Hey Tay, I'm sorry you're still fighting this. I have been checking your posts to see how things were coming with your loaches, but I held back from giving an opinion on what action to take regarding the few specks that you had remaining, as I have been playing a waiting game with Ich myself.
I was holding my breath at this point because I have been in the same boat as you and I was waiting to see how things went with the Garlic Guard and your loach's immune system.
You know I had been treating my Brochis for Ich with Ich Attack, and I believe it may have been successful, eventually. All but two specks had fallen off, when I had a loss of electrical power due to a storm. I lost filtration, heat, air pumps and so the Ich treatment was ended and I had to move my tank occupants to a friends house in a sterilite temporary tank.
They stayed there for two days while my power was off, and I could hardly expect this friend to take care of continuing the treatment. I believe that Ich Attack would have worked eventually, but, because the treatment was interrupted, I can't say for a certainty, and now I'll never know at this point.
I was hopeful that, since there were only two specks left at the time of the power failure, there would not be another outbreak of Ich, but, even as I was wishfully hoping, I knew that if there were still specks, there would be Ich.
Well, when I moved my fish back home, still in their temporary tank, I hoped everything would be alright, but Sunday a week ago I found "salt" specks on the Brochis again.
At this point I decided to forgo Ich Attack and hit them with the big guns. The heat/salt method, though I jokingly call this the "big guns", is by all accounts safe and effective.
I just want to treat my fish and get this over with as soon as possible.
Ich Attack, although it does say on the bottle that it is an organic herbal treatment, does contain napthoquinones that are a class of chemicals originally isolated from a fungus and developed into antibiotics used for treatment of bacterial infections in humans and other animals.
The research biologist I spoke with at Kordon said that their research and development of Ich Attack as a treatment for Ich, containing napthoquinones, is safe for all fish, inverts, plants and amphibians and does work but may take longer.
I certainly agree it takes longer, and much too long in my opinion since the heat/salt method can safely and effectively kill Ich in a much shorter period of time.
I started treatment the evening of June 28th and I'm still going with the heat and salt. All specks fell off, except for one, by day five of the treatment. I don't know why I am still seeing a speck at the base of one of the fin rays on the dorsal fin. It should have dropped off by now.
I'm going to continue until it drops off or I decide that it is not an Ich speck at all. My Brochis and two Ottos are fine and seem to be experiencing no ill effects from this treatment. I separated my two ADFs, my mystery snail, plants, shrimp, and a ramshorn or twenty to my 10 gallon and have them there, while I continue treatment for Ich in the temporary tank.
I think your best bet is to go with the heat/salt method and don't stop until you are dang sure all of those blasted Ich protozoan parasite creeps are dead and gone.
I was holding my breath at this point because I have been in the same boat as you and I was waiting to see how things went with the Garlic Guard and your loach's immune system.
You know I had been treating my Brochis for Ich with Ich Attack, and I believe it may have been successful, eventually. All but two specks had fallen off, when I had a loss of electrical power due to a storm. I lost filtration, heat, air pumps and so the Ich treatment was ended and I had to move my tank occupants to a friends house in a sterilite temporary tank.
They stayed there for two days while my power was off, and I could hardly expect this friend to take care of continuing the treatment. I believe that Ich Attack would have worked eventually, but, because the treatment was interrupted, I can't say for a certainty, and now I'll never know at this point.
I was hopeful that, since there were only two specks left at the time of the power failure, there would not be another outbreak of Ich, but, even as I was wishfully hoping, I knew that if there were still specks, there would be Ich.
Well, when I moved my fish back home, still in their temporary tank, I hoped everything would be alright, but Sunday a week ago I found "salt" specks on the Brochis again.
At this point I decided to forgo Ich Attack and hit them with the big guns. The heat/salt method, though I jokingly call this the "big guns", is by all accounts safe and effective.
I just want to treat my fish and get this over with as soon as possible.
Ich Attack, although it does say on the bottle that it is an organic herbal treatment, does contain napthoquinones that are a class of chemicals originally isolated from a fungus and developed into antibiotics used for treatment of bacterial infections in humans and other animals.
The research biologist I spoke with at Kordon said that their research and development of Ich Attack as a treatment for Ich, containing napthoquinones, is safe for all fish, inverts, plants and amphibians and does work but may take longer.
I certainly agree it takes longer, and much too long in my opinion since the heat/salt method can safely and effectively kill Ich in a much shorter period of time.
I started treatment the evening of June 28th and I'm still going with the heat and salt. All specks fell off, except for one, by day five of the treatment. I don't know why I am still seeing a speck at the base of one of the fin rays on the dorsal fin. It should have dropped off by now.
I'm going to continue until it drops off or I decide that it is not an Ich speck at all. My Brochis and two Ottos are fine and seem to be experiencing no ill effects from this treatment. I separated my two ADFs, my mystery snail, plants, shrimp, and a ramshorn or twenty to my 10 gallon and have them there, while I continue treatment for Ich in the temporary tank.
I think your best bet is to go with the heat/salt method and don't stop until you are dang sure all of those blasted Ich protozoan parasite creeps are dead and gone.
