I've got the Ich

**Tom Toro** · 01-28-2013, 01:04 PM

Got it bad, especially on the hippo tang. There was no Ich present in either tank (so I thought), so I didn't see a problem moving four fish from the 135 to the 240. The stress of moving must have been too much and out popped the Ich.

I can't remove any fish without breaking down the system. I'm not putting any chemicals that can harm the anemones/corals/inverts, so:

Water quality very good. All parameters normal. Water changes every two weeks with I/O
garlic on all food and nori
Raised the temp 1 degree to 80
I'm using biopellets so I'm reluctant to use the U/V 57watt, but I will if you guys think it will help.

Do you guys have any other home remedies I can try to help these guys?

Thanks,
Tom

**pinhigh1886** · 01-28-2013, 01:55 PM

May be a fluke but I have put Garlic Cloves in a mesh bag and float in sump. It has worked for me several times. If anything it kept appetite up and reduced stress. It makes the water smell like garlic and I changed out every few days. I think it's an old Indian trick

Once you don't see any signs of Ich it means the Ich is in cycle. Wait 8-12 months before adding any other fish. Ich can only cycle so many times with the same hosts. I think 8 months is the time studied but 12 months to be safe!

I don't blame you for not trying to catch the fish. It always ends in disaster!

**MizTanks** · 01-28-2013, 02:37 PM

Without QT where it's possible to actually kill the parasite there's really nothing you can do. Keep your fish well fed, add garlic to their foods and no stress. If the fish are healthy they may be able to fight the negative effects.
Unfortunately this does nothing to rid the parasite from the tank itself. Good luck and keep us posted.

**binford4000** · 01-28-2013, 04:43 PM

UV is best cure and prevention along with garlic. I understand your concern of the bacteria loss for the bio pellete's .feed em and watch them. Feed heavy with garlic. We just went thru this when mrs Binford got me a lemon peel from LFS . Killed off 17 fish. Tho I think it was velvet gill and ich. Added a larger UV and survivors are looking good again. If You have a fish trap might want to set up a small copper tank and treat the ones you catch.good luck and the nice thing is ich only has a fourty day life cycle from what I have been told.