Quote:
Originally Posted by MrTuskfish
I don't want to "expel" parasites, I want to kill them. If all Herbtana is supposed to do is somehow get the bugs off the fish, I guess you must keep the drug level up for at least two life-cycles of the parasite. I'd also bet the farm that not all the parasites are going to leave the fish and all it takes is one resistant bug to prevent a cure. Copper, at a given level, will absolutly kill anything that swims. Monitoring copper is (IME & IMO) safe, easy, and effective.
I quickly searched Bob Fenner's (IMO, arguably THE authority on SW fishkeeping) site for Herbtana, like all "reef-safe" parasites, there seems to be nothing good said about it. if and when a reef-safe, or any new & effective, parasite treatment comes along---I'm sure we'll hear. There have been so many "reef-safe'' cures that have come and gone in recent years I've lost track. None have been very well received, that I know of. Here's just a snippet from the first link I clicked on Fenner's wetwebmedia.com:\
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Yeah you are right. It's better to treat for the root of the problem rather than the symptom. Though, I wonder if this hertana thing can be combined with cupramine or hypo to improve both the rate and chance of cure. For example, for hypo you are supposed to let the fish remain in hypo 4 weeks after the last spot is seen, but if herbtana can reduce the number of ich that get to the fish, maybe the 4-week period can be shortened. I don't know... maybe i'm just trying to cut corners here that don't really help the case, but it's something i'll think about and possibly do some testings on.