ich treatment with inverts?

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aviva90

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Jun 19, 2010
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Aviva
I got an oto yesterday and put him in my tank (I don't have a hosp. tank, so no lectures about that please) and he has 2 spots on him that I believe are ich. I've had experience treating for ich, but never with inverts. Besides him the only other fish are 4 endler fry that could have ich problems, the rest of the tank is snails and shrimp, which I know can't get it. So what should I do? I usually do the raise temp/salt treatment, but now I have inverts in there... not sure if I should add salt with inverts...
 

sailedNJ

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Jan 9, 2011
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increase the temp and that clear by itself. Keep the water clean
Increasing the temp alone will not kill Ich it will only speed up the tomite cycle which is when the Ich parasite is most vunerable to treatment (be it with salt or meds).

I'm not preaching about the benefits of using a quarantine tank, just saying that I use Q-tanks & I have only ever treated Ich in Q-tanks. I always increase the temp & aeration in these tanks in addition to applying treatments (I've used both meds & salt with positive results). However there are no inverts in my Q-tanks, I do keep inverts (i.e. shrimp & snails) but only in established/display tanks & as such they have never been subjected to salt treatments & definitely not to any of the Ich meds available (most of which contain copper sulfate which will kill inverts).

I've read/heard that Kordon Ich Attack http://www.novalek.com/kordon/ich_attack/index.htm will not hurt inverts but I myself have never used it. I can't honestly say I've heard much about its' effectiveness, just that it's invert safe. I did start a poll about "preferred methods for treating Ich" on these forums awhile back & Kordon Ich Attack did get a few votes (very few) but other than that I haven't heard much else. It's still worth consideration though seeing as you don't have another tank to move your inverts into & your snails won't appreciate salt in there tank.
 

aviva90

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Great, good to know, I'll look into it, thanks. I just really avoid meds at any cost, but yea... I'll go to the LFS
 

sailedNJ

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Great, good to know, I'll look into it, thanks. I just really avoid meds at any cost, but yea... I'll go to the LFS
Yeah I hear you, meds can sometimes be harsh & have adverse effects thus they should be used with caution. It's important to know what exactly you're putting in your tank & what it does to your system (how it works). See what your LFS has to say about Kordon Ich Attack or maybe they'll have another suggestion that is invert safe/friendly.
 

authmal

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Aug 4, 2011
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Yeah I hear you, meds can sometimes be harsh & have adverse effects thus they should be used with caution. It's important to know what exactly you're putting in your tank & what it does to your system (how it works). See what your LFS has to say about Kordon Ich Attack or maybe they'll have another suggestion that is invert safe/friendly.
Be careful with the copper content of medications you use. While some foods have small amounts of copper sulfate or phosphate (the only two I can recall seeing on an ingredients list) in them, they're at much lower concentrations than typically found in medications. Copper, just on the off chance you were unaware, can be deadly to invertebrates.
 

aviva90

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TBH I'm not gonna go buy meds (now that I think bout it) unless the problem gets unmanageable. Like I've had immense success with raise temp/salt in the past and want to do that, but not sure if I can with shrimp and snails. So any natural options? My LFS said to just feed the oto more and he would fight it off himself, which make sense since to my knowledge ich is always present and only affect fish when they are having immune problems from, in my case, stress from acclimation and otos are super sensitive. Also said garlic oil, but as I always complain about, i'm pretty broke...
Opinions? I found another spot show up in the last 8 hrs :(
 

sailedNJ

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Jan 9, 2011
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TBH I'm not gonna go buy meds (now that I think bout it) unless the problem gets unmanageable.
TBH if you wait for the problem to get unmanageable there really isn't much that you can expect meds (natural or otherwise) to do.

Like I've had immense success with raise temp/salt in the past and want to do that, but not sure if I can with shrimp and snails. So any natural options?
Salt is a "natural option" & if you've used it before with success & feel comfortable using salt over meds then why not halve the regular dose of salt from 2 TSP per gallon to just 1 TSP per gallon as is done with salt sensitive species such as cories, plecs etc. 1 TSP per gallon still gets the job done, it just prolongs the treatment period. Observe your snails to see how they react to the salt (I think the shrimp will probably handle the salt just fine, the snails would be my concern). If you don't like what you see you could perform a water change & give another option a try at that time. If you are "pretty broke" this will probably be your most cost effective option.

My LFS said to just feed the oto more and he would fight it off himself, which make sense since to my knowledge ich is always present and only affect fish when they are having immune problems from, in my case, stress from acclimation and otos are super sensitive.
Ich is not an ever present opportunistic parasite residing in your tanks water column as has been inaccurately conveyed to many hobbyists over the years. It is a cyclical parasite & as such can go dormant for a time however it doesn't stay dormant for very long, it needs a host to continue its' cycle & survive. Ich is introduced into your tank by a host & if your tank has no fish in it (i.e. an invert only or plants only tank) it cannot continue it's cycle & will die off on its' own without the use of meds or other treatments.

Also said garlic oil, but as I always complain about, i'm pretty broke...
Opinions? I found another spot show up in the last 8 hrs :(
I've heard of garlic oil being used to treat round worms in fish (an intestinal parasite), you mix it in with food during feedings. Never heard of it used (successfully or otherwise) on Ich. Hopefully someone else can attest to garlic's effectiveness or lack there of for treating Ich.

Good luck :thumbsup:
 
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