Dreaded Ich

K

ktnjer

New member
So I noticed my small hippo rubbing on the rocks and looked closer and he has the little white spots on him. So here's my questions...

Do I just set up say a 20 gallon tank and put some fresh sand in it for them to live in?

Should I take all corals out of my 75 too? If so, would they have to be put in a separate tank than the fish seeing the parasite can harbor on the live rocks?

Should I add any chemicals to the water in the 75 to get rid of the parasites or just let it cycle for a couple of weeks?

Here we go.....weeeeeee
 
Is he a new addition? Have you added any other fish since you had him? does anyone pick on him? If your water is in good condition and there is no one picking on him I would keep an eye on the fish for a week and make sure he is eating. If it lasts more than a week then I would set up another tank with no LR just some PVC for him to hide and a good filter or you can do that any way instead of waiting. IMO I would wait and see.
 
Well we just added a Gramma and it is pretty infested too. We also noticed some on the Sailfin.

I just did a little researching and backed off my salinity to 1.018 and did a 30 Gallon water change to add to the treatment.

I am afraid of freshwater dips.

All the fish are eating as normal though so they aren't stressed. Just look like white pox broke out and they are rubbing on the rocks. The Hippo is doing it the most.

So I am thinking it came from the Gramma. That was the last addition to the tank.

Oh I also turned the heat up and i am maxing out the temps at around 81-82* to help them out a little and keep them active.
 
Hypo is a very easy to do treatment and cure for ich BUT you can only do it for fish and NOT corals, inverts, etc. Hypo must be performed at 1.009 SG in a separate QT tank for no less than 4-6 weeks bare minimum and since you now have other fish that are infected you need to put them all thru hypo(or copper but hypo is much easier). While doing hypo on all fish in a separate tank your main tank being fallow will make it possible for the ich to die off in the main without fish to feed on.
 
I have also heard that raising the salinty a bit higher than normal is acceptable and sufficient for Ich. You may want to try a UV sterilizer as well... Give me a shout if you need anything... I have one new in the box if you are looking for one...
 
NbMaxxx, that would not be true. The only proven and documented cures for ich are hypo or copper or tank transfer method. UV, at its very best, has been shown to do nothing for ich.
 
Hmm....very good info Freed.

Thanks for the info as well Eric...

So Freed....let me get this right. Put all fish over into a QT tank, drop the SG to 1.009 for 4-6 weeks, and that should be all to it?

I am guessing that gives the main tank sufficient time for them to die off?
 
That would be correct. Drop the salinity over a two to three day period after you put them in at their normal salinity. Without fish in the main tank, the ich will die BUT be sure you QT anything wet in the future to keep ich from getting back into your main system.
 
Yeh I read that if you QT fish and corals before you put them in your main tank then that reduces ich. I never knew that...

Thanks alot!

Now I gotta hunt around for a 20 gallon tank...all I got is 2 5 gallon tanks and a 55 gallon right now that are empty.
 
So I am just wondering...this is a long shot...but i have a 30 gallon sump on this 75. If i cut off the overflow to the main tank and none drains down into the sump, drain the sump, then refill it and put the fish down there, would that work or is the ich on my rubble and chaeto in my sump as well?
 
Hypo is best done in a barebottom tank with PVC for hiding places. Hypo will kill your plant life, life on/in rock and sand and will cause large ammonia spikes. Ich can make it thru hypo if it is in sand/substrate as the sand/substrate could contain pockets of normal salinity levels thereby not killing any ich that could be in those pockets.
 
Thanks alot Freed!

I gotta 20 gallon I'm gonna pick up tomorrow and start the hypo salinity thing for a couple of weeks.
 
And that stop watch starts AFTER the very last sign of ich is seen on any of the fish in QT.
 
Ade's advice is sound... If you aren't going to quarantine absolutely everything that comes into your system including any impulse purchases, the odds are this will happen again. Make sure everyone continues to eat very well.

Hypo or the copper method will cure it, if you follow the directions to the "T" while they are in QT, but it will reoccur if strict QT procedures aren't followed in the future.

It's a very controversial subject, many people have different opinions.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14126825#post14126825 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cayenne
Ade's advice is sound...
It's a very controversial subject, many people have different opinions.
Click to expand...

Fact, not opinion, state that hypo or copper or tank transfer method are the only proven methods for curing ich.


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14125135#post14125135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ade
IMO I would wait and see.
Click to expand...

Many have waited to see just like above and many fish have died needlessly.


Ich is not a wait and see game. It is real and kills more often than not.
 
My point with the UV stands. It is Fact that the use of UV Sterilizers helps improve the water quality in any type of aquariums. The benifits are debatable deending on which aquarist that you ask , but that fact that it is beneficial is indisputable. It is true that it is not an effective way of curing and/or combating Ich and other disease but it is an effective and proven way of Preventing ICH and other disease. In my opinion an ounce of prevention is absolutely worth a pound of cure. This is all of course debatable and is only my opinion. I do work with a few scientists and more than a handful of chemists who share these opinions and make their living on the basis of these opinions.

Part of the reason UV Sterilization is misunderstood is that the UVC radiation which the unit produces will break down oxidizers in the water column that would otherwise lower the fishes immunity i.e. Redox Reduction, this aspect is often missed as many only focus on the germicidal/algaecidal properties of UV Sterilizers.

Now in this case The advice you have gotten is solid , but my opinion is that in the future you need to prevent instead of cure...

So go ahead and get rid of the ICH now , and then in the Future prevent it from coming back... All of us should be using a rigid QT practice, even when we don't want to. It may be hard to keep that new fish in a QT tank for that length of time but it is part of the prevention, which in my eyes is ultimately the best cure.
 
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