FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Has anyone used Chem-Marin's F.W.P to success? without success? Chem-Marin's page]http://www.chem-marin.com/index2.html[/link] click on Products then FWP, or [link=directly here

Since FWP claims to help attract and trap parasites in your filter media, how fine of filer media would you need? Or does it clump/agglomerate them?

any experiences would be appreciated.

The ad said "check with the pros"...

Well, I'm a "pro" and I've never used the product nor have I ever had ich in my tanks.

Maybe I've got a secret remedy nobody knows about.

--garyroland.

Maybe I've got a secret remedy nobody knows about.

properly acclimating fish and keeping constant water temp and parameters?

I haven't had ich since my very first tank, personally.

About that water treatment, I haven't heard of it. I would rather go for a filter that filters out such things, like a diatom filter, than I would a product that was supposed to make it filterable through a normal filter. More believable to me, personally.

You got it, Jake...

--garyroland.

gary,

1st of all, you did not really answer my question, nor contribute any real information about the product.

2nd, I concede I am new at fishkeeping, and this is my first tank, but sometimes you can do everything right and problems still occur. That is, I did acclimate the fish, I did keep the water temp and parameters constant, without using any chemicals I might add, and I did 15-20% weekly water changes. I even fishless cycled, so that none got injured in that process -- while keeping fish in there, never a trace of ammonia or nitrites, and nitrates never got above about 25 ppm.

And, my tiger barbs most likely have ich or some external parasite since they are scratching on the decor and flashing. But, I have tried to jump on the problem early BEFORE white spots occur, so that the small problem did not become a large problem. So, I tried the heat method to no avail, then I tried Rich-Ich+ with little success. Little success = I did not see the problem spreading, but it was not improving either. Then I read that formalin-malachite green combos are more ineffective in high pH and high hardnesses, which I have.

So, pardon me for seeking alternative methods of taking care of Ich, rather than dumping extra medicine in my tank and most likely making everything worse. And, I might add, that I was trying to see if anyone had experience with this product, before I dumped a load of it into my tank too (actually before I even thought about ordering it).

It was the part about starving the parasites that I find hard to swallow. I've found a fry in a canister filter that had been there for weeks. Its growth was stunted, but it was still swimming around and it is still alive and doing well many weeks later. I know a fry is not a parasite, but even so...just because something is in the filter doesn't mean its going to starve there. Maybe " eventually" like the product says, but "eventually" isn't a term I like to see on fish medications or treatments, hehe.

Also, making the fish's slime coat overactive doesn't sound like a good thing to me to do on purpose. I could be wrong, but most fish's slime coat already does this naturally when the fish encounters certain health problems...problems you still have to treat anyway.

Lastly, I have a feeling that if it truly worked, you'd be hearing all about it from numerous people, and it'd be plastered all over forums. Something that works well and is different from other products usually gets a lot of attention, like Bio-Spira has. You can go to numerous forums and read about peoples experiences with it. A natural , non-copper, biodegradeable, won't hurt your plants or inverts parasite cure would have gotten a lot of attention if it really worked, imo...unless they just came out with this a few weeks ago or something.

Again, I have not used the product, but listed above are the reasons I would not use it, if that helps at all.

My reply was short and quick because there's just no future in dumping all sorts of concoctions in tank water...

Fish should not be treated for ich if there's no spots. Fish often "flick" and "itch" with no further signs of disease.

If you're concerned with parasites which "may" cause flicking and itch, a form of sudden dashing and sudden stops, the med "Clout" can be dosed which is very effective for a variety of parasites.

Again, we as hobbyists tend to stay away from miracle cure-alls, especially those that claim filters play a major role in capturing parasites.

That's just plain silly.

--garyroland.

I agree it was hard to swallow... that is why I asked. It appears that the freshwater version is indeed new, but the marine product looks like it has been around for some time. I was hoping someone may have had experience with it, but I too remain skeptical.

Most articles I have read on Ich indicate that white spots are not always seen -- that Ich may live in the gill tissue, where is cannot usually be seen. Or that the spots, while present, may be very small in the early stages. Or tough to see on certain fish (white spot on light orange scales in my case on tiger barbs -- if only the mossy barbs would have shown some scratching then I may have had a greater chance to see spots). Anywho, since the spots are not always seen, most recommend to treat early, so that the problem does not get out of control, and then try to treat a weaker fish.

Thanks for the recommendation on Clout. Just from a few google searches it looks to remain effective in high pH water, and on place even says "In practise, the product has rather better effectiveness on diseases of fish."