Ich.

Is there any point in treating Water ( Fresh ) with Anti-ich medications to prevent outbreaks from newly introduced Fish? I know the logic in QT but just IF you hadn't got a QT.

Kev.

Thanks John.

Kev.

Had a think Kev.

You could do a newcommer natural treatment, no meds every time you add newbies

1. A dip for external bacteria, salt and Meth blue worked 100% in this respectfor me thus far.
2. Add a 1 micron sponge to the filter for the duration
3. For the duration of adding a newbie, if possible also raise to 28 degrees, this will assist in also catching more of the free swimmers in the added fine sponge
4. Increase flow for the duration.


Just off the top o me head matey am sure you can alter improve on this, better than just popping them in and hoping:)


Mark

Thanks for the reply guys , I don't have a problem, I always manage to sort things out the conventional way, Heat, meds and Qt I'm just asking if there is anything that can be added to the Water prior to introduction of new Fish to preempt or contain an outbreak, a short-cut if you wish.

Just thinking out loud.


Kev.

I try not to use white-spot medication unless absolutely necessary (as a general rule).

But, I’m giving eSHa Exit a try-out to see if it changes my opinion on ‘just-in-case’ white-spot medications.

Although new fish are a potential source of white-spot, there is also a high chance that the white spot is in the tank already……the problem there being the new fish is the most susceptible to the white-spot in the tank, and (hence) may be the first to show signs of white-spot (the existing fish may have some immunity to the strain in the tank). So, don’t always blame it on the newbie fish.

I’d say that maybe consider the potential of using a ‘just-in-case’ dose of Myxazin or eSHa 2000 to help on the bacterial front. These are not antibiotics, and can be used with relative safety (safer than most white-spot medications, and much more responsible than routine antibiotic treatments).

I wouldn’t be too keen on raising the temp to 30 C after intro of new fish (even though many of my tanks are at 30 C anyway). Although 30 C or higher is normal for white-spot treatment, if there is an introduction of a bacterial infection then 30 C may just help accelerate that a tad. Even when setting up a new Discus system, I tend to drop the temp to about 27 C initially and make sure the fish are feeding and free of TB before raising it to 30 C.

I’d go for a good water change before introducing new fish (beef-up the redox), clean corners and crevices, make sure the water is well disturbed throughout the tank and dose with Aqua-Safe and generally reduce stress as much as possible.

Mark’s suggestion of a fine filter might be worth having in-place all the time if one has the pump power to drive it.

Of course, 6 weeks of quarantine in a comfy furnished tank is an option that should be first on the list, but such quarantine methods seem to have gone out of fashion a bit in both shops and in private collections.

ian

Thanks Ian,

That's more in line with what I was wondering.

Kev.

stretnik wrote:

Thanks Ian,

That's more in line with what I was wondering.

Kev.

I have some fish that are considered sensitive….eg chocolate gouramis, knife-fish, and some more primitive fish that I would not treat willy-nilly….hence, why I’d be specifically cautious of using most anti-white-spot treatments as routine.

The adage of ‘prevention is better than cure’ should be taken in the context of ‘prevention without using the cure as the preventative agent’ (it’s a bit like continually doing up on anti-biotics as a means to preventing pneumonia…..not a great idea).

So I guess that I have a certain angle that I look at things.

Ian

@ Ian,

That makes total sense.

Kev.