# API Super Ick Cure -review



## BatmanTheCat (Dec 10, 2014)

I recently had to use the Api Super Ick Cure formula on my betta and figured this would be a good place to post a review of my experience with this product.


*TL;DR * There are mixed feelings about using chemical products to treat ich, but this one worked very well for me even on improper equipment, if you follow the directions. 4/5 stars


*API Super Ick Cure Stats:*
Active Ingredients- Benzaldehyde Green and a little PVP (1.3ml b. green and 1% PVP for every 5ml dose)
Dose- 5 ml (1 teaspoonful) for every 5 gallons of water; a half dose should be used on sensitive or scaleless fish

*Review*
Ok, so I'm a college student living in a dorm, with my female betta fish, Sipora. My family has had betta fish in the past but this is my first time taking care of one on my own. Right now, due to my limited college resources and means, Sippy is in a 3 quart tank, which is about 72 degrees on its own, without a heater. I know that is way way to small and too cold, I'm going to have both of those things fixed when I go back home in a week and get a 5 gal tank and heater.
Anyway, about two weeks ago, I started to notice what I thought looked like small bubbles on Sippy, but they would not dislodge. I spent a long time on the internet, and on this site, determining the cause and then confirming my hypothesis that it was indeed ich. I think she contracted it because the poor conditions I had her in stressed Sippy out and lowered her immune system so that the opportunistic ich parasite was able to attach. At this point, I removed the pebbles and live plants from my tank and did a 100% water change. Based on how I and the fish are living in a dorm, without great fish equipment, I couldn't treat the ich with just salt and heat as many people suggested, so I also went back on the internet to research chemical cures. There's a lot of conflicting information: that some chemicals work, and that some don't, even within reviews for one product some people are super positive and others not so much. I really wanted to order Aquisol, but it seems like it has been discontinued, so I ordered the other product I could have shipped to me (my campus is out in the literal middle of nowhere), API super ick cure, which had very mixed reviews.
I got the API stuff about 5 days after I determined Sippy had ich (during those 5 days i was doing 100% water changes every 24 hours), and began administering it immediately. By then I had moved Sippy to my makeshift 1 gal hospital tank (which is actually just a poland spring jug of water- like I said, I'm in college). The directions for the Api cure liquid were 5ml for 5 gallons. I used a new medicine dosage syringe to measure out exactly 1ml of the stuff. At this point even though I didn't have a tank heater I did try to carefully raise the temperature to 82 degrees as per the API instructions and online referrals. Unfortunately the only way I was able to do this was by moving Sippy's jug to a floorboard heater and checking the water temp with a digital food thermometer (which is only for this purpose, never actually used on food -it was the only thermometer I could get with an appropriate range). Which, as you can guess, did not result in incredibly stable temperatures. I was also adding just a few grains of salt to the water.
I think its worthwhile to note that when I first spotted the ich on Sippy, she was acting normally. Four days later however, just before I got the ich medicine, she was acting very sick ans subdued, with clamped fins and minimal movement. 
Now after only 48 hours with the API cure, Sippy is once again moving about like her old self, boldly displaying her vibrant blue color and fins. And I'm actually really surprised but, after careful observation, there is about an 80% reduction in appearance of ich on her. I will of course continue to administer a few more doses to make sure as much ich as I can get is gone, but I think Sipora will be fine after this encounter with ich, especially once I can get her into more favorable conditions for a betta and her immune system recovers.
So, overall, I think this stuff works great, even for bettas that have been treated very haphazardly.


*Other stuff about API super Ick cure:*
The main ingredient, benzaldehyde green, is a biological stain, and dye. So it will stain stuff in a decorative or planted tank. I would only use it in hospital tanks, or at least remove things you wouldn't want discolored. I would also remove plants, and separate fish that need to be treated at a half dose from fish being treated at full dose.
It warns against treating scaleless or otherwise sensitive fish with it.
It also claims to contain an artificial slime-coat to comfort the fish.
I think it is better to treat with this while also raising water temp (to 82-85 F) so that you can cure the ich sooner and not have to subject your fish to prolonged periods of chemical exposure if treating in cooler water.
Use some thing (a medicine dosage syringe) to dose precisely and do not overdose.
It can also cure other parasitic diseases, such as velvet.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

API Super ick cure worked for me as well. Very good product! Glad to see a review on it.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

*Waiting for the anti-med fish keepers to throw in their two cents.*

I am a strong proponent of medicating when needed vs other 'natural' remedies. If there is a specific product made to combat a ailment, why not use it? The worst part of this hobby is the spread of unfounded 'science' of why certain products are bad. Much of it is hearsay without actually experiencing it first hand. I say to those people, if you don't want to medicate your fish because of your personal opinions, that's your business. Please don't try and deter others from doing so by spreading unfounded science.

Wow. I went off on a mini rant. It's a topic that has bugged me for a long time.

Anyways, I have also used API and other ick medications. I have had success with every brand.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I had a similar situation with my female. I had picked up on a whim because she was obviously too young (~2 months) to survive the way my store keeps bettas. But they had a big ich break out in another tank that day. I had her in my 1g QT tank with a heater but when she developed the ich the temp dropped here and my heater could not keep it up where I would need it for salt treatments. So I turned to Super Ick Cure. 

You say you used a syringe? For me there was an indent in the measuring lid that was for 1ml. Since I was doing 100% wc's cause she was a baby, I had to redose. Whole time I was so scared I was over dosing her but she didn't seem to bothered. All the ick was gone after only like 2 treatments, but obviously I finished the treatment. So for me it worked great.

Only complaint I really have is that it dyed half the thermometer's suction cup blue xD


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