I know you can't treat ick in a reef tank with copper meds because it will kill your live rock, anenomes etc....But what about the malachite green and formaline stuff? I am guessing that has the same affect as copper but just want to make sure. I always here people say no copper in a reef tank but never here anything about these other meds.
Ick in reef tank?
- Thread starter azzoa
- Start date
formaline defiantly not.... it contains formaldihyde.
as far as the other stuff, i believe i know what you are talking about.... some fo those all natural stuff. they dont really have the greatest affect and will screw up your levels a good amount.
the best thing you can do is treat all yoru fish in a hospital tank with hypo for 6 weeks and then put them back.
as far as the other stuff, i believe i know what you are talking about.... some fo those all natural stuff. they dont really have the greatest affect and will screw up your levels a good amount.
the best thing you can do is treat all yoru fish in a hospital tank with hypo for 6 weeks and then put them back.
Sorry you're going through that- it's such a pain. Unfortunately, things like Quick Cure aren't good for a reef tank (or even live rock for that matter).
We're quite limited when it comes to corals and inverts and you'll probably receive various opinions. So here's my opinion.
If you want to treat your main tank, without a QT, there are a few things you could choose to do.
Hyposalinity, copper and formalin are out. You could try one of those "reef-safe" meds like Kick Ich- there are many out there. Of course, some people say they don't work at all, while others claim to have success- so it's really up to you if you want to purchase one of these.
You can purchase a crew such as cleaner shrimp, cleaner gobies, and/or cleaner wrasse (cleaner wrasse are a controversial addition to a home aquarium and not as highly recommended as they once were). You can also try freshwater dips if you're able to catch any of your fish. Some give the freshwater dips with Quick Cure as well.
You can also purchase a UV sterilizer and/or diatom filter. While not a 100% cure, they can kill the ich in it's free-swimming stage.
You can also try to feed your fish garlic or garlic supplements, such as garlic xtreme. It entices some fish to eat and many believe it to help boost their immune system (I give my fish this whether or not they have ich) to overcome the parasite.
How long have you had the ich? Sometimes it'll just go away by itself. Do you know what stage it's in?
I only had to get saltwater ich once before I decided to purchase a QT tank (when I first began) however, some people don't feel it's feasible breaking down their entire tank to catch the fish.
It really comes down to how you feel like approaching this and what methods are suited for you with what you're willing to try.
Let us know what happens!
We're quite limited when it comes to corals and inverts and you'll probably receive various opinions. So here's my opinion.
If you want to treat your main tank, without a QT, there are a few things you could choose to do.Hyposalinity, copper and formalin are out. You could try one of those "reef-safe" meds like Kick Ich- there are many out there. Of course, some people say they don't work at all, while others claim to have success- so it's really up to you if you want to purchase one of these.
You can purchase a crew such as cleaner shrimp, cleaner gobies, and/or cleaner wrasse (cleaner wrasse are a controversial addition to a home aquarium and not as highly recommended as they once were). You can also try freshwater dips if you're able to catch any of your fish. Some give the freshwater dips with Quick Cure as well.
You can also purchase a UV sterilizer and/or diatom filter. While not a 100% cure, they can kill the ich in it's free-swimming stage.
You can also try to feed your fish garlic or garlic supplements, such as garlic xtreme. It entices some fish to eat and many believe it to help boost their immune system (I give my fish this whether or not they have ich) to overcome the parasite.
How long have you had the ich? Sometimes it'll just go away by itself. Do you know what stage it's in?
I only had to get saltwater ich once before I decided to purchase a QT tank (when I first began) however, some people don't feel it's feasible breaking down their entire tank to catch the fish.
It really comes down to how you feel like approaching this and what methods are suited for you with what you're willing to try.
Let us know what happens!
I have battled ick before so I know all the steps. I have a UV turbo twist installed, I also have a QT tank setup all the time. I purchased a new hippo tang about 2 weeks ago, I noticed a few dots on him yesterday. I already started feeding with garlic extreme. I am hoping it's just nothing. If it gets worse I will move everyone to QT and treat with copper safe. I should have put the tang in QT first......but I was hoping to get lucky once!
I tried all those reef safe medicines and they did nothing at all except delay the process of getting the fish better. The best thing is move to QT and treat as quick as possible.
I have had good luck with copper safe, I know some people perfer Formaline and malechite green(Quick Cure). Anyone know which is better????? one is a 3 day treatment and the other at least 2 weeks.....
I tried all those reef safe medicines and they did nothing at all except delay the process of getting the fish better. The best thing is move to QT and treat as quick as possible.
I have had good luck with copper safe, I know some people perfer Formaline and malechite green(Quick Cure). Anyone know which is better????? one is a 3 day treatment and the other at least 2 weeks.....
I've used both and prefer the Quick Cure. It just seems faster to me and doesn't take a while to get it out of your tank, like copper does (and some others think copper is impossible to get out).
The only drawback is that it did turn my silicone blue.
Germanman
My fish are my babies
here is a long one form another post of mine all about ich enjoy...lol
i let ich pass in my aquarium. its a natural thing and there are many things you can do to aid the faster removal. hypo salinity and hospital tanks seem to be out of the question because u cant get the fish out and i have found myself in the same situation. what i did is made sure the water parmaters were not only excellent but also i feed an extra healthy balanced diet and added Kent Garlic x-treme,(it doesnt keep the parasites off it just make the fishes immune system stronger like in humans). that combine with my UV sterilizer and a cleaner shrimp and a cleaner wrasse got rid of my problem it has now been one week since ive seen any "ich" on my fish. the cycle will be a bit tough on them and ich there for has a chance to attack. the chance that you can get rid of ich completely is very slim epically in a reef. hypo salinity will usually work with fish only but with a reef it will kill and devastate most inverts at the level it would actually be affective. both the medications that were listed by others work well and are almost completely reef safe but with some of the more delicate inverts it can cause stress. also skimmers will pull out any organic treatment and any "safe" chemical agent will still cause some harm to inverts even if it barely shows. ich comes in two forms and isnt actually the Ichthyophthirius parasite which is freshwater but is rather the Cryptocaryon protozoan. there are two main ones that affect fish in the trade of the two the most common inbeds itself under the protective slime layer of the fish making only manule removal or strong copper treatment a cure. dips and most other medications cant get to it. they only way it can be killed affectively is when it is in its free swimming larval form which a UV will do a gret job killing or only then will the medications kill it. as for the other form it is stronger than the freashwater "ich" but can be killed by medications most always. the later looks more like bumps and the first are more laterally compressed bumps that look almost like snow on the fish.
i let ich pass in my aquarium. its a natural thing and there are many things you can do to aid the faster removal. hypo salinity and hospital tanks seem to be out of the question because u cant get the fish out and i have found myself in the same situation. what i did is made sure the water parmaters were not only excellent but also i feed an extra healthy balanced diet and added Kent Garlic x-treme,(it doesnt keep the parasites off it just make the fishes immune system stronger like in humans). that combine with my UV sterilizer and a cleaner shrimp and a cleaner wrasse got rid of my problem it has now been one week since ive seen any "ich" on my fish. the cycle will be a bit tough on them and ich there for has a chance to attack. the chance that you can get rid of ich completely is very slim epically in a reef. hypo salinity will usually work with fish only but with a reef it will kill and devastate most inverts at the level it would actually be affective. both the medications that were listed by others work well and are almost completely reef safe but with some of the more delicate inverts it can cause stress. also skimmers will pull out any organic treatment and any "safe" chemical agent will still cause some harm to inverts even if it barely shows. ich comes in two forms and isnt actually the Ichthyophthirius parasite which is freshwater but is rather the Cryptocaryon protozoan. there are two main ones that affect fish in the trade of the two the most common inbeds itself under the protective slime layer of the fish making only manule removal or strong copper treatment a cure. dips and most other medications cant get to it. they only way it can be killed affectively is when it is in its free swimming larval form which a UV will do a gret job killing or only then will the medications kill it. as for the other form it is stronger than the freashwater "ich" but can be killed by medications most always. the later looks more like bumps and the first are more laterally compressed bumps that look almost like snow on the fish.
To be safe, I moved everyone to my QT tank last night and started treating with Quick Cure. What a job getting all those fish out!!! They all look fine this morning. Hopefully the UV will kill off any free swimming ick in my main tank. I was thinking of maybe throwing some Kick ick in my main tank just to possibly help kill the ick a little faster?
It may work for you and it may not. Some people don't want to add chemicals to their aquarium where others swear by stuff like that- it's up to you.
You can speed the life cycle of the ich by increasing the temp - as long as it's not too high to stress your inverts and corals of course.
You can speed the life cycle of the ich by increasing the temp - as long as it's not too high to stress your inverts and corals of course.
You won't need to treat the main tank. Ich cannot survive without fish. The life cycle varies, but I believe most agree that 6-weeks without fish will eliminate the ich completely. Can you keep them in QT for 6 weeks?