. I used the full dosage for a 25 gallon tank. I followed the instructions exactly by going the full course of treatment.
The fish is clear now, which is a week after the last treatment. So, although some people say the product is useless my findings are that it does work. :biggrin:

[bulletsworld]

:lol: Wait a couple more weeks after treatment is finished and you'll know exactly what everyone is talking about.

I had the same thing, worked for a bit. Which I think it helped control more than anything. But later it came right back.

Keep us updated.

[Bob I]

Alright Lee, I will watch it for a week or two, and see what happens. I have to say, however, that after watching this for awhile, I have some serious doubts about what the "experts" say about the life cycle of Ich. The whole idea of encysting, and then breaking out of the cysts a couple of days later goes against nature. The whole idea behind forming cysts is for long term survival. I have a horrible feeling that Ich cysts are in tanks for a long time (if not always)

[Bob I]

:lol: Wait a couple more weeks after treatment is finished and you'll know exactly what everyone is talking about.

I had the same thing, worked for a bit. Which I think it helped control more than anything. But later it came right back.

Keep us updated.

It has now been 2 1/2 weeks since the last treatment, and the fish is still ich free. :biggrin:

[Beverly]

It has now been 2 1/2 weeks since the last treatment, and the fish is still ich free. :biggrin:

The real test will be that they will be ich-free after the new year.

And speaking about ich, I bought a chevron butterfly almost three weeks ago. Middle of last week, this fish came down with ich :eek: None of my other fish have it, but the butterfly was getting worse by the day. Two days into it having ich, I decided to step up the amount of Garlic Xtreme in the food by about 4 times normal . Also began feeding every two-three hours, so the butterfly would not be eating so freely from the flora and fauna in the tank and getting good strong doses of garlic instead. It's been three days now, and the fish has no signs of ich on its tail or pec fins where it was most visible.

Am going to continue feeding the extra, extra garlic food 3-4 times a day for the next few weeks to make sure any ich that may be lingering will not reinfest the fish. Hope this works. Will keep you updated.

[Beverly]

Am going to continue feeding the extra, extra garlic food 3-4 times a day for the next few weeks to make sure any ich that may be lingering will not reinfest the fish. Hope this works. Will keep you updated.

Well, two days have passed and there is ich only on one pec fin. Have been feeding 4-5 times a day and the butterfly eats like he hasn't been fed in days. Was hoping the ich would have stayed off this fish, but it looks like the garlic is not having the general effect of keeping ich off :sad:

On the other hand, none of the other fish are affected and the butterfly seems to be gaining weight, swimming around like usual and generally doing well despite the ich.

Will continue feeding 4-5 times daily for awhile, especially in 2-3 weeks when the new batch of ich develop into the on-the-fish stage of their life cycles.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK my Hippo Tang has had ich on and off for a month now despite optimum water conditions and undercrowding.

Just one to three spots at a time, on and off, the fish doesn't look sick at all.

I don't believe in the garlic thing because I am not an "alternative medicine" type. However I am going to try it anyway just for the hell of it.

I feed a mixture of flake, pellet, mysis, home-made frozen food, and sheets of nori. I don't have time to grind up cloves of garlic. Where is the best place to get some garlic extract/garlic juice to soak my food in?

[Beverly]

Where is the best place to get some garlic extract/garlic juice to soak my food in?

LFS or J&L (got mine at J&L).

[hawk]

health food stores usually have it.

[chrisd]

I have to agree with Bob...I've had two bad bouts of ick in the past 2.5 years and used kickick both times. Both times it worked and it didn't come back. I also know that both times it came in on newly introduced fish. I guess some things work for some people and not for others. I do know that if it happens again I'll do the same thing.

[dirtyreefer]

I have a cold right now. I don't have it because I was introduced to a new environment that contained the flu virus. I caught this through trying to maintain a nightowl lifestyle while getting up for work extremely early (IMO). I let my immune system weaken, my defenses went down and voila! summer cold.

I have to say I disagree with this one. While a weakened immune system may have contributed to catching a cold or flu virus, the virus still must be present in order for you to catch it.

Why do eskimos hardly get colds? It's because it's so damn cold up there that the viruses don't normally survive. But if someone infected brings it up to them, they would definitely get sick, not because they are in the cold all the time.

Also, why do you think Wal-Mart pharmacy uses their computers to gather information on how to forecast where the flu epidemic is currently, and how fast it moves? Is it because people in the say the east are running themselves down? No, it's because the virus is spreading.

Just my 2 bits, I'll step down now :)

[Bob I]

I have a cold right now. I don't have it because I was introduced to a new environment that contained the flu virus. I caught this through trying to maintain a nightowl lifestyle while getting up for work extremely early (IMO). I let my immune system weaken, my defenses went down and voila! summer cold.

I have to say I disagree with this one. While a weakened immune system may have contributed to catching a cold or flu virus, the virus still must be present in order for you to catch it.

Absolutely correct. There was a study done some years ago on British military personnel. They were kept in freezing cold rooms wearing water soaked clothes. they did not catch colds.

But I think we are hijacking this thread.

[trilinearmipmap]

Both factors (stress and presence of an infectious agent) are important in the spread of any communicable disease IMHO.

[Beverly]

Ich was last seen on the pec fins of my chevron butterfly on Dec 22. This morning, I notice ich has returned to the butterfly's pec fins. The ich is large already, so I suspect it's been there at least a day or two :evil: The other three fish in this tank (120g), a blue sided fairy wrasse, a flame back dwarf angel and a green chromis have not ever shown signs of ich.

For the past 3-4 weeks, food has been PE mysis soaked with LOTS of Garlic Xtreme and Zoe. To ward off reinfection of ich, the fish have generally been fed at 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm, and sometimes more often.

Also, during the time of the over-generous feeding schedule, the butterfly has noticeably gained weight, and looks and acts to be in very good health. So, dang it, why is it getting ich while the other fish are not?

Am going to feed every two hours from now on to see if that has any effect on the ich.

[Scavenger]

Ich trouble?


http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/tt/index.htm
Try product #5 (evil laugh here)

[Beverly]

If I wasn't so concerned about my fish, I'd be ROTFLMAO. But that is pretty funny, all the same :lol:

[coolbreezebc]

Hi, my hippo tang (2 weeks since I got it) showed up with a few spots last week , fed it crushed garlic soaked food, and the spots were gone in less than 48 hours. Yesterday added 2 cleaner shrimp and 3 chromis and within a couple hours the tang had over a dozen spots. Tang is eating normally and behaving normally other than the spots. The chromis and 2 percs I have in the tank do not have spots. PLan to continue more frequent feeding with garlic soaked food; any further sugggestions would be greatly appreciated, will try to put up photo later, am new at this!

[monza]

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/h_cortes-jorge.html

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/index/ and look for News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans Part One of Five

More reading then you'll want to to.

I don't think I'm going to debate it but hyposalinity IMO is the only way to truley kill off ich

Hope this helps coolbreezebc did you read this whole thread lots of info.

Dave