All my fish have ich.

[Kremis]

My tank is a 180 gallon mixed reef, and almost all my fish have ich. The tank has been running for going on 3 years. The infected fish are:
3 pyramid butterflies
blue tang (has had ich before 3 times and pulled through, I think will be ok)
sailfin tang
pink margin wrasse (has had ich before)
2 purple tilefish
exquisite wrasse (has had it before)
clown goby
lubbocks multicolor wrasse (has had it before)
and a big fairy wrasse, dunno the name. (has had it before)
Other fish in the tank that are not infected (at least to my eye)
PIntail fairy wrasse
diamond sand sifting goby
snowflake eel
2 ocellaris clownfish
leopard wrasse
flame angelfish

as for tanks, I have a 10 gallon tank I can easily transfer into a hospital, and a 20 gallon frag tank I can too, but would have to move all frags out. Should I try to catch and treat fish or leave them be? catching would be pretty hard, as it is a 180 gallon reef.. I do have a fish trap though. I have read around, and it seems the only way to get rid of ich when its in the tank is to remove all fish and leave tank alone for 2 months. This is probably the third ich outbreak I have had. I think adding the 2 purple tilefish triggered it, because of all fish getting it again soon after. My question is, what should I do? What is the best course of action for me to take? I used to quarantine most fish, but the QT turned into a place to keep baby angelfish (freshwater, not salt :lmao: ) I know how to treat ich, I am just asking yall what you would do in my situation. Thanks
- kyle

 

[kmbyrnes]

I think you already know the answer, but I'll say it anyway.
You need to treat the fish in separate hospital tanks(s) and leave your DT fallow for at least 72 days.
And go back to QT'ing every new arrival.
Any other course of action is just asking for continued heartbreak.

 

[125mph]

You need a bigger hospital tank.. I used tank transfer method a few years ago when I had ich.. left tank fallow for 7 weeks... 72 days is 100% but I think 99.6% is good enough

Good luck catching the fish! I use egg crate to divide the tank into a "rock" side and a "fish side", then slowly move the rock to the rock side and push the fish all to the corner.. Then its easy to catch after that.. You need several containers to temporary hold the rocks though.

 

[Kremis]

My old hospital that is now my brother's 40 gallon breeder is taken up at the moment.. Would a 40 gallon work for keeping some of the bigger fish together, and maybe moving smaller ones into 10 gallon or cleaned out frag tank? Catching all the fish is gonna be a nightmare.. My blue tang knows very well what a net is and how to avoid it, but my pyramids are so dumb I could pluck them out of the water with my hands lol.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

You need a bigger hospital tank.. I used tank transfer method a few years ago when I had ich.. left tank fallow for 7 weeks... 72 days is 100% but I think 99.6% is good enough

Good luck catching the fish! I use egg crate to divide the tank into a "rock" side and a "fish side", then slowly move the rock to the rock side and push the fish all to the corner.. Then its easy to catch after that.. You need several containers to temporary hold the rocks though.

72 days is not 100%.

 

[Triggerfish]

the only way to get rid of ich when its in the tank is to remove all fish and leave tank alone for 2 months.

This is probably the third ich outbreak I have had.

I know how to treat ich

if you have been treating ich the way you have indicated, then that could be the issue. I would avoid the reference(s) you have been using, and take the recommendations here.

 

[Kremis]

if you have been treating ich the way you have indicated, then that could be the issue. I would avoid the reference(s) you have been using, and take the recommendations here.

I have read that you should quarantine fish for 4-6 weeks, which I did before my quarantine turned into an angelfish holding tank. I am not sure what you mean by "the way you have indicated." I treat for ich with cupmarine in the QT.

Angelfish will be going this weekend, some fish moved into there, others into a 20 and 1 or 2 of my smallest fish into a 10. I plan on moving the sailfin tang and maybe 1 or 2 more into a 20 today, because I most worry about him.

 

[Triggerfish]

doesnt sound like you're treating the DT appropriately. 76 days is the minimum fallow period.

 

[Kremis]

doesnt sound like you're treating the DT appropriately. 76 days is the minimum fallow period.

ah ok. I have not yet moved all the fish, and will be doing that this weekend. Thanks. And just wondering, which do you guys prefer? Cupmarine or hypo?

 

[pfan151]

ah ok. I have not yet moved all the fish, and will be doing that this weekend. Thanks. And just wondering, which do you guys prefer? Cupmarine or hypo?

I'd just buy 3 large Rubbermaid totes and do the tank transfer method (2 totes for TTM and one for a holding tank for during your fallow period. Id set up a HOB filter and some marine pure blocks or well established live rock (not from your tank with ich of course) in the tub they will stay in for 90 days and just do big water changes until the biological filter can keep up. That way you could get the holding tank starting the cycle while your fish are going through TTM. If you get the really big totes you might be able to get away with all your fish in one.

 

[Triggerfish]

agree with above. best option there. anything else is not as guaranteed and comes with side effects.

 

[Kremis]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is TTM?

 

[pfan151]

Search for tank transfer method on this forum. There are a bunch of threads about it.