Ich Help

shortfuse9113 · 04/14/2013, 09:31 PM

Ok. so i just added some new corals after setting up my tank and i just noticed some of my fish are showing ich... How do i treat them in the reef when i dont have a secondary tank to put them in?

shortfuse9113 · 04/14/2013, 11:37 PM

They looked fine yesterday... now today BAM white spots

The sculpin · 04/14/2013, 11:46 PM

Remove them and treat with copper in a separate tank. Or... Do nothing feed garlic and hope for the best if they survive don't add any new fish for a couple months at least it will eventually die out. But it will take awhile. Took my tank three months but I haven't seen Ich or lost a fish in 6 months. Keep stress low and DON'T add any fish it will be a waste of money and fish.

Jerry W · 04/15/2013, 12:28 AM

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1990809

SUPERSTOCKRACER · 04/15/2013, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The sculpin

Remove them and treat with copper in a separate tank. Or... Do nothing feed garlic and hope for the best if they survive don't add any new fish for a couple months at least it will eventually die out. But it will take awhile. Took my tank three months but I haven't seen Ich or lost a fish in 6 months. Keep stress low and DON'T add any fish it will be a waste of money and fish.

yep, same thing happened with me .no fish for months.

ACBlinky · 04/15/2013, 08:08 PM

There isn't an easy way around ich. Remove all the fish, treat with copper at 0.6ppm, leave the display tank fallow (coral and inverts are fine), and after a few months in the QT the fish will be ready to return to a fully ich-free tank. If you do it right, you eliminate the parasite. Nothing can ever cause it to show up again, other than lack of quarantining future additions. ANYTHING going into the tank needs to be quarantined. Corals/inverts that are isolated for a week should be fine; the parasite can't survive more than a day or two without a host fish. Any future fish additions MUST be placed in quarantine for 6 weeks with copper, longer if they show symptoms.

A QT doesn't need to be fancy or expensive. A large Rubbermaid bin, a 50W heater (or consistently warm room), light source (window is fine, fish just need to know day from night) and biological filtration (HOB, canister, Fluval in-tank filters, powerhead quick filter filled with bio media and rubble, even an air-driven sponge filter will work). Add some hiding places made from inert, non-porous materials (PVC, ABS, HDPE, slate, granite, glass, etc) and you're done.

shortfuse9113 · 04/15/2013, 11:15 PM

Gotta love petco, they are having a dollar a gallon sale so i got a 40 gallon breeder to set up as a QT tank! woot! Starting to set it up today. Also have a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub I got to use for mixing water and curing rock and such later but i totally forgot about using it.

shortfuse9113 · 04/16/2013, 12:58 AM

My angel is looking a lot better today... I'm wondering if all the stress from me mounting corals and being in the tank a bunch this weekend caused it... I raised the temp and gave him some garlic on his food just to boost his immune system a bit.

shifty51008 · 04/16/2013, 01:34 AM

Congrats on the qt your fish will thank you.

And as orhers stated ich will not dissapear or die off in a tank that has fish. If you had ich and leave the fish in the tank the ich will always be in there weather you see the scars from them or not.

ACBlinky · 04/16/2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shortfuse9113

My angel is looking a lot better today... I'm wondering if all the stress from me mounting corals and being in the tank a bunch this weekend caused it... I raised the temp and gave him some garlic on his food just to boost his immune system a bit.

Ich has a life cycle. It's encysted on the fish (often in the gills, where you can't see it), then drops off and stays in the substrate. Then it bursts, releasing many more parasites which seek out a fish host. These dig in, encyst, and it starts again.

You will see spots come and go, and there will be days when the fish look fine. This does NOT mean the ich is gone, it's simply in another phase. Every time the cycle repeats in a closed system, the numbers increase dramatically. A few times through the cycle is enough to wipe out a tank.

Take the fish out, get them into a QT with copper. It is the ONLY way 100% guaranteed to kill ich, for good. 12 weeks isn't long in the overall life of your fish and your tank; take the time to do things properly and you'll thank yourself. Or, you can cross your fingers and hope, but this method seldom works.

04/14/2013, 09:31 PM	#1
shortfuse9113 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 61	Ich Help Ok. so i just added some new corals after setting up my tank and i just noticed some of my fish are showing ich... How do i treat them in the reef when i dont have a secondary tank to put them in?

04/15/2013, 12:28 AM	#4
Jerry W Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: PA. Posts: 2,873	http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1990809 __________________ Americans sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Current Tank Info: 37 gal; pair of mocha clowns, ywg and tiger pistol shrimp

04/15/2013, 08:08 PM	#6
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	There isn't an easy way around ich. Remove all the fish, treat with copper at 0.6ppm, leave the display tank fallow (coral and inverts are fine), and after a few months in the QT the fish will be ready to return to a fully ich-free tank. If you do it right, you eliminate the parasite. Nothing can ever cause it to show up again, other than lack of quarantining future additions. ANYTHING going into the tank needs to be quarantined. Corals/inverts that are isolated for a week should be fine; the parasite can't survive more than a day or two without a host fish. Any future fish additions MUST be placed in quarantine for 6 weeks with copper, longer if they show symptoms. A QT doesn't need to be fancy or expensive. A large Rubbermaid bin, a 50W heater (or consistently warm room), light source (window is fine, fish just need to know day from night) and biological filtration (HOB, canister, Fluval in-tank filters, powerhead quick filter filled with bio media and rubble, even an air-driven sponge filter will work). Add some hiding places made from inert, non-porous materials (PVC, ABS, HDPE, slate, granite, glass, etc) and you're done. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

04/16/2013, 01:34 AM	#9
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	Congrats on the qt your fish will thank you. And as orhers stated ich will not dissapear or die off in a tank that has fish. If you had ich and leave the fish in the tank the ich will always be in there weather you see the scars from them or not. __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

04/14/2013, 11:37 PM	#2
shortfuse9113 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 61	They looked fine yesterday... now today BAM white spots

04/14/2013, 11:46 PM	#3
The sculpin Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 356	Remove them and treat with copper in a separate tank. Or... Do nothing feed garlic and hope for the best if they survive don't add any new fish for a couple months at least it will eventually die out. But it will take awhile. Took my tank three months but I haven't seen Ich or lost a fish in 6 months. Keep stress low and DON'T add any fish it will be a waste of money and fish.

04/15/2013, 11:15 PM	#7
shortfuse9113 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 61	Gotta love petco, they are having a dollar a gallon sale so i got a 40 gallon breeder to set up as a QT tank! woot! Starting to set it up today. Also have a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub I got to use for mixing water and curing rock and such later but i totally forgot about using it.

04/16/2013, 12:58 AM	#8
shortfuse9113 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 61	My angel is looking a lot better today... I'm wondering if all the stress from me mounting corals and being in the tank a bunch this weekend caused it... I raised the temp and gave him some garlic on his food just to boost his immune system a bit.