illumnae
04/22/2016, 03:40 AM
I've read good reports about NLS Ich-Shield (a Chloroquine compound) being used to treat ich, and have tried using it several times in my QT.
However, strangely, I'm finding that it doesn't seem to be working well. Some of my experiences:
1. All is well for 2-3 weeks in QT. Since I started with a fresh tank, by right all ich should have fallen off the fish and any that have hatched should have been killed by the chloroquine. All water changes done in the tank, I've topped up with a replacement dose of Ich-Shield. After about 3 weeks, a fish in the QT develops ich - meaning that some parasites hatched and survived to reinfect the fish.
2. I start with a tank that has been fallow for 3 months but allowed to continue running. Put the fish in and dose the recommended dose of Ich-Shield. 1 week later, I see living copepods on the glass. There is also algae that did not die off (CP is supposed to be an algaecide).
3. Some people are going to discard this example because I didn't finish a "classic" quarantine, but based on the ich life cycle, the theory is sound. The DT started off fishless but developed massive algae problems during the cycle. I used Ich-Shield as an algaecide and this instance it worked - algae all died off. Technically, the DT is ich free due to it being fresh and also going through CP treatment. I put a butterfly in a fresh QT for 8 days with Ich-Shield. Technically, since the tank was fresh, there was no ich in it, and in 8 days all the ich would have fallen off the fish and any ich that hatched would have been killed, so the fish is technically clean (please feel free to provide reasoned arguments on why the fish is not clean). Fish went into DT and developed ich a few weeks later.
What's everyone else's experience with NLS Ich-Shield? Does it have an unprinted expiry date?
However, strangely, I'm finding that it doesn't seem to be working well. Some of my experiences:
1. All is well for 2-3 weeks in QT. Since I started with a fresh tank, by right all ich should have fallen off the fish and any that have hatched should have been killed by the chloroquine. All water changes done in the tank, I've topped up with a replacement dose of Ich-Shield. After about 3 weeks, a fish in the QT develops ich - meaning that some parasites hatched and survived to reinfect the fish.
2. I start with a tank that has been fallow for 3 months but allowed to continue running. Put the fish in and dose the recommended dose of Ich-Shield. 1 week later, I see living copepods on the glass. There is also algae that did not die off (CP is supposed to be an algaecide).
3. Some people are going to discard this example because I didn't finish a "classic" quarantine, but based on the ich life cycle, the theory is sound. The DT started off fishless but developed massive algae problems during the cycle. I used Ich-Shield as an algaecide and this instance it worked - algae all died off. Technically, the DT is ich free due to it being fresh and also going through CP treatment. I put a butterfly in a fresh QT for 8 days with Ich-Shield. Technically, since the tank was fresh, there was no ich in it, and in 8 days all the ich would have fallen off the fish and any ich that hatched would have been killed, so the fish is technically clean (please feel free to provide reasoned arguments on why the fish is not clean). Fish went into DT and developed ich a few weeks later.
What's everyone else's experience with NLS Ich-Shield? Does it have an unprinted expiry date?