Fighting Ich ( tank transfer method ) Questions.

[mos90]

yea after u do it a few times it is very easy. but im mot going to do transfers for the next 6 weeks.

my fish are going into qt tank tommarow. i might have to hook my chiller up to it if it gets any hotter outside. the tank is in the garage. the water was up to 82 yesterday. i wouldnt think u would want to go above 84.

 

[reeferman1128]

I had the same issue, 83 degees when I got home. I noticed some corals looked a little stress with less than avereage PE. Are you in the chicago land area?

 

[mos90]

no.. upstate ny. was about 82 outside yesterday.

 

[cbatterman]

I ordered the 5 micron filter off amazon.com. $11 bucks shipped to my door. I have heard of people finding them for less but that was the best price i was able to find at the time.

Did you use a cartridge type filter and just use gravity feed pressure or did you use a pump?

 

[yachtdr22]

My swimmers have just shown signs of ICH after 5 weeks @ 1.009 (spots went away after 1st week)
Am thinking of trying the tank xfer method...

Bump!!

 

[reeferman1128]

cbatterman - I syphoned water from the surface of my DT tank through a 5 micron filter sock into the QT tanks.

Yach - how long did you go fallow in your DT?

 

[yachtdr22]

Yach - how long did you go fallow in your DT?

DT is still Fallow
Swimmers still in HT @ 1.009 week 5.

 

[reeferman1128]

I have tried hypo and it was a pain in the butt. It never worked for me. copper as well. Lots of testing and adding. If your off one day out of 6 weeks the whole process can be compromised. Tank transfer was fairly easy and mistake proof. Whether you use the method I used or the traditional one it seems much more effective.

 

[yachtdr22]

I have tried hypo and it was a pain in the butt. It never worked for me. copper as well. Lots of testing and adding. If your off one day out of 6 weeks the whole process can be compromised. Tank transfer was fairly easy and mistake proof. Whether you use the method I used or the traditional one it seems much more effective.

I am going to try the tank transfer method.
I think I need to bring them back to 1.025 before the transfers?

more reading tonight....... :beer:

 

[mos90]

anywhere from 1.020 to 1.025 is fine. what ever your qt tank is.

 

[hajas]

I have been doing tank transfer for the last 9 days and will be on my last transfer tomorrow. Would it be an issue if my last transfer lasted 3.5 to 4 days? Something has come up and not sure I will be able to transfer them at the normal time in the morning.

 

[snorvich]

I have been doing tank transfer for the last 9 days and will be on my last transfer tomorrow. Would it be an issue if my last transfer lasted 3.5 to 4 days? Something has come up and not sure I will be able to transfer them at the normal time in the morning.

There is a very slight risk. But try to transfer before the night of the 4th day to reduce that risk.

 

[hajas]

There is a very slight risk. But try to transfer before the night of the 4th day to reduce that risk.

I could definitely transfer the afternoon before the night of the 4th day, just not sure I will be able to do it first thing in the morning as I have been doing.

 

[reeferman1128]

I am over 4 weeks into the transfer. I only transferring tanks now when the ammonia gets noticeable. Every 5 - 6 days. I have not noticed a white dot since the first few days. All fish are eating, lively and seem to be ich free. I have not done any scientific analysis but from the visuals I would say it has cured them of the parasite.

I am going to put the fish back in the DT at the end of this week which would give a 30 day fallow period. All scientific documentation say the longest period needed is 28 days. There are a lot of people who claim that they have left their tank fallow for longer and ich has reappeared but I would believe that it would be caused by the parasite surviving the copper/hypo treatment as it can be very easy to deviate from the required measurements to eradicate the entire parasite.

 

[snorvich]

I am over 4 weeks into the transfer. I only transferring tanks now when the ammonia gets noticeable. Every 5 - 6 days. I have not noticed a white dot since the first few days. All fish are eating, lively and seem to be ich free. I have not done any scientific analysis but from the visuals I would say it has cured them of the parasite.

I am going to put the fish back in the DT at the end of this week which would give a 30 day fallow period. All scientific documentation say the longest period needed is 28 days. There are a lot of people who claim that they have left their tank fallow for longer and ich has reappeared but I would believe that it would be caused by the parasite surviving the copper/hypo treatment as it can be very easy to deviate from the required measurements to eradicate the entire parasite.

Sorry, 28 days is likely to be less than sufficient. The length of the entire life cycle varies, depending upon a number of factors, including strain of Cryptocaryon, temperature, salinity, and fish host (Colorni 1985; Diggles and Lester 1996a, b, c; Colorni and Burgess 1997; Yambot et al. 2003). Even for a specific strain and fish host, the life cycle may vary by weeks or months (Colorni and Burgess 1997). An average life cycle appears to be 1 to 2 weeks; however, life cycle durations may range from 6 days to 11 weeks, primarily because of the unpredictability of tomont development (Colorni and Burgess 1997; Dickerson 2006; Yambot 2003). I normally encourage a minimum of 9 weeks of a tank being fallow in order to eliminate the parasite; obviously 12 weeks would be better still.

 

[snorvich]

Please read this which will also explain why I do not feel that extending the transfer period beyond 3 days is desirable.

 

[reeferman1128]

Very helpful. My first 6 tranfers were done within the 3 day transfer periods. Now tranfers are only being done to keep good water quality.

 

[00Warpig00]

I posted this in the sticky, but this may be a better spot for it. Apologies if not:

I was about to try cupramine for the first time on a Kole tang I've had in my QT for about a week, but instead I think I'll try this method, which seems easier for a new-to-medicating person like myself.

Just to be sure I've got this right, can you let me know if I'm planning everything correctly?

I'm going to use 5 gallon buckets, as I typically only get one new fish at a time or perhaps two small guys. Will all the additional equipment I need be a small heater, powerhead, and maybe a thermometer, with one set for each dedicated tank/bucket? Is there any additional equipment I should use? Ammonia badge? HOB filter? Lights? PVC connectors for hiding spots?

Is a 75W heater too much for a 5-gal bucket? How about a 48 gph powerhead? Those seem to be the smallest/cheapest I can find online at the moment.

Day 1 - put the fish in bucket A
Day 4 - catch him (no net) and put him into bucket B, which is temp and salinity matched
Day 5/6 - empty, clean (with bleach?), and dry Bucket A and all equipment
Day 7 - catch fish in bucket B, put him in bucket A which now has new water, temp and salinity matched
Day 8/9 - empty, clean, and dry Bucket B and all equipment
Day 10 - catch fish in bucket A, put him in bucket B with new water
Day 11/12 - empty, clean and let dry Bucket A, put in storage
Day 13 - end of tank transfer method, put tang back in QT
Day 14 - empty, clean and let dry Bucket B, put in storage

Sounds like the standard method is to go straight from the LFS bag to the transfer method. However, I currently have my Kole tang in my QT tank. If I was planning on treating him with PraziPro, should I do that before or after the tank transfer method (he is already eating well), or not at all unless I see symptoms that require treatment? I understand while I do the transfer method, in the meantime I'll have to tear down and refill my QT prior to putting the tang back in there. If I treat with Prazi before the transfer method, should I put the fish back into the (new water, clean) QT after the transfer method is complete, or can I go straight into the DT with him?

Don't forget that if the fish came from QT and was infected you must sterilize QT also before putting him back there... you wouldn't want to put a crypto free fish after transfer method back into a QT tank that is still infected.

Nick

 

[snorvich]

Don't forget that if the fish came from QT and was infected you must sterilize QT also before putting him back there... you wouldn't want to put a crypto free fish after transfer method back into a QT tank that is still infected.

Nick

Correct. He was doing the extra transfers to allow the tank fish are returning to, to remain fallow for the appropriate time.

 

[_Mackus_]

Don't forget that if the fish came from QT and was infected you must sterilize QT also before putting him back there... you wouldn't want to put a crypto free fish after transfer method back into a QT tank that is still infected.

Nick

Thanks. I think I'm just going to go straight to the DT with my tang, after the tank transfer method. I had him in QT for about 2 1/2 weeks before starting the transfer, and I treated with PraziPro while he was in there. I'm on Day 2 of the 4th and final transfer of my tang, he's going to the DT Saturday morning! He's still eating well and no signs of any ich (although I never saw any while he was in QT, either, but better safe than sorry).

I have since emptied the QT and let it dry to sterilize, and when adding new fish in the future, will do the tank transfer first, then a couple weeks in the QT.