Declare Battel against ICH

[Kotobuki]

Hi all,

My Tank had been attack by ICH about a week ago and I had been looking for a cure to get rid of this pest. Read through some of the helpful posting from many helpful seniors in here and collected quite some useful information. THANKS TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTE

I feel that as a part of this forum I might be of help to others too. Hereby I would like to Declare that the method I have chosen are information that I have collected and decided to apply. It does not mean that This is the CORRECT way but rather wat I am tryin out.

Tank Type:

FWLRO

Tank Spec:

4 x 2 x 2.5ft

Volume approx 150 gal

weipro 2013 + 1500L

Return Resun 4800L

Live Stock

1 x Powder Blue

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown

1 x Maroon Clown

1 x Percular Clown

1 x Dotty Back

1 x Boxer Shrimp

1 x Blue Legged Hermit

2 x Skunk Shrimp

1 x Bubble Tip Anemoni

1 x Tube anemoni

4 x Tube Worm

1 x Red Knob Star(Removed due to Medication instruction)

Water Parameter

PH 8.0 to 8.5(dam it the colour is at the middle shade)

N02 11

N03 0

Sal 1.019

Water Temp 30 + - 0.5 (Yes I turn the Temp UP!!)

UV OFF

Carbon filtration REMOVED

Skimmer Off

24th July 1800 I Declare War on ICH

Got the medication from A****Marine by AquaPharm named CURE ICH

250ml at an affordable price.

24th 1800hr

I did a ard 20%(4 container) water change. According to prescription 6ml/ 10 gal but was advice by the shop keeper not to full load. As explained was to minus off the LR space. The advice was to load 60ml for my tank.

Sent off my first return fire on 1815hr of 20ml near my returm pump. I begin to see the blue colour med shoot out of the nozzle. As I do not want to shock the fishes, I waited for few minutes before I sent my 2nd Launch of another 20ml.... then the 3rd minutes later. All LS and Inv look pretty normal(to me) Next I stuck a heater into my sump tank. Tuned it to 30 degree. Read from somewhere saying warmmer the water ICH will hatch faster and life cycle will mature sooner( Not sure if its true but give it a try. It says cold water about a week plus to hatch and warm water ard 3 to 4 days)KILL EM ALL

I have also set a diet plan for these fellers. Just Trying not sure if it helps.

Daily Breakfast:

- 1 x cube of Mysis shrimp soak in Garlic Guard(I use my spare Sera PH tester glass tube to prep the food and store it in the fridge)

- Some Sera granmarin too

Evening Dinner:

- Raw dried seaweed(NO seasoning, from chinese med shop. The Yong Tau Hoo type).

- Some Sera granmarin too

Snacks:

- Got a bunch of Red Grape in the Tank just in case they get hungry.

To be continue.... need to rush to work 8PM

[Dazza]

Gd luck .... All the best ...

[Kotobuki]

I am Back!!

Thank Dazza for the luck, guess its not for me alone but for all here who are in the same shoe.

Continuation:

After the dosage, everything seems well. Water also cleared of the blue shade.

25th 0000hr

I woke up to check on the fishes as I have this habbit of checking on them with my little torch. Got a shock!!!!!!!! and almost fell to the ground. There were tons of ICH all over my Powder Blue and My Blue Tang. (wonder why the Pawder Brown never kanna??? maybe its the biggest amont my school? 4" stronger against parasites?) I keep on telling myself its the effect of the Medication and try to get back to sleep.

25th 0800

Breakfast!!! Same old Mysis with Garlic Guard. As I approach the tank, they were all awake and waiting

Took the time to closely examin them and came to conclusion that the amount of ICH on their body had reduced. Usually at this time(0800 where I always feed them) the ICH is most visiable and usually by noon time onwards they all disappear. hmm..mm.. my worries began to subside. Found some trace of blue stuff on my sump's white filter wool too. Guess its ok...

1 x Blue Regal Tang - Eatting like a PIG, shitting like an ELEPHANT (miss this feller out )

1 x Powder Blue - Eatting like a PIG

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown - Eatting like a PIG

1 x Maroon Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Percular Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Dotty Back - Eatting normal

1 x Boxer Shrimp - Eatting normal

1 x Blue Legged Hermit - normal

2 x Skunk Shrimp - normal

1 x Bubble Tip Anemoni - shrink abit but still looks pretty normal

1 x Tube anemoni - normal

4 x Tube Worm - normal

25th 1800

Dinner!!!

Tried to soak seaweed with Galic Guard... eeee!! slimy slimy stuff but they seems to feed like nobody's business.

By now I can see improvement on the fishes. The sports have disappear but still visiable some cloudy white patches on the body. Seems like some discolouration due to the ICH bite. I ma not sure if its because of the time where i wont be able to see the ICH or is it the medication's effect??? no idea, gotta check'em out tomorrow morning den will noe. Hope for the best for em all.

Also check on the Temp, reading at 30.5degree(madness!! ) Hope this work. Get them to hatch fast fast, mature fast fast and GO TO HELL!! KILL EM ALL

Working Nite shift today, wont beable to check tonite. So next update will be plus tomorrow morning.

1 x Blue Regal Tang - Eatting like a PIG, still shitting like an ELEPHANT. Drop a bomb infront of me size of a rabbit pellet!!!

1 x Powder Blue - Eatting like a PIG. Seems to follow the Brown ard but nothing unusual

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown - Eatting like a PIG

1 x Maroon Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Percular Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Dotty Back - Eatting normal

1 x Boxer Shrimp - Eatting normal

1 x Blue Legged Hermit - donnoe where he hide??

2 x Skunk Shrimp - normal

1 x Bubble Tip Anemoni - pretty normal

1 x Tube anemoni - normal

4 x Tube Worm - normal

To be continued....

[weileong]

bro.... pls lar... only two proven methods that works.

copper or hyposalinity, do a search in SRC and you'll find method to apply them.

[patrick123]

PBT is the Number One Ich Magnet. Even worse than AT in my opinion.

Best is to catch them out and do a hyposalitity rather than playing dice with god.

Or you may try ozone. May be that will help to control ich, but not eliminate it.

[Kotobuki]

Hi Bros,

I am aware of Hypo and copper treatment. Infact dat is wat I planned eariler. At the same time I am also setting up a 2x1x1 ment to be a clorentine/hospital tank. Wont be able to wack in everything at 1 go. So meanwhile do what I can do within my means. Treatment here as well as construction of the Q-tank. Even if it only keeps the ICH under control. Its worth it as it buys time while the Q-Tank is under construction. Thanks for all the advice, once the Q-tank is ready I have to make a decision for hypo or copper. Meanwhile I monitor the progress...

Thanks to All

Tak

[weileong]

You have no time to buy when dealing with ich.

Good luck.

[iori_del]

You have no time to buy when dealing with ich.

Good luck.

that wat i think too..

bro it is good to write up but why take longer paths or unsuccessful one to cure ich...

in the end u cannot cure, waste ur time and kill ur live stock...

look at the tangs in my thread, if not for the hypo in the beginning for every fish in my QT tank, u think i can have spotless fishes.

anyway good luck and i will pray for u..

[Kotobuki]

look at the tangs in my thread, if not for the hypo in the beginning for every fish in my QT tank, u think i can have spotless fishes.

Choy Choy Choy!!!!

Bro dont say lidatt leh. Dis kinda thing cannot anyhow say one leh, its a taboo leh!!!

Anyway, really appreciate all you guys for the advice. I had cupramine with me. Will dose if necessary. Currently they still feed like pigs, once I detect anyone of them loose appetite... den hur hur hur. I will stand by copper!!

P.S. not dat I am stubbon but I am just tryin to deal with the problem from another approach.

[hotlemond]

good effort there bro. Could you do an update or summaries on the effectivesness of the product itself when you have gone thru the process? We had a few reefers reviewing on hypo and Seamonkee on copper, but not on this "cure itch".

cheers

[flying carpet]

Good luck with your quarantine tank bro and prepare for BACKACHE when catching them.

Anyway goodluck to you.

[Kelmen]

So, you this round just beef up the food and heat up the tank?

You can beef up the feeding while setting up your QT.

Doesn't sound too good with the heat up approach. From my understanding, it will speed up their life cycle, but got nothing to do with "termination". In short, under normal temperature, 1 month maybe your fishs kena Ich harrassment about 2 times. Now they gonna suffer more than that.

Also, high temperature may reduce oxygenation in water. Ensure good aeration.

My understanding of heating up is when you starving the parasites with "NO" fishs. So their life cycle speed up, but without the proper host (fish), they gonna starved to dead "faster". So, instead you have to bear with tank with no fish for 2 months, with the heating up you can work it out about 1 month.

HTH

[Kotobuki]

Hi guys,

I'm back. Gotta setter my stuff so sorry for the late report.

26th 0830

1st thing when I reach home I peep into my tank.(anyway its the 1st thing I see entering my home ) The fishes were all looking at me makes me feel guity for their late breakfast

Feed them, they still eat like PIGs. Still chasing each other ard as usual.

I have closely examine them and came to the such a conclusion. Condition of the tank and the LS seems to have stablised. There is still some white cloudly patches on my Regal/Blue tang mainly on the Black area. There have been good improvement on the fins etc etc... As for the Powder Blue, the uneven skin have smoothen. Other LS seems unaffected by these pest. As to compare to the first day I dose medication. The fishes have very distinctive white sports on their body and fins. Very white, very contrast white spots. On the body, if you examin closely it look like little volcano with a white tip. Guess dat is what some reefers say "skin is uneven". I would not say this med is effective, but would on my stands say that its effective till a certain extend. Results still unknown but improvement noted.

26th 1800

Sent of my 2nd wave of attack into the tank. As usual split the dosage into 3 times minutes after minutes. Yeah my tank turn Blue again. Everything inside take it sa normal. Guess they simply Boh Chap liao... Fish: "Oh.. is this blue thing again "

Today I have added a new dish apart from the usual. I had include a branch of lettuce in the menu. Clip in a lead strip and just drop into the tank. Yes!! they are feeding on it.

1 x Blue Regal Tang

- Eatting like a PIG. Distinctive white spot have turn into white cloudly patches. The spots are nolonger there but guess it takes time for the colour to grow back. Black colour area still having discolouration. Greedy/Active

1 x Powder Blue

- Eatting like a PIG. Still have some white patches on the yellow part of the fins but minor. Have shown great improvement on its body as the "volcanos" seems to have smoothen out alot. Greedy/Hyper Active playing ard with my Powder Brown.

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown

- Eatting like a PIG. Especially attacking the Lettuce and Red Grape. Greedy/Hyper Active playing ard with my Powder Blue.

1 x Maroon Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Percular Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Dotty Back - Eatting normal

1 x Boxer Shrimp - Eatting normal

1 x Blue Legged Hermit - normal

2 x Skunk Shrimp - normal

1 x Bubble Tip Anemoni - shrink abit but still looks pretty normal

1 x Tube anemoni - normal

4 x Tube Worm - normal

Althrough I've see some improvement, I would not jump into conclusion. These are some of my observation and questions. Please share and correct me if I'm wrong

- ICH is most visable early in the morning and late at night when the fishes are asleep.

- Their life cycle accerates when water is warm.

- Ich is mose vounderable to be TERMINATED during its free swimming stage.

- they can starve to death in a month or two without any host.

To Kelmen:

Firstly I did a water change hoping that it will reduce the amount of free swimming ICH and eggs in the tank. Then I dose in medication. The medication will deal with the free swimming ICH and those attached on the fishes. BUT medication have NO EFFECT on the eggs. Of cos I may be wrong but bringing up the Temp will hatch the eggs sooner. By the time the egg hatches, the baby ICH will be killed by the Medication in the water. That is a reason why most medication have to go through a 14 to 16 days dosage waiting for the eggs to hatch. In Ich attacks, the most dangerous once are the eggs, not the ICH itself. Killing the ICH but not being abole to totally wipe out the eggs = "Return of the ICH". like star wars.

Heres a very very lame eg of what I attemp now.

(No offence cause just what I think, I may be wrong too)

- Medication kills ICH but not the egg.

- Warm water makes the egg hatch into the medicated water killing baby ICH(eg. walk out of the lift into a fire scene and get killed)

- Medicated water slow/stop the ICH from repruducing. (eg. The house is on fire dear, I am chocking to death. Shall we make love?)

Hope dat helps. No offence ment.

Though what I am doing my not be the best but I hope to gain some experience in this battel against ICH and also to contribute in someway... valuable experiense with everyone around here.

Peace to All

ICH... KILL EM ALL

[Kelmen]

Oh, I see. You did put in medication, somehow not noticed in your prev posts. That should work.

I would suggest keep on the treatment no less than 1 month. Maybe at least 6 weeks.

Good luck.

[ckkoon]

Very detailed write-up...

Good luck in ur battle and hope to hear good news from you soon!

[Kotobuki]

Very detailed write-up...

Good luck in ur battle and hope to hear good news from you soon!

Yo bro Ckkoon,

Thanks alot for the support. This is really a tuff battle as I have noted that not only my medication but the ICH also come in waves... Just got their return fire. sianzzz...

[Kotobuki]

27th 0830 and 1800

Yeah finally home!! 1st thing check out my fishes. Hmm..mm.. Everything seems normal. Feed them they are all still eatting. Stood by the tank for about 45mintues staring at them but there aint any noticeable improvement but neither has the condition worsen. The regal still has some cloudy patches. Powder Blue still the same. The dots seems to have dissapear. Among the infected fishes the PBT looks more "cured" Today the Powder brown is acting abit strange. Its hidding away in the rocks and only come out to feed. Makes me wonder if it has caught something???

Check them out in the evening, everything still the same. The spots anre less visiable at this time of the day. Cant really tell. Still cannot find dat darn skunk shrimp... think hes a gonner.

Zzzz... I have 2 cleaner shrimp in this tank!! Only spotted one. where did the other one go??? Search for it but gave up. Now my attention got shifted to the powder brown and the blue tang. What will happen to them?

1 x Blue Regal Tang

- Eatting like a PIG. Distinctive white spot have turn into white cloudly patches. No sign of improvement today. Greedy/Active

1 x Powder Blue

- Eatting like a PIG. Shown most improvement. Still infected but minor. Greedy/Hyper Active

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown

- Eatting normal but seems to be hiding away. Donnoe why??

Getting abit worried

1 x Maroon Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Percular Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Dotty Back - Eatting normal

1 x Boxer Shrimp - Eatting normal

1 x Blue Legged Hermit - normal

2 x Skunk Shrimp - 1 of them missing. Think its a gonner

1 x Bubble Tip Anemoni - normal

1 x Tube anemoni - normal

4 x Tube Worm - normal

Alert triggered!!

Stanby Cupramine

Stanby tank(2x1x1, 2x1x1.5, 4x1.5x1.5 super kiasu)

Once I detect condition getting worst I'm going into copper. Els I'll wait till 28th 1800 and continue with medication.

Stress make me wanna sweat!!

[ckkoon]

Yo bro Kotobuki, while the fishes are still eating normally, why not feed them food soaked with garlic guard? Although it wont cure them of ich, but at least can build up their resistance. Good for their health in the long run and lower the chance of recurrance.

Check out how bro Kokhui does it:

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...=0entry427886

[ckkoon]

Oh realised you're doing tat already

[iori_del]

i dun suggest copper, as u will need yesy kiy, too much u will find ur fish organ all damage, too little no effect.

try find bro seamonkey write up on this b4 u start.

if not take our advise, go hypo, u will have more time to do ur think than to spend time for praying and watching for ich on the fish body...

[Kotobuki]

28th 0830 and 1800

Ehhh?? no sign of improvement leh... thou they are all still eatting. Stood there for a long time staring at them but there aint any noticeable improvement. Seems like they have gotten use to it as if "ICH" is a way of life.... Darn, I hate the sigh of those white spots. Anyway gonna dose the final dosage of medication tonight.(the left over) Lets see what happen next... maybe its a long term medicatoion kinda thing.

1 x Blue Regal Tang

- Eatting like a PIG. Still having white cloudly patches. No sign of improvement. Greedy/Active

1 x Powder Blue

- Eatting like a PIG. Very minor infection on the dosal fin. Greedy/Hyper Active

1 x Gold Rim/Powder Brown

- Eatting normal but spotted some white patches near the tail area. Got a scar on the body seems to be have cause by the ?PBT? Btw PBT is about 1" plus smaller.

1 x Maroon Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Percular Clown - Eatting normal

1 x Dotty Back - Eatting normal

1 x Boxer Shrimp - Eatting normal

1 x Blue Legged Hermit - normal

2 x Skunk Shrimp - Both M.I.A

1 x Tube anemoni - normal

4 x Tube Worm - normal

With the advice that copper might harm the fish's organ, I am thinking if I should go into Hypo? Actually can take this chance to scape my rocks to... See how things go in the morning.

Anyone noes where to get a refractometer? where and how much does it cost?

Thanks iori_del for the advice... almost wanna junp into copper liao.

si beh confused!!!

[Kotobuki]

!@#$%&*(%@.... !!!! Saw my boxer chewing on my skunk shrimp!!!

Think its already dead before my boxer found him?

[iori_del]

it is abt $68 from iwarna, just got one from my friend.

Use hypo so that ur fish will not get unseen injured.

[weileong]

Copper or hyposalinity treatments will kill your inverts so you must remove them before proceeding with the treatment.

The ich parasites are on the same order as inverts and that is why those treatments that claims reef safe never seems to work at all as the medication that can kill the ich parasite will kill your inverts too.

[ckkoon]

How bro Kotobuki, any improvement in your fishes?