ick!! oh no

[ariel8675]

I have a problem with about 3 of my fish having what I believe to be ick. Tiny whit dots every where. Can I treat the whole tank because it will be difficult to remove fish with all the live rock. Also I was wondering what I half to use to treat. Thank you so much

[bertoni]

[welcome]

There's no known effective treatment that won't ruin the live rock. This article might help:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

[namdrib2]

I have used "Kick Ich" on my reef tank with excellent results. Did not upset any of the bio filtration system or any of the livestock (rock, corals, inverts, etc.). It is slightly on the expensive side but was worth not having to destroy the aquascaping that had been done or finding a spot to set up a QT.

[jdowntain]

I am using a product right know called No Sick Fish. I put 2 drops 2 times a day for 1 week in my established tank. Today is the second day and the fish that had the ICH is now gone. Not sure if this stuff is the same as NAMDRIB2 mentioned but so far this product is working. It is reef safe and will not affect the bio in your tank. You should go to their web site. www.nosickfish.com I have received a lot of replys telling me to put the fish in a QT and drop the salenity gradually to 1.010 but I wanted to try something else first rather than stessing my fish even more. P.S. I do have a QT tank set up just incase that dosen't work. Best of Luck!

[luckylittleman]

So you can put this No Sick Fish stuff in your reef tank? I ask because I think my goby I recently got might have it.

[Shagsbeard]

Before you endorse a product like nosickfish, be sure that your statement "ICH is now gone" doesn't really mean "I don't see any white spots for a few days so the product has convinced me that ick is gone, even though it's probably still a problem."

[jdowntain]

I'm not saying that the ich is completely gone. I am saying that according to their directions and the responces their receiving everything is happining the way they have described it. According to my research I should have my fish in a QT tank right away. I am willing to try somthing new that the LFS recommended. I guess it helps when the owner is a marine biologist.

Have you had a bad experience with a product similar?

[barjam]

Before you endorse a product like nosickfish, be sure that your statement "ICH is now gone" doesn't really mean "I don't see any white spots for a few days so the product has convinced me that ick is gone, even though it's probably still a problem."

Thats all that can be said for any treatment/regimine. Although some are more proven than others.

[thor32766]

I have had a few reefers here in my area use kick ich with great success. All 3 beat it out. Either it was a chance all three had healthy fish beat it or not. They had no adverse results from it in their reefs tanks.

[bertoni]

There are lots of stories about Kick Ich and NSF both working and not working. Given the data, I don't see any reason to believe that either product actually has any effect. The ich disappearing can happen without any treatment at all, as the fish develop immune responses to the parasite.

So I'd stick with hyposalinity.

[barjam]

There are lots of stories of hypo not working either. From my reading it seems copper is the only 100% solution but that can be hard on some fish.

[ERICN]

I also have used kick ich with success I would give it a try I now use it for a week every time I put a new fish in the display and haven't had ich in over a year b4 using it I would get ich EVERY time I put a new fish in

[bertoni]

I haven't heard of hypo failing if it's done properly and for long enough. Copper isn't 100%, I don't think. This article might help:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

[barjam]

bertoni, check out the disease forum related to ich. The poster and a few other people tagging along were trying to get an ich free tank using fallow and hypo and all but one of them failed. In most of the "ich free tank is a myth" threads people who list quite a bit of experience come forward and say basically that they used to think an ich free tank was possible yet they contracted it even after fallow/hypo/QT. It is possible that in each case the person messed up somewhere along the way but if people with 8+ years experience can't seem to get it right where does it leave everyone else.

Well, if you are saying that copper isn't 100% then in my mind that means there is not a 100% effective (at least in the hands of the average hobbiest) way to rid a tank of ich. That isn't the same as saying that a person can't have an ich free tank or that in most cases hypo (or copper) works or in some cases garlic (or rid ich, or magic... less proven solutions) works.

[barjam]

bertoni, btw great article... I haven't seen that one yet.

[demonsp]

also i think ick is bumps under the scales. I had seen what i thought was ick but was micro bubbles sticking to them. .Just saying.gl

[marcsmith73]

First deep breath!!! Ich is a deadly disease, but can be cured with ease. Frst off don't over medicate, and dose the tank with things you don't need.

Garlic is a simple cure. Try soaking flake food, or brine shrimp in Kent Garlic extreme. Garlic thou not proven has always been a hit for me.

Also what type of fish do you have? Hippo tangs are the kings of ich....

So, just relax and do some reading, but whatever you do don't over react!

Also is this a Fish only tank? Do you have corals?