# Ich Treatment



## gdwb10101 (Apr 14, 2006)

My clown is showing slight signs of ich. I read that if one covers the tank completly for 2-3 days and lets no light in, the ich will die. Is there any truth to this? I want to rid the tank of ich what should i do?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I pretty sure I read here that that won't work.


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## gdwb10101 (Apr 14, 2006)

can i have another opinion, not that i dont believe you, but it would be so much easier. Also i read pretty good reviews about NO-ich, supposed to be reef safe too so no need for quarantine.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Try posting in disease, i have no idea how to treat ich in saltwater, but I'm pretty sure that making it dark is bad for live rock and such.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Try this thread
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3047


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

That will not work!

The best and most likely successful method is QT and treatment with copper. Otherwise, The chances of saving the fish are slim.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Well, at least now we know why your clown is hiding.

Garlic & UV in conjunction really does work as a fantastic outbreak preventative & longterm eventual total ick eradication program, but if the fish are already sick it's a crapshoot in which you'll as likely as not roll snakeyes.

This is why you have to QUARANTINE ALL NEW SALTWATER FISH. PERIOD.

By the way, when something is "reef-safe," it's also ick-safe, that is, it's junk that doesn't work well enough to bother.

A bare 10 gallon tank with an established filter on it makes a perfectly serviceable hospital tank for any clownfish. Maybe add a flowerpot. A monthlong dose of Coppersafe will cure the ick. Be sure to treat the other fish as well, especially the tang. Tangs have another name, by the way-->"Ick magnets!"


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## gdwb10101 (Apr 14, 2006)

Can i treat all the fish at the same time in the quarantine? I read that you can't use UV with any medications like copper sulfate. I have quICK cure which is formaline and malachite green. Would this work or should i purchase coppersafe? After the fish are treated in QT, will they resist ich in the main tank or will i have to do something to the maintank. BTW the signs of ich are not that bad, i caught it really early.


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

You can treat them all at the same time in QT. Quick Cure is good but I like Coppersafe better. You will have to keep the fish in QT for more than 28 days to allow the ICH to die off in the main tank. After that you can return your fish.


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## gdwb10101 (Apr 14, 2006)

final question, if i have a diamond goby, which is a sand sifter, how can i get him out of the main tank without him starving? I want them all out of the main tank, but i think that i will have to have substrate in the QT for him to survive,but the medications will kill the live sand. I dont know what to do


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Simple, don't use live sand, or more precisely, not a lot of it.
Actually, you do have a big problem. You can try putting a little dish of sand in the hospital tank that you fortify with food each day, 
OR, you can get a big honkin' UV STERILIZER and put it on your main tank. Garlic won't do you any good for the goby since it won't eat it, so don't bother with that. You might also consider making a waterchange in the main tank, removing the old water by siphoning off the top few millimeters of the sand to such up as many spores as you can. Thse things can save your goby & your live sand quite nicely.
Those reef-safe concoctions do actually work to some extent, but they wreak havoc on your water chemistry and other things. They are fine to use if you can really keep up with everything that is happening in your tank every day and be ready to take corrective measures as soon as they are needed. A bottle of that stuff & a complete water change is cheaper than a UV unit, I suppose, but you get what you pay for in this hobby, and the UV will be more reliable, in my opinion.

See? 
Isn't preventing disease in the first place with proper quarantine so much easier than having to deal with an outbreak?
I hate to rub it in like that, but I'm trying to use you as an example to others. FAILURE TO QUARANTINE IS A PRIMARY CAUSE OF FAILURE IN THE MARINE HOBBY. Lack of patience is *THE* primary cause.

Sorry you're having to learn this the hard way, but in truth, you're really getting off quite easily, so be happy. I've seen much, MUCH worse time & again, believe me. I'm sure that you & your fish will be fine.


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