Some Knowledge

Ich is a parasitic disease that is common in tropical fish.  It is often introduced to a tank when you buy a new fish.  Ich can be diagnosed by looking for white spots with a clear coating that cover the fish.  This disease spreads to the fish in the tank and can kill off an entire aquarium.

There are many treatments available for an ich infection.  This is usually some kind of copper compound to poison the parasites.  Malachite green is one of the common treatments, but I have never had good results from this.  Methylene blue can be used to limit the reproduction of the parasite in its free-swimming state, but this treatment as well is not really effective and stains the aquarium a deep blue.

There are medications available that use formaldehyde to treat this condition, but formaldehyde can cause cancer and I don’t recommend it.  After looking around at all the various possibilities for the treatment of ich I decided to try a treatment called Copper Safe.  This seemed the best option.  It is a solution of chelated copper sulfate.  The copper ions in this solution are poisonous to the parasites and invertebrates in general.  Since I have been trying to get rid of some snails that got introduced to the tank on some plants this seemed like a good choice.

You do not have to remove the charcoal from your filter when you use this product.  Copper Safe does not stain the water.  It may kill snails and plants.  This product can treat infected fish and keeps the parasites from spreading.

When dosing your tank with this medicine I suggest using an eyedropper with calibration marks.  The recommended dosage is one teaspoon per four gallons.  At five ml per teaspoon, this equates to 6.2 ml for a five gallon tank.  At the proper dosage this treatment will not discolor the water.

It is best to isolate the infected fish in a jar to keep this disease from spreading.  Once the parasite matures on the fish it drops off and sinks into the gravel on the bottom of the tank.  In the gravel the parasite reproduces and small, free-swimming parasites then seek out other fish to feed on.  Once the parasite attaches to the skin of the fish it is covered with a layer of epidermis and continues to grow while feeding on the tissues of the host.  The parasite is more vulnerable to treatment in its free-swimming state as it is not covered by a layer of fish skin that isolates it from the water of the tank.

Ich is a disease that can spread through an entire tank and cause loss of valuable fish.  With an early diagnosis, isolation of infected fish, and proper treatment of the tank this disease can be cured.