my yellow boxfish might have ich

[joshloh87]

just looking for a remedy... im using garlic not but hes not getting better but not worse either??? any suggestions

[Bergy]

Hey Josh, I see you made it...


Im hoping your BoxFish is still ok, and that we arent too late.

Greg and LAnny, (randy) are my desease and aggressive fish experts... hopefully they will check in shortly

[Just_Greg]

OK...for any and all who might be wondering...GARLIC DOES NOT CURE CRYPTO!

there is a school of thought that a fish that is fed garlic often will be "less desireable" to the pathogen, but this has to be done BEFORE the fact.  once a fish is infected, all garlic may do is keep the fish eating if said fish is attracted to the garlic.

the best methods are hyposalinity or formalin (IIRC, boxfish may be sensitive to copper-based meds).

personally, i like hypo (SG 1.009 measured on a refractometer), but unless you have a FO setup with no inverts, you'll need to do this in a HT, and closely monitor your water for NH3 spikes and pH crashes (< 7.8).  also, your DT will need to remain fallow (no fish) for 6 weeks (i go 8 weeks to be sure).

[Bergy]

garlic is an enticing type of food... it will hopefully, get your fish to eat foods that the fish may not normally like...

OTehr then the garlic being a vegatble, and having some nutrient, like greg said, it has not magical/mystical or medical powers

[Just_Greg]

i have a very sharp friend in NC who keeps boxfish, so i'll shoot her a PM regarding treating crypto with Cu-based meds, as well as ask her about her best ideas for treatment.  hopefully, she'll respond quickly...

[Bergy]

you can always send her a link to this forum/.question and she can post it directly

I canuse a resource to call on for these types of questions when i get stumped at www.allexperts.con

[Just_Greg]

you may know her, Bill...her name is Lisa Darmo (LisaD on most forums), and is a very sharp buddy of ours.  IIRC, she holds a Ph.D. in some type of biology (marine i believe), but is very quiet about her credentials.  we know her from the SH forum, but she's an oddball fish enthusiast as well...

here's what she said:

"My boxfish had crypto at one time, and I ending up treating the DT with quinine sulfate. It cured the crypto, and I lost no fish, but the corals were toast. Of course, the emp angel I had grown up/QT'd in that tank a couple years before ate every zoanthid, and my dogface puffer ate all the mushrooms, so there wasn't all that much left. smile.gif I have not ever tried copper or formalin on boxfish. I have treated crypto and velvet in puffers with formalin dips and that has worked fine. There is a nasty crypto going around that doesn't respond to hypo, so I hardly ever even try that any more."

i remember her telling me she uses quinine sulfate now that she mentioned it...

[Bergy]

you may know her, Bill...her name is Lisa Darmo (LisaD on most forums), and is a very sharp buddy of ours.  IIRC, she holds a Ph.D. in some type of biology (marine i believe), but is very quiet about her credentials.  we know her from the SH forum, but she's an oddball fish enthusiast as well...

here's what she said:

"...There is a nasty crypto going around that doesn't respond to hypo, so I hardly ever even try that any more."

i remember her telling me she uses quinine sulfate now that she mentioned it...

Sorry, dont recall meeting her or seeing her around... But that dont mean i havent, just means i cant remember


As for the comment about hypo...


hmm, must be a sad day when you cant reccomend hypo...  that useddd to be the curealll and goto treatment

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

you can always send her a link to this forum/.question and she can post it directly

I canuse a resource to call on for these types of questions when i get stumped at www.allexperts.con

What do you do about questions that you don't know

[Bergy]

you can always send her a link to this forum/.question and she can post it directly

I canuse a resource to call on for these types of questions when i get stumped at www.allexperts.con

What do you do about questions that you don't know

I usually make something up, and get really, REALLY detailed...

that is how you know i am full of BS!!!!








hehehehehe



I am not bashfull about tellin folks i dont know something when i dont...  I will also suggest that folks come here and ask others who may have more specific direct knowldge....

[Just_Greg]

you can always send her a link to this forum/.question and she can post it directly

I canuse a resource to call on for these types of questions when i get stumped at www.allexperts.con

What do you do about questions that you don't know

this is why it's important to know other peeps in the hobby and use them as resources...for instance, Bill and Jake are reef geeks, i know a bit about weird fish (like scorps and SH), Lanny knows a lot about biology, etc.

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

I usually make something up, and get really, REALLY detailed...

that is how you know i am full of BS!!!!

Your answer for me was awfully long...