My Ich Treatment in QT tank

vatso

vatso

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Hi all

I saw some questions being asked about Ich & wanted to share what I am doing.

I am using my old 250lt tank as a QT tank, but first some history of how I got here.

My Main tank is 900lt in total & I had a Ich break out which I tried to dose with Bio-Elite heal all - this product does work in making the fish fight the Ich but does not kill the parasite! so the fish were alive but getting more & more spots.

I did a water change of 250lt & moved the old water into my QT tank with some live rock & ceramic ring filters which one can buy in a unit. this is to make sure I don't get ammonia.

I then added Seachem Cupramine I decided in this product as the copper does not go into the filter & can be removed with active carbon.

It's now been 4 day's since the fish have been in the QT tank with Cupramine & there are almost spot free this does not mean they are all better we still have 1.5 weeks to go / 14 day cycle.

I am still putting some heal all in my QT tank as it helps the fish heal where the spots were & is good if there is or was any secondary infection.

To check your ammonia levels one can't use standard test kits the copper messes with them - I am using seachem ammonia alert.

I suck the bottom once a day to remove none eaten food & anything else that might be at the bottom of the glass.

I will give some updates on how things go.
 
vatso said:
I then added Seachem Cupramine I decided in this product as the copper does not go into the filter & can be removed with active carbon.

QUOTE]

Sounds like you have an awsome QT settup but beware that when using ANY copper based products you cant simple go straight to active carbon you need to go slow realy slow. I dont understand how this Cupramine keeps copper traces out of the filter ?

Trev
Click to expand...
 
Hi Trev

From the website
Cupramine™ effectively eradicates ectoparasites of both freshwater and marine fish. It is superior to copper sulfate, chloride & citrate: it is non-acidic, less toxic to fish, remains in solution, and does not contaminate the filter bed.
Click to expand...

One still has to watch & test the copper amount as well - using stuff like prime or safe if you get an ammonia spike is to be done with care!

there is some great info on the seachem website about the products & what can & can't be done with them
 
Just a side note - I will be doing 90% water change in my QT every month. the water I take out of my Main tank going into the QT tank.
 
vatso said:
Hi Trev

From the website

One still has to watch & test the copper amount as well - using stuff like prime or safe if you get an ammonia spike is to be done with care!

there is some great info on the seachem website about the products & what can & can't be done with them
Click to expand...


Ok wow that sounds awsome but I doubt it then contains any copper then

Trev
 
Hey Trev have a look at the website I am not sure what it is but it does work

Product Description
Cupramine™ effectively eradicates Oodinium, Cryptocaryon, Amyloodinium, Ichthyophthirius, and other ectoparasites of both freshwater and marine fish. It is superior to copper sulfate, chloride & citrate: it is non-acidic, less toxic to fish, remains in solution, and does not contaminate the filter bed. It is superior to chelates: it is fully charged (ionic), active at low concentrations, and is removable with carbon.

Why It's Different
There is more than a four-fold concentration gap between the minimal therapeutic dose (0.2 mg/L) and the toxic dose (0.8 mg/L). Cupramine™ is easily removable with chemical filtration. It is highly effective and safe in freshwater as well as marine water..
Click to expand...

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Cupramine.html
 
Good read thanks Frans

the seachem product is not the same as the coppers mentioned in the article the seachem website does have info on what type of copper it is & how it works
 
vatso said:
Good read thanks Frans

the seachem product is not the same as the coppers mentioned in the article the seachem website does have info on what type of copper it is & how it works
Click to expand...

I have sent them a e mail to find out what the active ingredient is and how it works. Lets see what they say.

Tim back to your problem, I would first exhaust all "in tank avenues" (like mentioned by everyone) before going QT

My 2 C
 
Two things I don´t get from vatso's advice, why did you put live rock in the QT? Isn´t the cupramine going to kill most of the life in them?

And second, why are you going to use the water from your display to make the QT changes? Isn't that going to reinfect your fish?
 
Ronald - I actually agree - you don't need live rock in the quarantine tank. You can use artificial hiding places, if you want - instead of live rock. You need a very basic filtration system for a QT or Hospital tank......

In my opinion, it is a waste of money and decent live rock (which could rather go into your DT or DT's sump), to put this into your QT.....
 
ronaldgv said:
Two things I don´t get from vatso's advice, why did you put live rock in the QT? Isn´t the cupramine going to kill most of the life in them?

And second, why are you going to use the water from your display to make the QT changes? Isn't that going to reinfect your fish?
Click to expand...


Ronals a fish when its stresse out wants to retreat under or into something and hide if there is no place to hide then that poor fish will be 50times more stressed rem in the wild sick fish are eaten by oportunistic hunters almost instantly there only defence is to hide. But yes the copper will kill the orgs in the live rock and perhaps a large pvcpipe would have been better

As far as the water goes the parasite is carried by livestock and not the water itself so this is safe.

Trev
 
I do know the need for hiding places, my question was refering to the possibility of a ammonia peak due to the death of the inverts in the live rock.

And I must disagree with the use of water from a contaminated tank, there is a free swimming stage in the life cycle of the parasite. I think is too risky, better to perform smaller changes in both tanks.
 
And I must disagree with the use of water from a contaminated tank, there is a free swimming stage in the life cycle of the parasite. I think is too risky, better to perform smaller changes in both tanks.[/QUOTE]


I that so ? when I dad parasite problems I researched like mad and I never came across this info can you explain in detail more about the life cycle?

Trev
 
When fish are being moved from an infected tank, they need to be in quarentine for 30 days to be safe, not 14, as the full cycle lasts 28 days.
I would not use the water from an infected system and also no live rock or substrate in a QT tank. It needs to be bare bottom with plastic PVC pipes for hiding places and siphoned everytime a water change is being done.
 
Forgot to mention, the parasites breed in the live rock and substrate, but not on bare glass or PVC pipes. I don't think ceramic rings or bio-balls is even needed if you do a daily water change and siphon out all detritus and uneaten foods.
 
Trev said:
I that so ? when I dad parasite problems I researched like mad and I never came across this info can you explain in detail more about the life cycle?

Trev
Click to expand...

Well, I could find many references, but this ones summarizes it:

Life cycle
There are four stages in the marine ich life cycle.
The feeding stage is known as trophont (or trophozoite). As the trophont feeds on tissue fluids, the distinctive white spot forms around the parasite as a cyst.
Once the trophont is mature, the cyst bursts and the free-living protomont emerges. Secondary infections can set in at this stage because of the damage caused to the host fish’s skin. Within a few hours the protomont settles onto a solid object, potentially even wet objects, such as nets, that can be moved between tanks.
Protomonts form capsules and begin dividing, eventually forming hundreds of infective cells known as theronts or tomites. In a tropical marine aquarium, this reproductive stage lasts for about three days.
After the reproductive phase is finished, the capsule bursts, and the theronts swim into the water and seek out new hosts. The theronts will die after a few days if they cannot find a suitable host.

http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/saltwater-conditions/marine-ich.aspx
 
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