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Nature's Parasite Pickers
In the wild, nature has seen fit to devise a way
to prevent the parasites from wiping out the oceans' fish population.
The Cleaner Wrasse and Scarlet Cleaner
Shrimp eat and pick parasites off of other fish and marine animals.
We discourage the harvesting of these two ocean critters because of the
important role they play in nature. Yeah, they're beautiful and there's
a terrific demand for them, but just leave them alone. They are vital
to the health of the reefs and the fish populations in our oceans.
With the progress made in breeding captive species, Scarlet
Cleaner Shrimp can be propagated. Avoid the removal and depletion
of these valuable animals from our oceans by purchasing or captive bred
Scarlet Cleaner Shrimps.
A Freshwater Bath
One of the first steps to take for treating Ich is
to remove all your fish from the tank and give them a 3-4 minute freshwater
bath. By giving your fish a freshwater bath it will rupture a lot
of the pustules, releasing the dinospores into the freshwater to kill them,
which will be left behind when you place the fish in a QT for further treatment.
This also helps to relieve the fish from some of the stress caused by the
parasites clogging their gill plates. Freshwater
Bath Tips & Treatment Procedures.
Formalin Baths & Dips
A treatment method that we see often is using a Formalin
bath or dip solutions. This is a method we tried using in the
beginning a few times, but never used again. Because of the toxicity
of Formalin, if you are mixing your own solutions and it is not used properly
it can be destructive to your fish. There are products on the market
that include Formalin as an ingredient. If properly administered
these should be ok to use with caution.
Tank Temperature Elevation
(For Treating Empty Fish-Only Tank or Reef System with Inverts/Corals Removed!)
For a main aquarium Fish-Only tank with the fish
removed, or a reef system with the inverts and corals removed as well,
speed up the completion of the parasites life cycle by raising the main
aquarium temperature to 85° F to 90° F. Oodinium cysts and
dinospores, or Cryptocaryon cysts and tomites, can be eliminated from an
aquarium in two weeks, three for sure, if the fish hosts are removed and
the tank temperature is elevated. As long as the fish don't carry
the parasite back into the aquarium with them when they are returned after
treatment in the QT, the infestation can be cured. (Reference: The
Marine Aquarium Handbook - Beginner to Breeder, by Martin A. Moe,
Jr.)
Next Page > Other
Treatment Methods (Continued) Copper Sulfate, Natural Method
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