ICK !!!

[bookpage]

Has anyone used Rid-Ich+?

Can I use it full dosage with loaches?

Have bad case. Any info helpful. Have raised temp to 83 degrees and used full dosage. Have lost 4 clowns so far.

[glenna]

I have used rid ich+ with loaches at full dose. It did not seem to affect them at all. However, it did not seem to work as well as I would have liked (this is following the directions exactly: 25% H2O change prior to each dose, and dosine q 24 hours. Temp at 82F. I do not know if that implies "resistant ich", or not. I know you are not supposed to use UV sterilization with it, but in the end, that is what I ended up using. There is also quinine, which is useful for resistant ich, and from what I have read, loaches are pretty tolerant to it. The big drag about that medicine is that you have to order it online. I have some that I ordered, but do not have any experience with it, as of yet.
So sorry you are having to deal with ich after everything else. THAT is a pain in the butt sickness that is pretty labor intensive to treat.
good luck, and keep us posted.

[Diana]

Rid Ich is a good one. Here are a few pointers:

Do lots of water changes that emphasize gravel vacs. This will remove a lot of fallen Ich organisms.

If you are using Amquel Plus... don't. It says right on the label that it deactivates the dye based Ich meds. Read the label very carefully on whatever dechlorinator you are using.

You can dose it this way, might be a little easier on the fish, but still kills Ich. Dose 50% in the AM and 50% in the PM. This still gives you 100% in a 24 hour period, but avoids the extreme high and low that happens when you dose a full dose once in 24 hours.

When you first start dosing the fish will continue to show more Ich for a few days. Ich lands on the fish as a single cell that you cannot see, and grows for a few days before it is big enough to see. The ones that show up in the first few days after you start dosing got on the fish before you started medicating.

[bookpage]

Thank you for the info, Diana.


I use Prime. Tank got up to 83 and fish are acting like their low of oxygen. Just turn the temp down a little. Lost 4 more clowns. Guess I am going to loose all of them.

Treating a 125 gallon tank is taking a lot of the Rid Ick. Is there another brand I can try. I am about out of the Rid Ick.

Thanks for your help.

[starsplitter7]

Increase the oxygen in the tank. That should help. The fish are compromised and the heat drops the oxygen. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

I am so sorry for your losses. You have really had a rough month. I am so sorry.

[Gary Mck]

I had a similar problem with ICH. I used Rid Ich at full dosage, did not seem to affect my Kubotais at all and I only lost 1 Kubotai out of 8.

I also vac'd every day and used a UV filter. The 10% daily water change I took out I replaced with 10% more RID ICH. I also lowered the water level so the HOTB filtters really stirred up the water. I did this to stop any ICH eggs from settling on the bottom. Need to get them killed before than can continue the cycle. Can't recommend a UV filter enough, zaps many bugs before they get a foothole and cleans the water up nice! I have a 9w terminator UV filter connected to a AQuaclear 50 pump, works great.


I had a previous outbreak and used another brand. I lost all the fish in 24 hours, I think the other brand killed the fish rather than ICH.

[bookpage]

Thanks, Gary and star.

I went to my local fish store to get some more ick medicine. They like Aquari-sol.

Anyone use Aquari-sol? Think I can mix it with Rid Ick after a 50% water change?

What does everyone think about getting a 9W inline UV? LFS has one for $130.00.

[andyroo]

Book,
Clowns are from Borneo and Sumatra- real equatorial stuff. They are the last to show annoyance when my tank gets to 31+C in the summer and remain fully active (though I'll admit it takes a month to get that warm).

I'd suggest you not drop the temperature, but increase it further: 90F should cause more harm to the Ich-beasie then to the fish. I don't get Ich if I only buy fish in the summertime- with is now the protocol 'round here.

Gasping will be from the ich organism in the gill rather then from the temperature (I reckon). If you're worried get a little air-pump and stone and lower the water level so the filters make a splash.

The parasite has a life cycle, and the adult stages are tough as nails. The juvenile and eggs however aren't. To up the temperature you a) increase the rate of this cycle, thus reduce the time back to a susceptible stage and b) soon reach the lethal temperature of the parasite, or at least a temperature that negatively affects a portion of this cycle and stops the infestation.

Toasty
A

[bookpage]

Okay, Andy, I will raise the temp again. But, I have other fish in the tank that (I don't think) will do very well at 90 degrees.

[andyroo]

Your loaches should be fine. The dry season leaves them in toasty puddles until the rains come again. 90 is very warm and too warm for healthy function in the long-term, but actually isn't all that much for now and then. Tropical fish should be tolerant of tropical conditions.
A

[Diana]

I do not know of a more concentrated or more economical version of Rid Ich. It is a proprietary concoction, and is not made by other companies in other concentrations.
MAYBE there is a pond version? Might be more economical.

Ultra Violet sterilizer can kill the Ich organisms that pass through it. I do not know if a 9 watt is big enough for 125 gallon tank. The water needs to flow through slow enough that the organisms are exposed to the light long enough to die. The water needs to flow through the unit often enough that you are sure all the water in the tank is getting treated. Usually this is at least 1x per hour. That is 125 gallons per hour at a bare minimum, and I really would go with more watts and more flow. See the charts on these pages.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... 23&aid=440

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... d=&aid=435

Something like 25 watts with a pump that is rated at 150 gph might be a minimum sort of set up.

UV may deactivate some medicines. If the medicine says anything about turning off the lights, then do not run UV at the same time. Do some more research about the medication you are using, just in case. E-mail the manufacturer and ask if that particular medicine is OK with UV.

Aquarisol: I have not used it. I looked at the advertising.
'Mild, can be used as preventative' Hmm... I am not sure this is strong enough.
'Copper' Nope. Not putting that in my tank. Copper may linger in the tank, and kill snails, shrimp and other things for a long time after the medicine is gone.
The dosing instruction are wrong for Ich.
Sorry, I do not like the sound of this one. Might be just the thing, though, if you can use it correctly.

Ich goes through a life cycle that includes several phases that cannot be killed with medicines. You need to keep the medicine in the tank at high enough levels for a long enough time for the Ich to go through at least 2 life cycles to be sure it is dead. This is at the very least a week at the highest temperature that even tropical fish can handle. Longer is better, just in case some Ich survives, and takes longer to go through its life cycle.
Any medicine that says it kills Ich in 3 days is lying.

[Gary Mck]

I don't think 9w would do it either, I really wanted a 13w for my 65g but they didn't have one when I was in Miami and buying anything like that is not really practical in Rio due to high import tax - think $500 for a UV filter!. 13w for a 125g would possibly work but it would be a "better than nothing" kind of solution rather than the perfect solution, as Diana said - 25w would be better.

This guy has really good prices on Terminators, don't know how fast he could get it to you though. LFS tend to be really expensive for UV filters and as you have found out, they don't stock alot of options. I really wish I had picked up a 13w for my 65g.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... lizer.html


With Rid ICH you can get the 18oz bottle which is only $12 or so. I got rid of my ICH in my 65g in about 2 weeks and not quite used 1 full 18oz bottle. I am thinking 2 of these bottles may be enough for you. Petsmart does tend to carry Rid ICH, hence may be worth stopping by there. When I got hit by ICH the first time I really studied up on it. It is really important that you use a Med that will not kill your loaches, they are very sensitive to Meds. I personally would not use anything else than Rid ICH, if you make a bad choice and use something else there is a high probably that you will kill your loaches very quickly, ie the meds will kill your fish before the ICH does. Everyone that uses Rid ICH tends to say very good things about it RE: Loaches. There is nothing in their directions that say you cannot use UV filters with their med.

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/ridich/index.htm