Freshwater Flounder & Preventative Medicine

[jtipton]

I just picked up a "freshwater" flounder for my brackish tank. He is so bizarre, and will be a good fit for my tank, since he also takes live food (so does my butterfly goby waspfish). He is in quarantine for the week, getting his requisite parasite treatment. I decided to run my fish through a 4 day cycle of an organic ick treatment (Ick Attack). It also treats other single cell organisms, and does not contain copper, so it can be used with invertebrates. Let me know what you think of this strategy. This is my first time administering preventative medicine. I also need a good name for the little guy. The best name so far is simply Flounder. Every time I hear it, I think of the movie Animal House.

 

[andywg]

Considering the lifecycle of ich tends to be around 14 days, a 4 day treatment is going to do little.

 

[jtipton]

The medication say to use it for 3-4 days because ick will be in its free swimming form within that time, and only live on the fish for 3 days before dropping off. Once they drop off the host, they are easier to kill.

 

[andywg]

The total life cycle is 14 days, of which most is spent in a state immune to treatment (either dividing before expelling more free swimmers, or living on the fish). To be truly effective against white spot you have to be looking at 3 weeks minimum for treating, probably longer.

Check out the skeptical aquraist's page on ich.

 

[Fella]

On the plus side, if he's in freshwater at the moment, brackish water will certainly help wipe out the ich.