Chance Of Surviving Ich???

[tanku]

the dreaded ich has made it's way into my tank. my foxface has it. the other fish do not. it is not practical to catch him and treat him. anybody out there just let it run it's course and hope for the best. any educated guesses on the survival of the foxface and others? he is fat and eating well. i will probably try garlic. other than that i can do nothing. this is my first bout with ich in 3 1/2 years, it sucks!!

[Sk8r]

It's a fair chance if your water is immaculate. Rabbit fish I swear are hatched with ich. They're almost as bad as tangs in that regard. But yes, garlic may help. I'd recommend a cleaner shrimp, but my scribbled rabbit ate mine the minute he was cured of ich. No gratitude at all.

[tanku]

well, my water parameters are great. sk8r how did you cure your rabbit?

[Rondelet]

If your water quality is great and nutrition good - I would agree with sk8r, that your chances are good. I would also second his recommendation about cleaner shrimp. Both my Regal Tang and Yellowtail Angel had some ich shortly after they were introduced. The Regal didn't spend a noticeable amount of time with the shrimp, but the Yellowtail did. That was many, many months ago and both fish are hale and hearty, and I've seen no further signs of infection. In my case they both left the shrimp alone, so a little more gratitude. (Funny story though...).

Just to add, you can try garlic although I'm not sure how much is fact vs. fiction regarding the antiprotozoal claims many make. You might also consider adding some metronidazole to the feed. There is a little more evidence to support it's activity against protozoa, although I suspect it's still hit or miss.

[tanku]

thanks rondelet, do you think my mystery wrasse might make a meal of the shrimp?

[chocolates mom]

I have 3 chromis and 2 false perculas that were exposed to ich twice, once in January and again in February they all survived

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I've got a perc clown that had ICH when I put him in the tank. I did nothing out of the ordinary and it cleared up just fine with none of the other fish getting it. Just normal feedings of a varied diet and kept him stress free. I've had other fish in the past that have gone thru the same thing with no problems. ;)

Good luck.

[tanku]

i just checked him again and all but one has disappeared. he had a 36 hour outbreak. i know there is a good possibility it may come back, but i am a happy camper right now.

[Sk8r]

It may return whenever he stresses excessively, but see if he'll take to the Formula One Sinking Pellets With Garlic. I tend to think of ich as the common cold, and am always distressed to see somebody lose a whole tank to the pest. I avoid ich-prone species like tangs [my tank's too small, anyway] and I haven't lost a fish to it in---oh, two decades---though I've had it break out, even this year. It's just really hard to avoid having it get into the tank unless you qt even your inverts, because imho it's just apt to get through on your hand or in your net when you bring in a new specimen---or a bag of cheato---from your lfs, so I despair of ever getting an ich-free tank. My favorite fish [gobies, blennies, dragonettes, dartfish] are highly resistent to it, and that's one reason I have a pretty healthy tank. Water params, absolutely fanatic attention to alkalinity level [avoiding skin and gill irritation], and faithful water changes will go a long way to protect the fish. I always keep a couple of what I call 'bellwether' species of corals that alert me to alkalinity and calcium levels just by their behavior: frogspawn is a good one, and certain discosoma mushrooms are good at it. I have a theory that wandering alkalinity levels are one thing that lets it take hold; and I ask myself, well, if the stuff can only live 6 weeks without a host and you haven't had an outbreak in two years, how ich-loaded can your tank be?

This tank is new, and it's already had one specimen bestow it on the tank, but nothing has turned up since he ate a piece of my frogspawn and made a trip back to the lfs. All is quiet and ichless.

If I had tangs or angels I'd be quarantining, no question: they're so susceptible, and they get it so lethally. But mostly if I ever do see it on my tough little guys, I'll head for the Formula One pellets and fully expect it to be gone in 48 hours.

I hope you have similar good luck with your fellow!

[Rondelet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7545810#post7545810 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tanku
thanks rondelet, do you think my mystery wrasse might make a meal of the shrimp?

Wrasse are always a risk to inverts, especially if they get large. However, I would be inclined to give it a try and see what happens. I have two cleaner shrimp in my tank and think they are pretty indispensable as biological control agents.