Blue Tang with white ich, no QT available

[myst]

What is my best and safest method of removal? I have no QT or sump. I know dipping their food in garlic is supposed to help, any other suggestions? Medications that are safe to put in a reef tank? I have 2 skunk cleaner shrimps in the tank as well.

 

[FOSELONE]

cleaner wrasse ???

 

[itsthesong]

QT doesn't have to be a tank. It can be a brute trashcan, plastic rubbermain container, etc., all you need is pvc pipes for hiding a filter and a heater. Nothing too fancy. I would reccomend removing the fish and treating asap...time is of the essence. I have had good luck with placing food above the net, and when the fish eats, scooping him up. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't...but worth the try, IMO.

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10658817#post10658817 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by itsthesong
QT doesn't have to be a tank. It can be a brute trashcan, plastic rubbermain container, etc., all you need is pvc pipes for hiding a filter and a heater. Nothing too fancy. I would reccomend removing the fish and treating asap...time is of the essence. I have had good luck with placing food above the net, and when the fish eats, scooping him up. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't...but worth the try, IMO.

A QT also needs a nitrification filter to support the fish for the weeks needed to eradicate ich.

 

[fishyvet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10660158#post10660158 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wooden_reefer
A QT also needs a nitrification filter to support the fish for the weeks needed to eradicate ich.

No, it dosen't have to. I have never kept a cycled QT. You do have to keep up with water changes though. It really sounds like you don't have time to wait for a tank to cycle. Besides, most hospital treatments destroy the biofilter and then you're right back at square one.

My QT is a simple 18gal rubbermaid tote from walmart, a power head/or HOB filter for aeration, and PVC for the fish to hide in. A heater would be a good addition if you think the fish might get chilly. An ammonia badge will save you from doing multiple tests.

There are no reef safe medications proven to eradicate ich. Cleaner shrimp and wrasses do not make an appreciable impact on the parasite load.

The only proven methods of eliminating ich are hyposalinity or copper in QT and leaving the display tank fish-less (fallow) for at least 6 weeks. If one of your fish has ich, your entire tank is infested and all fish need to be removed and treated to break the parasite's life cycle. Check out the stickies at the top of the forum about Cryptocaryon irritans (ich).

 

[myst]

I don't have an extra pump, and I am in a really confined space with no room for an extra tank or tote or anything really, so it will all have to be done in the tank.

What is the best attempt to remove the ich without removing any fish from the tank?

 

[Jeff]

I had an outbreak of ich for the first time ever a couple weeks ago. i bought a bottle of "No Sick Fish" for $60.00 from my lfs and followed the directions and within 2 days the ich was gone. I also fed food soaked in Selcon.

Jeff

 

[Voyager1000]

Engine 7,
glad to hear the no sick fish product worked well for you, I've got a tang that started showing a few white spots yesterday, thought I might give that product a try.

 

[myst]

Thank you Engine, I am going to give that a try!

 

[fl_izzy]

i have lost several fish already and about to lose another. i will quarentine the remaining fish and treat. bad part is the treatment hurts live rock and inverts so make sure is only fish. by the way can ich affect hermitt crabs or any type of coral in the tank?

 

[Voyager1000]

fl_izzy, sorry to hear about your losses, from my own limited understanding of the subject ich cannot "infect" crabs or corals, however crabs and corals may be carriers if not isolated long enough for the ich to die off before finding a host fish.
best of luck, let us know what works for you.

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10660365#post10660365 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishyvet
No, it dosen't have to. I have never kept a cycled QT. You do have to keep up with water changes though.

It is of course understood that water change solves most problems, but who likes to do it? Do you want to do water change for weeks to eradicate ich?

So a cycled nitrification filter is necessary, practically.

So one has to plan ahead.

What I was hinting is whether there is cycled medium in the tank that can be taken out. This medium must have little or no invertebrate growth. Any treatment of ich will kill invertebrates and causes ammonia to rise (if too much for the existing population of nitrification bacteria).

And, a QT does not have to be a permanent thing. Put the nitrification medium some place, just a bucket, add fresh water at times, and feed with ammonia at times.