Notorious Ick and Velvet Disease
Notorious Ick and Velvet Disease
I am not a marine biologist by no means. I do have 40 years of experience in saltwater marine reef and fish only tanks. I currently have one of each. Both being 100 gallons.
We all experience the two most dreaded diseases in this hobby line. That being ick and velvet disease. I have read almost every article and tried every method to eradicate these diseases from my tanks. Over the years one learns valuable lessons on what to try and usually have fish loss. I did too. What we have to understand that once you have these diseases and parasites in your tank they are usually there to stay. To rid these it's usually to let your tank run empty over a period of around 6 weeks. Even then if a new fish doesn't acclimate well and steps to ease stress are not taken-----BOOM it's all back.
Reef tanks are usually more resistant to these diseases if well established and regular water changes. I myself put one cup of Ruby Reef Kick Ick in my reef tank twice a week. That's only somewhat of a semi preventive step. I've had no issues in that tank. I have a Spotted Foxface, a Naso, an Atlantic Blue Tang, a Two Spot Bristle Tang, a Sebae Clown, Pygmy Angel, 7 Line Wrasse, a Mandarin and several cleaner shrimp, crab and snails. Not to mention several varieties of soft and hard corals. Pretty heavy load but I do use a Reef Octopus Skimmer and good filter media.
The fish only tank is a different animal. I have fought ick as well as velvet many times over the years. A fish only tank can be treated with copper if that's the route you rather take. Easier to catch a sick fish and put in a hospital/quarantine tank as well. A quarantine tank is very time consuming and a lot of hobbyist swear by them. Not a bad idea. In my fish only tank I have a Pink Tail Trigger, an Asfur Angel, a Horseshoe Tang, an Orange Shoulder Tang, and a clown trigger. Tangs are awful about being stressed and adding ick to your tank. They did mine. This procedure may be frowned upon by many but it's a method I use and it seems to work. It also cured popeye on my Asfur Angel.
I raised the temperature gradually to 84-85 degrees over 4-5 days. I load a good variety of foods with vitamins and garlic. This includes garlic bated pellets. I used Ruby Reef Rally each day until I notice that the diseased fish shows no signs. I also added one cup of Ruby Reef Kick Ick every other day along with the Rally. I turned off the skimmer and the UV. The tangs are doing well and the Angel as well. No signs of lesions or ick. A lot of people disagree with the effectiveness of these products and or procedures. But you have to do what works. Partial water changes are encouraged along the way. This doesn't work over night and you need patience. It took me 7 days of Rally and higher temps to see improvement. I'm not saying this will 100% work for everyone, but of all the many "fantasy miracle" drugs and methods, it works for me.
It's worth a try rather than to have an empty tank for 6 weeks. I have seen pretty good results using Cupramine too. Anything you use or try, you have to monitor the actions of the fish. I have since reduced the temp back down to 77-78 degrees. I hope this may help a frustrated individual. Whether it works for you or not all depends on your water and environment. It's the easiest of anything I've read or tried. Still no guarantee.
Good luck!!!