Possible New Cure for Ick?

[ccsc3400]

Sounds great if it works....I always used garlic, but am curious to see the results here.

[Mmaggicc2]

Definitely !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cratylus]

I wasn't aware that anyone else had thought of this method before, let alone used it with success. I realize my little test fails to meet the rigors of the scientific method, but my main concern at this point is to see if it works or not. If it does, great! If not, oh well.

Day Four Update...

Another feeding with ginger last night. Afternoon check of the fish yields no white dots! I'm tempted to skip a few days to see if the ich comes back... NAH!!! I'm gonna keep it up for at least 2-3 weeks to see if the ich comes back while I'm still using the ginger supplement. I'll keep you all posted. Hang on for the ride! These daily updates are boring, I know, but if the end result is success... well, I think it will be worth it!

[berger034]

Originally posted by ReefEze
Wow, if that works you could call it the "cratylus method" and be instantly promoted to reef god.

I dont think the real God would look to kindly on this reef God thing seeing that he is God over everything. you know, just the other day I talking to the real God and he said to me, "you know Paul, i'm God and i am the God over everything." You know sometimes that God can be a pompous jerk, but if you look at it he can be a pompous jerk, because well, hes God. He's also the funniest guy too, not as funny as his son jesus, but he is funny.

jesus, now theres a comedian, hes no margaret cho, but hes hilarious. when you go to a party, you should bring jesus along just for the attention. we were at this kegger and the cops came, jesus was no where to be found so they took the kegs. if jesus was there it would have been like, "oh jesus, these are your friends huh? well have fun and tell your dad we said hi." so jesus come back after the cops leave and turns water into wine. instant party my friends. and the girls. that jesus gets so many chicks and who can blame him. the guy is ripped. jesus has a 6 pack liek no other i tell you.

the only thing about jesus though is hes always performing these stupid miracles. just the other day we were going to the club and jesus stops to heal this leper. i was like "yo jesus, they're gonna close the VIP list man. hurry up." but nooooo, hes got help the weak. he would be a cool guy if he kept his priorties straight.

with the ginger though. i will be using it on my cow. i'll try anything to get him back up. that would be cool if this was a great cure and you did end up calling it the "cratylus method". i keep trying to get jesus to perform his miracles on my cow but hes always busy getting ready for something called "Rapture". he says its like Y2K so i will be getting water, batteries, flashlights, and some other stuff for my Rapture Kit ready.
berger034

[cratylus]

Day Five Update:

Same as before, still no sign of ich, no adverse reactions by any inverts. This is almost too good to be true!

On a side note, I think Berger may have taken one too many Sunday school classes in the past and one too many hits from his bong tonight.

[FireEater]

Tagging along also to see.......Mark

[CAT]

Are the fish actually eating the ginger root? I tried to put powdered ginger in the food last night and the fish spit it out...

[cratylus]

I mix the ginger in with a special homemade blend of fishfood that I make... oysters, shrimp, krill, algae, plankton, flakes, etc. I mix the grated ginger in with the food at a ratio of about ¼ teaspoon of ginger per tablespoon of food. One everything is mixed (in the blender), I put the mixture in individual feeding squares and freeze it. When I want to feed, I just pop one square out and put it in my tank. Everything gets devoured! I think the raw oysters & shrimp "cover up" whatever pungency there is to the ginger. It might also help to buy a milder form of ginger root (such as Jamaican or Japanese). I also soaked mine first to clean it... that may have taken out some of the pungency too. At any rate, my fish are eating it and it seems to be working at this point. But I realize it's still early. Or, the ick may have gone away on its own and this ginger isn't really doing anything at all. I don't know. I'm just reporting what I see in my tank; I leave it to everyone here to draw their own conclusions. I do think that it is at least worth reporting.

[reefpod]

You should come out with your own product, or sell the idea!

[Jamesurq]

tag - I'm in...

Interesting.... And as another side note - there's no such thing as too many bong hits...

[mschloss]

tag

[john f]

I am really suprised at the level of interest in this thread.
This guy is on day 5 of an Ick outbreak.
They way the crypto cycle works it is NORMAL for no ick to be on the fish at day 5.
Also,
cryptocaryon infections often self resolve with no treatment.
The fact this guys outbreak appears over at day 5 is NOT NEWS and means absolutely nothing.

Now,
If he took 10 clownfish infected with cryptocaron, split them into two equal tanks, and fed one tank the ginger and the other tank the same food minus the ginger, then we MIGHT suspect there is something to this.

To show how meaningless this thread is...............

I got in a new firefish about 3 months ago. Within a week he had Ick in my 15 gallon work tank. About the same time I added some calcium and did a water change. The ick went away and never came back.
Should I claim that calcium and a water change cured his ick?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!

His infection probably self resolved due to the fact that the other two fish in the tank are seahorses and are not likely to contract cryptocaryon, and firefish are pretty hardy fish and can shake off minor cryptocaryon outbreaks.



John

[melev]

On the merits of whether ginger works or not, I've got no idea but I find the concept interesting, to say the least.

And for all of you guys playing "tag", did you know there is an option at the base of each thread that you can click to "subscribe to this thread."? Purely FYI, not trying to be rude.

[Looper121]

Interesting post, but why can't people just read the posts, rather than "tag!" them. It is ridiculous.

Sorry now that that is out of the way, hearing that is very intersting. Is there anyway you could maybe quarantine a fish the next time and then test agian with ginger. Maybe then, the erradiacation could be directly contributed to the ginger. This is just an idea...

[JOHNNYHO]

ahhhhhhh, just waiting

[FireEater]

Looper121 wrote:

Interesting post, but why can't people just read the posts, rather than "tag!" them. It is ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous?

Did we break a board etiquette rule somewhere?

Mark

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by melev
And for all of you guys playing "tag", did you know there is an option at the base of each thread that you can click to "subscribe to this thread."? Purely FYI, not trying to be rude.

Thanks, just saw it.

Originally posted by Looper121
Interesting post, but why can't people just read the posts, rather than "tag!" them. It is ridiculous.

You never lost track of a post?

[melev]

Originally posted by FireEater
Why is it ridiculous?

Did we break a board etiquette rule somewhere?

Mark

No, but this is how I see it (and perhaps others feel the same way?):

When I respond to a thread that has a topic I'm involved or interested in, RC marks it to notify me next time something is added to the thread.

Email notification is sent out, and I'll follow the link to the next response(s) posted. It's rather annoying to come back just to find a message that says "Just tagging along!" or similar.

This can be especially frustrating if you are currently waiting for an important answer to a problem your tank is having. You get the email notification, and excitedly return to RC to find the answer you were seeking, but alas....

By using the "Subscribe to Thread" option, you still get notification.

The above is purely an explanation of the process and not a judgemental comment on my part of others.

There were a number of people that "tagged" this thread, which seemed unusual ratio-wise, so I figured perhaps some were not even aware of the alternative available.

[FireEater]

As much as I use the "Subscribe to Thread" option you think I would have used it here.

I guess I just followed the leader so to speak.

No harm no foul and I do understand what you mean melev.

Mark

[jscarb2]

i would like to hear about the ginger not tagging and board rules i keep getting e-mail say their is new post but it is just people complaining

[cratylus]

Gotta address a few of the things john f mentioned...

First of all, not to pick at nits, but I'm on day 10 of the outbreak and day 6 of the ginger treatment. That may mean little in the overall grand scheme of things. However, I like accuracy.

Unlike john f, I'm not surprised at the interest my thread is drawing. I think people naturally take interest in new ideas within whatever hobby they pursue, reefkeeping being no exception. Since the ginger idea is new, that explains the level of curiosity. People are curious for the same reasons they would be curious if someone thought they found a way to keep dendronephthya alive and thriving for a long period of time. Or if somebody reported a new method for killing aiptasia. Or if a new type of lighting became available. People are naturally curious and even moreso if it's because of a possible new/better way of doing things.

That's not to say my ginger method is better. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I realize full well that my little "experiment" doesn't even come close to satisfying the rigors of the scientific method. It's simply me reporting what I'm finding. And I also admitted in my last post that "the ick may have gone away on its own and this ginger isn't really doing anything at all. I don't know. I'm just reporting what I see in my tank; I leave it to everyone here to draw their own conclusions."

If somebody wanted to do the experiment with the clownfishes that johnf suggested, I think that would be great. At least I have the discussion going... and that's how this hobby progresses and improves for all of us. It's how breakthroughs happen. You try new things... you employ different methods... you share and discuss with fellow reefers. All I did is take what I knew about the medicinal qualities of ginger and try to apply them to my sick fish. Did it work? Who knows. Again, at least I have the discussion going.

[AnAnemone]

Pure science vs. Applied science.
This side debate reminds me of SWF.com.
I responded awhile back about something on the side of my angel. It's gone now. Hopefully for good.

[looser]

Well said cratylus. Keep up the good work.

[ch0p]

keep , keeping us posted this is very interesting.

If it is a case of the ick cycle where it falls off the host fish, we should see infection again, but at more serious level...

thanking you.

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by ch0p
keep , keeping us posted this is very interesting.

If it is a case of the ick cycle where it falls off the host fish, we should see infection again, but at more serious level...

thanking you.

you sure about that? I had a case of it that I fought off with garlic and raised temp that by most opinions, fell off... It's been 4 months with no reoccurance. Is it a given that it'll come back? I was under the impression that unless you had some serious stress in the tank, the fish weren't likely to catch it again.