Marine Ich - Non Copper Medication

Marine Ich. Two words that can send shivers downThere are a variety of brands on the market that do
the spine of any marine aquarium hobbyist. Thesenot use copper. They generally use a mix of
marine parasites are difficult to eradicate in theformaldehyde, malachite green and a host of other
display tank and they can quickly infect every otheringredients that claim to work against all kinds of
marine aquarium fish in the tank within a week.marine parasites.
While copper has been the medication of choiceAs someone that has used these types of
when dealing with marine parasites, it is also quite amedications in the past, i can safely say that they do
lethal substance. As such, there are some fish thatwork, but not as effectively as copper does. They
do not react well to copper treatment. The dwarfgenerally take longer to eradicate marine ich than
angelfish (centropyge) are one species that is quitecopper does but are less stressful. Most importantly,
sensitive to copper treatment, in particular, the flameone cannot rely exclusively on these types of
angelfish.medication for marine ich treatment. Rather, it is the
In one report conducted by an American University,combination of the medicine and two key factors
over 50 percent of all flame angelfish perished whenthat increase your chance of success tremendously.
undergoing copper treatment in controlled conditions.These two factors are:
Because copper is essentially stressful to our marineA) Good water quality
aquarium fish, many companies have been producingB) A nutritious and balanced diet
remedies that are effective against marine ich minusWithout the above, the chances of eradicating
the stress levels that are commonly associated withmarine ich using non copper based medicines are
copper treatment.reduced dramatically.