As you asked, see below a short piece on UV.Mike, I incorporated your point about Victoria green, and yes, I have seen references to malachite blue before. Being a blue/green dye the confusion is understandable.
I encourage you to write a piece on the use of UV filters. I am of the opinion that if you even know about UV filtration, you're probably on top of the ich dilemma. Also, please take the time to write a short addenda on the use of salt and higher temperatures as the sole treatment method, or in combined use with the gist of the text. If I can, I'll add your paragraphs in, or they may remain as responses below the initial text.
We're still working on the concept of how this might best work. I'd be much happier if you could provide the text to add in, rather than pick apart any given text. I'm not assuming that's all you want to do, obviously. I do not treat with salt or simple high temperatures, so I cannot speak to those methods. Please provide the text, and I'll try to work it in. Links to other existing text will work just as well. And I did at least provide a link to discussions of copper-based meds on the old LOL site.
I will not write on salt and higher temperatures as the sole treatment since I don't believe in this.
See below a short piece on alternative meds that do use salt.
Notice that there is no way additions can help with items 2. and 4. in the correction list I wrote, you need to modify the text to address these. It appears that you already added the text to address item 5., great; item 6. may be indeed possible to write separately.
On Copper (item 8.): I assumed that you want a standalone document, so you should say something pro- or against it. (Personally, I believe it to be dangerous and unneeded with other tools available.)
The pieces below are draft and typos are quite possible.
-----------------------------------UV addition----------------------------------
UV sterializers usually allow to greatly simplify Ich treatment and avoid unnecessary dangers. While UV is not likely to exterminate all of the parasite quickly alone, UV radiation removes most of the parasite from the water and the remaining parasite can be killed with lower doses of medications or weaker medications and without raising the temperature too high.
This is particularly important in the case of hillstream loaches which are less tolerant of high temperature as well as formalin-based medications. UV in combination with weak (1/3 and perhaps even less) dosing of malachite green+salt combination drugs or quinine-based drugs is quite effective and is much less likely to result in fish loss than a high-temperature malachite green+formalin treatments.
Note that UV sterializers can only be used in well established tanks; an attempt to use a UV in a newly set up quarantine tank is likely to backfire badly by uncycling the tank.
Even in established tanks one should carefully monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels when treating with medications that may impact the biofilter (malachite green is a such medication).
ALL ich treatments work faster at higher temparature and UV is no exception. It is therefore still worthwhile to raise the temperature to the upper limit of the "comfort zone" for your fish; 80F appears to be a good setting for hillstream species.
-------------------------------Hillstream additions----------------------------
While no serious study has been undertaken, it appears that formalin-based medications are quite dangerous to hillstream loaches (and, likely, to other fish as well), and alternative techniques that do not use formalin often are safer. On the other hand, many hillstream species are more tolerant to hard water and can be even acclimated to brackish conditions; thus salt presents less of a danger to them.
Among the alternative techniques one should note
1. Drugs based on malachite green with other additions like salt (Nox), salt and acriflavine (Ich Guard), usually half-dosed, or the Ich Guard II formula which is already weakened by the manufacturer.
2. Drugs based on quinine (Ick Attach) that appeat to be safe at full dose.
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it is quite likely that Paraguard is another safe and efficient drug
(adlehydes addition to the usual malachite green base).
But I don't have any personal experience with it.
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With respect to salt, note that the medications that include salt use less of it than a salt-only treatment would. This paragraph should not be used as a justification for a salt-only treatments.
