fish loss - need advice

[Ann1214]

Month 5. Tank looks great, and water parameters are good, but I have marine ich in my tank. I lost my jaw fish and my flame angel. (I did move them to a hospital tank and tried to treat them, but to no avail.

I have few fish left, and don't really know what to do.

 

[graveyardworm]

Do the remaining show signs of ich? If so I would move them to a QT if you can. This thread may help.

 

[bertoni]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php

Those two article cover the topic. I would recommend setting up the hospital tank and running a hyposalinity treatment for 8 weeks.

 

[Ann1214]

All I have left is 2 chromis. They are not showing signs of ich. Should I move them? I do have a hospital tank. How long should I let the tank sit with no fish? Are my invertebrates at risk?

 

[mcegelsk]

The inverts are at no risk to the ich. You need to put the remaining fish in the QT for about 4 weeks and treat them. You are looking to put your main tank in a FALLOW state. Look up that term and you'll find a ton of info about it. Good luck. ~Matt

 

[bertoni]

I would put the fish in hyposalinity for 8 weeks.

 

[PatMayo]

To prevent this you should always QT fish before entry into the main display.

I agree with Jonathan about the hyposalinity treatment. Read the articles that he provided.

Regards,

Pat

 

[gofish]

Your tank is still pretty young. I would hold off before adding anything else until you get more established. Patience is essential in this hobby.

Just my thoughts on that.

 

[Ann1214]

Thanks for the advice. I have upgraded my R/O unit, and have moved the chromies to my small tank. I have a question. One of the fish we lost to ich was a yellow headed jawfish. I really liked this fish. I asked about it at the LFS, and was told they often fall ill because of the way they are collected. He said they hare hard to collect, so divers often used drugs.

He also said that flame angel fish are often collected using needle decompression, with a similar problem.

Is this true? I don't want encourage harmful collection techniques, so does this mean I can never replace my jawfish?

How do I buy fish from responsible collectors?

 

[bertoni]

Many fish are collected with cyanide. I have never heard of "needle decompression." Fishes from some areas, like Fiji (I think) and Hawaii are not caught with cyanide. There's also the captive-bred option. It'd take some research to find your options.

 

[PatMayo]

I would not buy from that store again. I'm actually surpirsed that they told you that. Most don't.

I would try to find another supplier and I would get better versed in salt water husbandry. It will save you lots of money and will save the lives of more stock.

Regards,

Pat