The Puffer Forum

I ve had a few F8 puffers for awhile and they been healthy and happy since day one. I recently added a rescued F8 and he seems to have ick. I noticed a couple of the other F8s have started flicking and rubbing against sand. I did not QT because my QT tanks are in use w/other fish; I didnt think this would happen.

Iam thinking about using API Super Ick Cure. Does anyone have any experince with this product and F8s? Dosage? Full? Half?

API Ich cure is still a suspect to what killed 16 tiger barbs.

Please do not use ich meds on your puffers.
library/hospital/fwich/

Adding a little marine salt to the tank will go a long way towards a cure. Follow the directions in the article.

Yep, just follow the article instructions.

Ich medications are generally lethal for puffers, its much easier and safer to do the salt and heat method It does take a few weeks, but it works great.

No more buying fish and not quarantining them!!!!

I never use any ich meds, ich is best gotten rid of as stated above with a salt treatment, higher temp and wc's.

Im happy to report that after almost 4 days of treating F8s with half dose of API super ich cure, i have seen improvement and best of all my 7 puffers are still alive. Before the treatment almost all puffers had alot of white spots on their fins and top of body. Now these spots have greatly reduced. Im guessing the medication is sorta working...killing the bacteria before it gets back on the puffer after reproducing.

Tomorrow my first full treatment will be over so I will do a 50% WC and let the fish rest awhile from meds. Ill prob boost up the salt abit instead.

So you decided to not listen to everyone who told you not to use meds? You don't know what those meds may do permanently to their immune systems & longevity of their lives...

erik7281 wrote:Im guessing the medication is sorta working...killing the bacteria before it gets back on the puffer after reproducing.

Bacteria? Ich is a parasite, not a bacterial infection...

Also, trying to kill off a parasite with 1/2 the recommended dosage, can just make the parasite stronger & immune to the stuff for when you might really need it for something. Better to just use the tried & true methods by long-term pufferkeepers here.

I felt really bad seeing poor little puffers covered in white spots scratching against the sand, plants, and rocks. I had the temp up to ~84F and added salt but they where still on the puffers after two weeks. I think that the meds helped out in killing the protozoan. Although it has not been completely irradicated, I beleive that meds sped up the process and I hope to seee it completely gone. Puffers are no longer scratching or flicking,a few puffers still have a couple of white spots attached to fin but nothing like it used to be.

Were you keeping up with the large WC too?

Pufferpunk wrote:Were you keeping up with the large WC too?

Well, Super Ick Cure instructs to do a water change after 1 full treatment. Dosing is to be given every 48 hours for 96 hours. After the 4th day you do a 25% WC, and of course, you are supposed to have carbon media out. During the treatment, I actually had my two Marineland Magnum 350 canister filters running. These filters can interconvert from a typical carbon-media canister filter to a water-polishing only filter. I took out the carbon and inserted the micron filters. This helped in removing fish waste and other particles in the water without absorbing any meds, as carbon would have. After the treatment, I did a 75% WC, added more salt. It seems like everything is under control for now. Ive just added some API Pimafix to aid with healing and prevent infections

I've personally never actually had to use any specific method to treat ich in a brackish puffer - even when I've seen it, it's always just died from the process of acclimating the fish to brackish, or bringing the tank itself up to brackish.