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Setup:

58g Planted Tank
Canister Filter
192W CF 6700K
Compressed CO2
PH: 6.8-7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Temp: 82F

Problem is that there are both fish and japonica shrimp in the tank. All commercial treatments say that they should not be used with crustaceans. Fish are scraping against plants and hardware in tank, swimming sporadically, and are then lethargic and won't eat. Anyone have any idea of a cure that can be used with the shrimp and be ok for the plants as well?

Thanks!

Hi,
The directions are, of course, correct. The critters you
refer to are VERY sensitive to copper which is the active
ingredient in the medications.

However, the best way to treat the tank is to take the
FISH out of the tank and put them in a QT tank. Treat
the fish in the QT tank and don't worry a bit about the
main tank. The parasite needs a host to survive and
propagate. By removing the fish, you remove the possible
hosts (shrimp and plants are not hosts) and any parasites
will die without the use of any medication.
Raise the temperature of the infected tank to about 78
degrees or what it says on the specific medication that
you will be using. Do NOT add any medication to your
planted tank - simply wait for about a week longer than
you are treating the fish in the QT tank.

For instance, if the medication says to raise the
temperature of the tank to xx then raise the temps of
both the main tank and the QT tank to that temperature
and treat only the QT tank.
Increasing the temperature increases the life cycle
of the parasite and instead of taking say, a month to
hatch, swim, attach, feed, fall off and breed, it may
only take a couple of weeks. The medication will also say
how much to add to the tank and how long to medicate.
Those instructions apply to the QT tank where the infected
fish are now living. Be sure to REMOVE any carbon from
the filter. It is best to use a sponge medium in the QT
tank during the medication. If the medication says to
treat for two weeks, wait an additional week (just to be
sure) before adding the fish back into the main tank.
Also, be sure to feed the fish in the QT tank during that
week with some high quality food to rebuild their stamina.
Also, be sure to acclimate them correctly and slowly to
the main tank. Don't do it in a hurry. These have been
sick fish and will be weak. The high quality food will help
but a bad job of acclimation could weaken them and cause
another outbreak.

Hope this helps...
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank,

Thanks for the information. I'll pass it on to my friend.
The 58g isn't actually my tank. I've had a few outbreaks of Ick when I initially set my tank up (42g planted hex). Since then I've been running a UV sterilizer...and have had zero problems since that point.

Thanks again and I'll try to let you know how the treatment goes.

Dan