Ich question

[JayM]

We read here about ich control vs ich eradiaction, proper QT process for new livestock, and a lot about HYPO to treat the ich. I've done it / used it myself. Candidly, it is a PITA

My understanding is that Copper is supposed to be another successful treatment methodology

I guess the question is...if you have a dedicated livestock QT, and you pull out the LR, why would you stress a fish for 6-8 weeks in a small tank, having to painstakingly adjust and maintain hypo, when you can cupramine the fish and be done in a few days - for the cost of one QT of water?

I was in an LFS recently, and when I pointed out obvious ich on a fish, the copper treatment was added immediately. It was a FO system.

Can anyone point out the reasons why copper is better or worse than 8 weeks of hypo?

Reason I am asking, is as I rebuild, I need to replace the dozen fish I lost in my crash...and I'd like them in the tank by the holiday season.....

 

[jonros]

Have ich in my FOWLR. Skiptons suggested med called Herbtana - supposedly safe with lr, inverts, etc. Very little on the 'net regarding that med, but I am trying it (started yesterday.)

 

[NateHanson]

Hey Jay. You've probably heard that some fish do better with copper than others. I know butterflies, for example, can be killed by even carefully administered copper treatments.

 

[JayM]

Nate, good point, and I guess there are some who do better than others....but my last butterfly (CBB that ate at the LFS) didn't survive hypo either

EDIT: does anyone know a copper-safe(r) fish list? I know mandarins aren't....

 

[NateHanson]

Hmm. Maybe there's no low-risk way to pre-emptively treat the delicate fish.

After posting I tried looking for a thread I remembered Matt L. starting about this subject. I found it, but I'm amazed it is already 5 years old! Time flies!

Here ya go. Some good input in this thread from some old-timers. http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5044&highlight=copper

 

[Greg Hiller]

My opinion is try to quarantine fish in as stress free an environment as possible. That means live rock, lots of places to hide, no or few tank mates, moderate lighting, a decent amount of space, normal salinity, alkalinity, and pH. Also feed often and a LOT of food. Try to get their strength back up. If, and only if after this time they are clearly sick with spots (and I don't mean Lymphosystis since that clears up on its own) then use the formalin bath and copper treatment (I like Cupramine) as described by Martin Moe decades ago. The copper treatment needs to be done in a tank with no calcium carbonate (no rock or sand) substrates in it. The tank should still have plastic pots or large PVC places the fish can hid in during the treatment.

While I believe that a reef tank could be maintained and kept completely ich free, it is very difficult to do (particularly with certain types of fish), and IMO really NOT worth the effort. I know I have ich in my 400 G system, but the fish are extremely healthy, and I don't believe I've ever seen one sick to any significant extent. IMO a natural reef tank with rock and sand has natural filter feeders that keep ich very well in check.

My reason for quarantining a fish is not to keep any particular fish disease 100% out of my main tank, but to keep any particularly NASTY disease out of my tank. If in 3 weeks in quarantine in a natural system a fish has not died of any disease, and looks healthy and is eating well, my feeling has always been that the fish is not likely to bring in anything that is going to kill other fish.

If you are restocking a large reef tank, and you have little to loose, I actually would consider adding the first few fish directly to the tank. This is what I did when I first set up my 400 G system. I purchased 8 anthias, and some jawfish and put them straight into the tank. After you have valuable and expensive fish in the tank, that's when I'm very reluctant to add fish direct to the tank. The exception is for fish that are unlikely to be sick, or have some characteristic that makes it difficult to quarantine them.

 

[dupont603]

I've done alot of reading and have gotten alot of opinions on it also.I have a 215g tank with about 250lbs of live rock lots of coral and 12 fish.We all know this is a perfect sign of disaster if you need to try remove a fish.I finally took someones advise to just leave the fish in the tank.Overfeed a little more than you would usually feed and keep the fish stress free,and garlic treat your food or seaweed.The ich always has cleared up on its own in my tank.Yes i know i will always have ich in my tank,but i know how to treat it.Also i have read that if you give your fish garlic on a regular basis.If you do have ich in your tank it cannot find your fish because it is blocked out by the garlic smell.