# URGENT: Massive Ich outbreak



## FredTheFishHead (Jul 15, 2014)

I recently set up a 135 gallon tank and bought all my fish on-line through one of the sponsors of this site. Fish arrived 10 days ago looking good with only one DOA. Got them in the tank and after a few days, I noticed one of the species showing signs of ich. I treated the entire tank with Cupramine starting about 4 days ago. I have it at the recommend dosage level (measured by test kit) of .25 PPM. Since it is supposed to kill the parasite in the tomite stage I suspected to see less of a problem through the week. This morning I check the fish and the outbreak is 10x worse than before will all 25+ fish effected and many of them looking pretty rough. Apparently the Cupramine isn't doing the job and the Ich may be copper resistant. What I need to know is what other medication can I add that is not copper based that will work effectively with the Cupramine and not inadvertently kill my fish? I want to rush out and get it today, but need some suggestions.


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

The label on Cupramine states that it should not be used with any other medication, so I wouldn't risk it. Since you're already in the midst of Cupramine, I would let it run its course (14 days), then if the ich persists remove it with Cuprisorb and try another treatment.

I have used Paraguard in the past, and it can be combined with other medications like Metronidazole. I, too, just had a minor ich outbreak brought on by new fish, and I treated the tank with heat only, though this can't be combined with either medication.


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## Ramseydog14 (Dec 31, 2013)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

Here is a good article from the library section of this site. I've had to deal with it once..and this article helped me get rid of it. I think it was called Ich Guard+(API) maybe that I used..and then some of the tips like raising the water temp to 86+ etc. cleared things up within a week or so. I do remember Ich goes through a cycle, so it may be that it can get worse before it starts to get better... following a treatment. Hopefully that is what you are seeing.


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## FredTheFishHead (Jul 15, 2014)

My biggest concern right now is that it has gotten so bad over the past 4 days while using the Cupramine, that it seems the parasite has gone through its cycle without dying out as expected. Fish that once has about a dozen spots now have hundreds and are breathing with difficulty. I am certain I will be loosing fish tomorrow if I do not act quickly.


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## RFan (Aug 4, 2014)

I've had a lot of success with the heat and salt method. 86-87 degrees, 1 tbsp of salt per 5 gallons. Treat for 10 days or 3 days after the last sign of ich, whichever is longer. It's that simple and has been recommended to me by several reputable online cichlid breeders. My LFS manager who is generally reliable says that most of the good ich medicines have been removed from the market and some of them are deadly for catfish and plecos.

Your problem is that you can't use heat and salt with medicine. I don't know the protocol for switching. I suppose you'd have to get the medicine out of the water through water changes and carbon. But I don't know how long that will take.


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

did you remove carbon from your filters with Cupramine?


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## FredTheFishHead (Jul 15, 2014)

OK, day later and this is the situation. I lost 4 fish overnight. Yesterday I added "Ich Cure" by tetra which contains Malochite Green. The other fish seem to be doing much better with less spots and easier breathing. I'm also planning on bumping the temperature up to about 82 degrees to speed up the life cycle of the parasite. Hopefully this will get it under control. I don't use carbon in my filters. I don't plan on doing any water changes for about a week to let the medications do there thing and then I will do a large (like 50%) change.


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

My go to med for Ich is Chloraquin Phosphate. Its extremely effective and does not require a bunch of doses. Its also safe for scale less fish


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

FredTheFishHead said:


> OK, day later and this is the situation. I lost 4 fish overnight. Yesterday I added "Ich Cure" by tetra which contains Malochite Green.


Did you remove the Cupramine? Copper should not be combined with Malachite Green.



FredTheFishHead said:


> I'm also planning on bumping the temperature up to about 82 degrees to speed up the life cycle of the parasite. Hopefully this will get it under control.


Did you remove the Cupramine? Copper should not be combined with heat.


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## FredTheFishHead (Jul 15, 2014)

I did not remove the copper other than doing a 15% water change. I decided not to raise the temperature for just that reason (thanks for looking out for me Cichlid Guy  Seems that copper will lower the dissolved O2 content in the water and since it is looking so much better, I decided not to risk changing more parameters. From what I have read, Copper in the amine form is safe to combine with Malachite green which is why I went that route.


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

Glad to hear things are looking better. Hopefully the rest of your fish will pull through. :thumb:


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