Continuing Ick problem - help with next steps...

G

GMich

New member
Hello - much debate on Ick related to treatment, time, etc...a little history on my issues:

Tank setup since Nov. 06 went fine with a Royal Gramma, Blennie and a Damsel. Added a Coral Beauty. CB got ick first, then RG. Had to remove Damsel because I think he was also stressing the two. Both are gone. Next, waited 5 weeks, increased temp to 80, slowly lowered salinity based on suggestions then tried adding a Royal and CB again, within 3 days, ick again. All of my parameters are fine with exception of Nitrate which hovers around 20(can never get lower). I setup a QT and tried removing the two, they didn't make it. Now, two weeks later I can see what I believe are the ick parasites all over the glass, etc. I plan to QT anything from now on however, how long should I wait and is there anything to treat the tank with (have Kent Marine Rx-P) in the meantime?

Pictures #3 and 4 of what I can see via attached link is this a huge Ick outbreak 2 weeks later? - thanks for the help.

http://galameca.smugmug.com/gallery/2611718#137781394

My setup is a Biocube 29 running Sapphire Aquatics skimmer.
Living with my corals, inverts and Cleaner Shrimp...
Doing weekly water changes...RO water Oceanic Salt

G
 
I think you may be getting some things confused

For ich treatment, I perfer hypo. ALL fish should be removed and treated in a hospital tank for 6 weeks after you notice the last ich spot drop off. Your main tank should remain fishless throughout this time. With no hosts the ich will die off.

I cant see your pics very clearly, it may be my pc screen. Im thinking that what you are seeing may be pods. Check this link http://www.melevsreef.com/id/pods.html Do they look like any of the pics. Since your tank is no fishless the pods are probably reproducing like crazy which is a good thing.

Here is a link on QT
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
Give it a read than ask anything else you want to ask
HTH!!!
 
If you only QT the new fish and leave the present fish in the main tank then the ich is still in the main tank and you will continue to have ich issues unless you QT all fish for at least 4-6 weeks after you see the last spot of ich on any fish in QT.
 
It takes 28 days for ich to hatch and try to find a host. If they don't find a host within 24 hours they die and thats hopefully the end of them. They can't survive being attached to anything else than fish. Quarantine without fish for 4-6 weeks.
 
They CAN be brought into a tank on anything although they can only feed on fish. QT anything that is wet.
 
If you have no corals or inverts in your display tank, you can treat with hypo in your display...although this will cause a small die off of your live rock. The best treatment for Ich IMO, is as follows.

Fishless tank for a period of 8 weeks. Some say 6, I suggest 8. I suggest this because I did a 6 week treatment and it either came back or was reintroduced somehow...lol. While display is fishless, treat ALL fish in QT with hypo. While doing hypo, make sure you use a refractometer to keep levels at or below 1.009. Anything above may not kill Ich. Do daily or twice daily top offs with fresh water to prevent your salinity from going above 1.009. Watch for spots of Ich to drop off. Keep hypo treatment for a period of 8 weeks AFTER all visible signs of Ich are gone. Again, I suggest 8 weeks for the same reason as above. I treated this way for 6 weeks and had Ich within a week of ending treatment. I kept my refractrometer calibrated...didn't add anything new...not sure how it happened other than thinking that 6 weeks wasn't enough. Maybe I had a super hardy strain of Ich...lol.
 
FWIW, you can do all the QT and safety precautions imaginable and eventually you're gonna get something.. There is no way around it.

If you are going to be in this hobby for longer than a year or two you might as well bite the bullet and buy a UV light now. You do the math....with the cost of fish increasing i promise you you'll save money.

Regarding ICH, yes if the UV light will only kill what goes through it but a healthy fish will beat ICH on its own...

There is a reason LFS run them
 
There isn't any evidence that UV help with disease, although they apparently can make the water a bit clearer. As far as disease, sometimes a fish can beat marine ich on its own, sometimes they can't. I agree with quarantining everything. That should improve the odds dramatically.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9540559#post9540559 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buoymarker28
FWIW, you can do all the QT and safety precautions imaginable and eventually you're gonna get something.. There is no way around it.

If you are going to be in this hobby for longer than a year or two you might as well bite the bullet and buy a UV light now. You do the math....with the cost of fish increasing i promise you you'll save money.

Regarding ICH, yes if the UV light will only kill what goes through it but a healthy fish will beat ICH on its own...

There is a reason LFS run them
Click to expand...

Had a trace amount of ich on a new Flame Angel, added a UV sterlizer and mixed garlic with their food.

Result: No ich, super clear water and now an insurance blanket with the light. Should have installed one when I launched my tank...
 
Appreciate all of the feeback

Appreciate all of the feeback

great advice, looks like I'll enjoy any new fish for 8 weeks in a bare tank (for the most part) I don't have any fish left in the display only corals, inverts and cleaner shrimp. I have slowly brought salinity back to normal with water changes the last few weeks.

Question on quarantine anything that is wet...does this also apply to corals? Reason I ask, this would require additional lighting for the QT beyond standard hood I have with the 10gal.

Thanks again.

Gary
 
IMO I wouldnt put my trust into a UV or just hope that a fish can fight off ich on its own. Many have claimed ich has gone away on its own which I do think is very possible in some cases. However Ic is only visible during one stage in its life cycle which can make it hard to tell. Ich can also infest fish inside the gills and so on which would make it undetectable.

I would leave your tank fishless for the 6 - 8 weeks then you can begin to add new fish. You could purchase a new fish towards the end and QT the fish while you finish up the fishless tank, then when its ready your fish will be all set to be added in.

As far as the corals go some QT corals some do not. Some do fresh water dips in hopes to rid the coral of anything bad. Depends on the coral and where you got it from i guess. Just try to be as safe and as careful as possible.

GL
 
GMich, I guess the best advice would be to QT anything wet. Ummm, I don't know how many of us do that. Probably not as many as should. I don't. I've been lucky. You're right though, we would all need to have a QT tank that has appropriate lighting for corals. I guess it's a choice we all need to make...just as a fish QT tank. I learned my lesson the hard way with fish QT. Maybe I'll smarten up about Coral Qting before learning a hard lesson...lol.
 
I've not always been good about coral quarantining, but I'm getting better. I do use Flatworm eXit and an iodine dip as a prophylactic now, tnough.
 
Anything wet means anything wet. Does this mean you need to buy better lighting to QT corals? If you want to do it properly, yes.
 
Well I don't claim to be an expert reefer...i've not written a single book about it...but what i can say is that i've ran 2 fish only stores in my life and adding UV lights to the salt water section was the best decision I made for both stores. I'm not a Statistician either but i can do simple business math and i can count live fish vs dead fish.

Regarding ICH and UV lights...I'm not a Dr or a Vet but I never treated ICH in the large angel / tang tanks with anythign other than UV lights and they worked and trust me when you have new shipments of tangs you will have ICH every single time!!!!!

Split hairs all you want about UV lights they work to cut down on whatever is killing your fish...

They aren't the endall answer to everything but they will save you money and headaches in the long run. I didn't add one to my reef until recently....after a week of it hooked up i shook my head and called myself a idiot for not hooking it up earlier.
 
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