Hello All, I had ICH 5 months ago and went throught the 10 weeks starving the tank and quarantine fishes. Since then I now quarantine all my fish. Any way I bought a couple over the weekend and put them in the quarantine tank, 2 days later one broke out with ich. I'm currently treating them with Mardel Coppersafe which work for me the first time. How long do you need to treat fish with ich before moving them to display tank?
Ich
- Thread starter rwells
- Start date
- Location
- parsippany nj
Personally i would wait 4-6 weeks after the fish doesn't show any sings of ich.
vangoghfish
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Atlantic City, NJ
I like cupramine better, safer IMO, and easier to pull out of the tank when done.
Reef Fixations
vendor
- Location
- South Hackensack, NJ
My understanding is that ich has a lifespan of 2 weeks and in the lifespan of the first batch there is enough time for eggs to have been laid and hatched (which is the 2nd generation) and then the 2nd generation has time to lay eggs. Potentially you're talking about 6 weeks/3 generations, so to be safe... 8 weeks is best but that's not to say that you can't eliminate it sooner. Ich can live on a fish even if treated with a proper dose of copper/chealated copper for 21 days +/- which is unlikely BUT possible.
For fish that you can't treat with copper...
2 QT's are best........
1 dry tank just sitting there....
1 tank with fresh saltwater and the fish in there for 3 days...
On the 3rd day, fill the dry tank with fresh saltwater and move the fish into the clean tank...
Empty first tank of the old water and let it dry completely for 3 days...
After 3 days repeat the process all over again.
AMMENDMENT: repeat this process of tank swapping for as long as needed until ich is gone and for a few more weeks to be safe.
Water won't be cycled so it is important to keep an eye on parameters and not to overstock. You can always use products for reducing ammonia & nitrates or keep up on waterchanges even if it's done on a daily basis. Bad water conditions will only stress the fish more and leave them more susceptable.
Sounds crazy but it works. This way any ich that has dropped off stays off and then once you've relocated the fish into the clean/fresh tank ich can fall off again after a few days.
Also over feed your fish while watching parameters and do water changes as needed to lower rises in ammonia and possibly nitrates.
Lastly, sometimes a fish survives ich and dies from the infected wounds that the ich created aka secondary infection. Look into products that treat for infection so that secondary infection doesn't play a part in the outcome.
Best of luck
For fish that you can't treat with copper...
2 QT's are best........
1 dry tank just sitting there....
1 tank with fresh saltwater and the fish in there for 3 days...
On the 3rd day, fill the dry tank with fresh saltwater and move the fish into the clean tank...
Empty first tank of the old water and let it dry completely for 3 days...
After 3 days repeat the process all over again.
AMMENDMENT: repeat this process of tank swapping for as long as needed until ich is gone and for a few more weeks to be safe.
Water won't be cycled so it is important to keep an eye on parameters and not to overstock. You can always use products for reducing ammonia & nitrates or keep up on waterchanges even if it's done on a daily basis. Bad water conditions will only stress the fish more and leave them more susceptable.
Sounds crazy but it works. This way any ich that has dropped off stays off and then once you've relocated the fish into the clean/fresh tank ich can fall off again after a few days.
Also over feed your fish while watching parameters and do water changes as needed to lower rises in ammonia and possibly nitrates.
Lastly, sometimes a fish survives ich and dies from the infected wounds that the ich created aka secondary infection. Look into products that treat for infection so that secondary infection doesn't play a part in the outcome.
Best of luck
Last edited:
Reef Fixations
vendor
- Location
- South Hackensack, NJ
No prob.
I like PraziPro to fight infection but you do the research and you do what you feel most comfortable with.
Different strokes for different folks
PLEASE NOTE: I added an ammendment to the tank swapping treatment
.
I like PraziPro to fight infection but you do the research and you do what you feel most comfortable with.
Different strokes for different folks
PLEASE NOTE: I added an ammendment to the tank swapping treatment
.
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