What is your preferred method of treating Ich?
- Thread starter sailedNJ
- Start date
I believe that garlic works on a large range of parasites. I know there has been a lot of speculation on this, but no scientific proof I have found. I can only speak from experience, but it has done wonders for me and I swear by it. When I switched to saltwater fishkeeping about 6 months ago, I brought home a darling little fish, that was COVERED in ich within a few days of adding to my display tank! With saltwater you cannot use the heat/ salt method, and chemicals are very risky for your corals and shrimp. I tried my garlic strategy along with increased water changes and it cured my problem. People have said ich can still be living in the water and bounce back at any time, but since it's been about 2 months since those spots disappeared and haven't reattached to a host, I am confident I beat my problem. I credit taking good care of my fish to helping keep ich away as well. Anyway, I will swear by my garlic remedy , but with freshwater, I think increasing the temp and adding salt is a good measure to add. I thought up this method because of products like Garlic Extreme. It seemed like a better idea to just use fresh pure garlic and soak food in it.
Yeah I remember reading about someone (not sure if it was on this forum or on SimplyDiscus) soaking their Discus' food in garlic before feeding it to them to remedy a tapeworm infestation & it worked great for them. I also remember reading a thread on this forum by a senior forum member (unfortunately I don't recall the member's name ATM) that actually wrote an article that got published by PFK magazine regarding the medicinal qualities of garlic for treating parasites. I never read the full article because I don't subscribe to PFK but now I definitely want to further look into garlic as a remedy.
I know it's been about two months since you treated your tank & it was a SW (not FW) tank but even though you're fairly confident that you eradicated it, please keep us apprised of any changes that may occur. I'm curious as to how well this actually worked. Who knows, I might start a similar thread in the future regarding preferred treatments for saltwater Ich.
Thanks again & good luck:thm:
I have successfully used garlic for both marine and freshwater ich. The parasite may not be the same strain, but neither are resilient to garlic. If you see my posts, I mentioned that for freshwater I also increase the temp and add salt so I addressed both types with my personal experiences.
For those who have fish that are sensitive to salt exposure and choose to use meds as a treatment for ick, I just want to make a recommendation for Mardel's Maracide Concentrate. It's a drop per gallon and needs to be redosed every 24 hours for 5 days. If your water quality is good, there is no need to made adjustments to the water temp or pH, and water changes in between treatments are not necessary. This product does not harm the biological filter, does not harm plants, does not stain anything and the only precaution is that some inverts without an exoskeleton may be sensitive to this....so jellyfish and anemonies, etc. should be removed before treating. The active ingredient is aniline green. it's effective and easy to use and this solution isn't as harsh and dangerous as some of the other parasite remedies on the market. The treatment can be repated once if necessary which would end the treatment and the worst case of ick in 10 days. I don't think you should be any more afraid to use this medication than to use Prime in your tank as a water treatment. The precautions on the ingredients of Prime: Precautions to Be Taken in Handling and Storing: Do not introduce to drinking water or foodstuffs. Wash hands after use, wear gloves if exposure is prolonged. We all think very similarly about chemical use with our fish. I actually feel safer for the fish to be exposed short term to this ick medication than I do to the exposure we have everyday with shampoos, toothpastes, deoderants and a lot of the food we eat! Just saying....this is a good product and don't be afraid of it if your fish have a severe ick infection. When my baby plecos had it, at an inch in size, they didn't just have a spot or two or three....their little bodies were totally covered.
It's a bit more than "not the same strain"; they're a completely different organism. For FW you also increased temperature and added salt so why do you ascribe the success to the garlic specifically?
I recommended the combination as a treatment for freshwater. I don't recall saying "use only garlic for freshwater ich and I guarantee it'll get rid of your ich". (Although, I do suspect there's a good possibility that garlic alone could work.) I'm not going to argue the differences between freshwater and marine ich with you, because I'm not claiming to be some expert. I was simply giving my experiences in what has worked excellent for me in the couple times I have had ich, and I said what I did in my marine tank and freshwater tanks. I'm only sharing the information in hopes to help give other hobbyists an option that may work for them, as it has for me, without them dumping in a bunch of expensive chemicals that may kill the inhabitants. I really have no interest in debating. Take my info or leave it. Try it or don't. I'm just putting my experiences out there to help. If you have reason to believe people should not do what I've done, go ahead and put it out there what you suggest, and each person can make their own decision for what is best for their tank.
shaynablizard, no you did not unequivocally state that garlic works for FW Ich nor did you make any guarantees, you just simply stated that you preferred garlic & that in your opinion you had use it with success. And that's the purpose of the poll, to gather people's opinions on various method(s) that they have personally used (not just read/heard about). Again thank you for your opinion as well as for the opinions of those that have posted their preferred method(s) so far. Some people's opinion(s) on certain method(s) may be scientifically qualified by clinical trials etc, while others maybe somewhat more speculative, both of which are fine because both make you think about 1.) The method(s) you are currently employing now or have employed in the past & 2.) Methods that you may now consider researching further in order to discount as a viable options all together or to perhaps apply in the future should the need arise. I would hope that varying opinions on various methods would make people rethink or revisit their method for treating Ich & in the process discover a method that works best for their specific set ups (planted, non-planted, species specific, etc).
Debating is fine & even encouraged as long as it's done in a respectful (which it has been so far) & constructive manner & both parties debating a topic care to engage in it. However I do ask that if you feel compelled to make a post rebutting someone's method or opinion that you then please make sure to at least post your thoughts on YOUR OWN PREFERRED METHOD so that we all can have a better idea of where you maybe coming from with your objections (just like dbosman did with his objections to the "table salt method" & how I myself did with the "heat only method" that was suggested).
By engaging in dialogue & debates in this manner keeps the information being exchanged constructive & consistently flowing, both of which are good things :thm:
Thanks all
pinkertd, Thanks for the suggestion :thm: I've used Mardel products before (most notably Maroxy to keep eggs from "fungusing* over") but I've never used Maracide although I've seen it in stores.
I have just one question for you. You mentioned removing sensitive species such as jellyfish & anemones prior to treatment. Is Maracide available for treating Ich in both SW & FW tanks? I know it's available for FW since you stated you used it to treat your baby plecos. Just want to clarify if Mardel only makes the FW treatment or if they make one for treating SW Ich as well so that if anyone wants to give it a try that they don't confuse the two different meds.
Thanks again for the suggestion, it's always good to hear a ringing endorsement for a more mild option of treatment for sensitive species. I've also heard that Kordon's Ich Attack is another good option of treatment for sensitive species but I have yet to see anyone post anything about Kordon's on this thread. If anyone has ever used Kordon's Ich Attack & has anything good to say about it please share your experiences, Thanks
