Eradicating Parasites with Vitamin C

You may have read it at some point. Note though that I updated the article not too long ago, so you may wish to check it again and read the document over once more as it explains "why" Vitamin C can be used and "how" it works to some extent.

Note that the exact scientific explanation is not quite known yet and I am conducting research and will be conducting more research on vitamin C now that I am in Atlanta and have more time to do so as we no longer sell and distribute our products ourselves but have made arrangements with Alan Adams to do so for us and on our behalf. We still maintain control over the quality though, so what you will be buying are genuine TAT products. As a result of this change we have a new name: Thiel Technologies.

That document also points out in "what areas" Vitamin C is useful besides the eradication of parasites (and there are plenty). One important such area is the detoxification of the liver of fishes that were caught with sodium cyanide, for instance. Treating such fish with Vitamin C for a prolonged period of time, and at high dosages, may very well make the difference between the fish getting healthy or dying.

Scroll down the main index page and look at the colored boxes on the left and you will see the direct link to it. If you have not read it, Click To go to our main page now . Or scroll up in this document and use the link I created to access the Vitamin C article directly from here. To return to this article after you read the Vitamin C one, you can use the "back" command of your browser. Alternatively, you can just retype the web page address and reaccess the NetClub ?. Should need it it is http://www.athiel.com

After you have read it, let's proceed from there (or here) onwards:

• We have learned that using Vitamin C will help build up fishes' immune systems, allowing them to better fight off disease(s). This is an important point to remember and factor in, as stronger fish are "more" disease resistant in all aspects. They are more resistant to parasitic attacks but also to bacterial disease for example. Note that not all diseases are treatable with Vitamin C but that even in those cases where Vitamin C does not cure the fish of the disease, it appears to arrest certain diseases and allows you to cure the fish when C is used in combination with another medication. James Soloff has recently pointed that out to me and I will be investigating this further.
  
  
• When using Vitamin C to treat for parasites, we are dealing with the cause, not the effect. This means that we are working on providing the fishes with the ability (or more of it) to ward off parasitic attacks. We are "not" working on killing the parasites by using some chemical or some additive to do so.
  
  
• The end result is the same of course. If the parasites remain without a host for long enough, they will die anyway. We know for a fact that parasites without a host, die. If the fish can fight off the parasites they will die. This is the goal of the vitamin C treatment. Fortify the fish to the point where the parasites cannot remain attached to the fish, meaning they have no host. When this goes on for long enough, the parasites cannot multiply and grow, and their life cycle is interrupted. The end result of all of this is that the parasite cycle is broken and the parasites die as a by-product of not having a host.
  
  
• The key, then, is to dose the aquarium with Vitamin C, at high enough levels and for long enough, and soon enough after parasites appear, so the fishes can fight off these parasites. If they are already infested with them, they are fortified to the point where they can rid themselves of them, because their immune systems are strong enough to allow them to do so.
  
  
• Often this is done by the fish(es) producing more and more slime, thus preventing the parasites from getting a hold on their bodies and on other parts (gills and fins for example). Once parasites can remain attached to a fish they are able to feed and multiply, and infest more fish, or infest the same fish to a greater degree. Preventing this scenario of attachment and feeding is therefore a real good way to keep the fish clean and free of parasites, but to do so the fish need to be able to produce enough slime so the parasites cannot get a firm hold on the fishes. The more slime the fish produce the less the likelihood that the parasites can remain attached.
  
  
• We have noted in the vitamin C article that one increases the vitamin C dosage and concentration to therapeutic levels "progressively". The method for doing so was described in that article. Again, even though our (meaning TAT) Vitamin C is buffered, I cannot stress enough that you will need to watch the tank's pH anyway. The reason is that we are dealing with an acid and that although our C impacts the dKH less, it still does to some extent. It is important to keep that in mind. There is at this stage no Vitamin C that is buffered at the type of dKh levels and pH levels that we maintain in our aquariums. The best that can be done at this stage is to buffer it to a level of around 7.0 to 7.2
  
  
• If you use another brand of Vitamin C than ours, this becomes even "more" critical. Many who have used unbuffered C from a health food store have found out this to be so to their detriment. It is best to use ours, as it is made for aquariums and buffered with compounds that are aquarium buffers, not human stomach buffers.
  
  

  Note that I would gladly give you options here and not say "ours", but at the time of this writing no other manufacturer offers vitamin C specifically made for aquarium use. That is the reason I recommend you use the Thiel Aqua Tech one.
  
  

• Raise the dosage progressively, as recommended, and make sure you add the correct dose every day, or even twice a day in cases where the parasite infestation is really severe. When you dose twice a day, do so once in the morning and once in the evening. You could add the required amount in the morning before leaving for work, and again in the evening or 9 to 10 or so hours later than the first addition.
  
  
• The chemical potency of Vitamin C in an aquarium is about 8 to 9 hours maximum, so there will be no build up of Vitamin C concentrations. On the other hand, because the chemical potency exhausts itself, if you want to continue the treatment, (which you need to do as long as you have not cured your fish + a few extra days) you need to add more vitamin C.
  
  

  This can be easily illustrated by watching the ORP (redox potential) of the water. Soon after adding vitamin C, the ORP will drop dramatically (a normal chemical reaction). This does actually not affect the animals as the drop is more artificial than real. The water quality does not drop but the ORP changes because of the sudden liberation of many different ions into the water. When the Vitamin C exhausts itself and when the actual concentration starts to go down, you will see that the redox potential starts to slowly rise again. By the time it reaches the level it was at before you began the treatment (or sometimes a little higher), you know that the chemical potency of the dose you added 8 or so hours earlier has been exhausted.
  
  

• Here is an example of how to calculate how many milligrams of C you need to add to your aquarium. Say you wanted to achieve 50 ppm concentration. Your aquarium is 50 gallons. That means that you need to add, every day, or every time you add it (e.g. twice a day) 50 times 50 or 2500 mg or 2.5 grams. Our tablets are 1000 mg ea. so you would need to add 2.5 tabs to that tank. Again monitor that pH and buffer with a complete buffering compound to prevent acid fall. This is just an example so substitute your own numbers to arrive at the amount you will need to add.
  
  
• Here is another example: say your tank is 55 gallons and you want to maintain a daily initial concentration of 5 ppm. To do so you would need to add a dose of 5 times 55 or 275 mg of Vitamin C.
  
  
• Once you notice parasites, treat immediately. Do not wait. You may be stressing the fishes so much by waiting, that the treatment may not succeed for all of them, or you may need to treat at much higher dosages. I have gone as high in concentration, in some cases, as 100 mg concentration, added twice a day (4 Purple Tangs infested with parasites for a hobbyist in California).
  
  
• Continue to treat until the fish are clean and are no longer scratching or twitching or exhibiting signs that parasites may be present. Do not stop when you think the fish look better, or you no longer see parasites. The treatment needs to be continued or the fish will break out with parasites again (this leads people to believe that C does not work, when in fact, they stopped treating way to early. This is of utmost importance if you want Vitamin C to do for your tank and animals what it has done for many others.
  
  
• This leads me to suggest that it may be a good idea to have a supply of Vitamin C at hand, stored in the dark, should you actually need it. If you do not have it and need to order, time between before the treatment starts will be longer. That is not a good idea. If you decide to get them at the last minute and you want them fast, you will need to order overnight, and that costs more money. In summary: it is a good idea to keep C on hand in the event that you need it quickly.
  
  
• How often should you test the pH? As often as you can, especially a while after adding a dose of C. Wait 15 to 20 minutes and then test and if needed, add buffer. Testing the dKH will give you a fairly good idea as to what is going on. It it remains stable around 8 or so, you need not worry at that time, but, the next dose may drag the dKH down and the pH with it. So it is necessary to test very regularly. Use only complete buffers, not baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). That will not do it! Complete buffers contain 4 or more ingredients, one of which is usually a borate compound.
  
  
• After all parasites have disappeared from the fishes, you should keep treating at least once a day but start reducing the concentration that you were adding. Depending on how high a level you were actually dosing, this may take up to a week. It is real good idea to keep treating at a low prophylactic dose after a parasitic infestation for another couple of weeks to ensure that the fish are really in good health and that parasites will not reinfest them. Err on the right side by continuing. You cannot do any damage by continuing for longer than you should, on the contrary.
• Note that some hobbyists have seen such remarkable changes in their fish (colors, eating, behavior) that they add C every day (granted at low concentration levels but they add it nevertheless. It is a good idea to do so. The concentration mostly used from feedback I receive fluctuate between 3 and 5 ppm.
  
  
• How do you bring the concentration down? Slowly and gradually, in the same manner as you built it up.
  
  
• Even when reducing the concentration keep an eye on the dKH and the pH. Do not take any chances as a rapid pH drop would cause stress. That would weaken the fish. This sounds complicated but it is not. All that is involved is monitoring your dKh and pH.
  
  
• Note that those of you who use KW drip systems will probably find that only minor adjustments to the buffer are necessary. This does not mean that this applies to everyone though. Testing is the only way for you to find out for sure. Do not take chances, check the dKH and pH while you treat. Acid fall is the last thing you need!
  
  
• As you may have surmised you will need tests for pH and dKH. Many brands are available so you should have no problem finding both.
  
  
• I hope that this article, and this update, sheds some more light on the use of Vitamin C. Should you have any questions, Email me directly from this link. I will be glad to give you more input and answer your questions.

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