does anybody know of a good medication for my fish?

Question

my fish have ick/ich,
and i just wanted to know if anybody knows of a good medication to get rid of the ick/ich?
one that really works tho?!?
i would like an all in one, that treats diseases, plus ammonia and nitrites. so if you could tell me the name of it then i'd be really thankful.
please only ones that you know to have worked!
thanks ppl :o)

Answer 1

Anything designed to do all of the above will probably do a very, very poor job of any of it. I advocate using salt and heat to treat ich as it is more gentle on the fish than medications. Increase the temperature of the tank to 88-90 F and add 2 teaspoons of salt per 5 gallons. Continue this treatment for at least 1 week after you have seen the last of the ich on the fish. If you change water during this time add back only enough salt to treat the new water. This system does work well to get rid of ich, but takes a few weeks to complete the cure.

OR you can treat with any ich medication that contains Malachite Green, Quick Cure is one brand, but there are many. I suggest you treat for at least 10 days to be sure you get all of the ich.

Both methods work well, it's a matter of preference.

As forthe ammonia and nitrites, the best solution there is water changes. No chemical will remove them from the tank, only make them less toxic for the fish. Far better to remove them completely.

MM

Answer 2

First of all a all in one will not solve your questions, for it gives little of all medication and many times just puts your fish in more stress. Second what kind of fish do you have?Cause there are better treatments for diffrent fish. But i will tell you a genreal one, go with the super ich cure, it has 8 capsles and shows alittle picture of a doctor fish on the front. That will really fry the ich. But you have to raise the tempatutre for ich really becaomes weackened when warmed up, even die. I don't really use medication, only a pinch of salt and raising the temp and the ich doesn't stand a chance, good luck :)

Answer 3

I have used what the pet store recommends, and my fish always died, it would clear up and just when I thought they were okay, I would wake up and they were dead. Good Luck I hope you find a better cure they I did.

Answer 4

First step:
20-25% water change with gravel vac. Most likely your poor water conditions contributed to the outbreak of ich.
Second step:
Raise temperature (no more than 1° per hour) to 85°.
Third step:
Add aquarium salt (not table salt) in the amount of one rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons. If you have scaleless fish, reduce that to one rounded teaspoon per 5 gallons, as they don't tolerate salt.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=WaterConditioners
Fourth step:
After 24 hours, a second 20-25% water change. Add more salt. If you took 5 gallons out in the change, put another rounded tablespoon in. Adjust for your situation.
Fifth step:
Wait 24 hours.
Sixth Step:
A third water change of 20-25% and replace salt removed.
If this does not cure the fish, you will want to use a commercial ich curative, such as copper sulfate like Aquarasol http://www.aq-products.com/APpro/aquarisol.htm
or in more extreme cases, Malachite Green
http://www.aq-products.com/APpro/quickcure.htm

Good Luck

Answer 5

The massive amounts of salt you will need will kill your fish and will not kill the ich parasite.

PLEASE do not use salt to cure ich. If you are doing a dip, that is fine, since the concentrations are more towards the brackish water range, and the ich is still in your tank. your fish will still be very stressed when removing them from a salt dip and this at best only dropps the parasites. Use a medicine to treat your fish.

Is it white spot disease or is it Ich? You need to know the difference between the two since they are treated differently.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Hope this help
If the swarmers do not find a fish host, they die in about 3 days (depending on the water temperature).
Therefore, to treat it, medicine must be added to the display tank to kill free-living parasites. If fish are removed to quarantine, parasites living in the tank will escape the treatment -- unless ALL fish are removed for about a week in freshwater or three weeks in saltwater systems. In a reef tank, where invertebrates are sensitive to ich medications, removing the fish is the only option. Some people think that ich is probably dormant in most tanks. It is most often triggered by temperature fluctuations.
Salt does not kill ich. If that were the case, marine fish would not get ich.

Garlic soaked food will help ward off ich.