Help for complicated situation

[Anemonee]

Alrighty..

I'm going tonight to see/pick up an upgrade tank. It's 47gal cube with great equipment. I currently have a 26Gal bow front.

HOWEVER!

This week I've discovered ich. My clown has it for sure and I don't know if my royal gramma or Watchman Goby do but I want to qt them all for it.

What method for treating ich is best? I'm more partial to the freshwater dips cause the chemical ones scare me a bit. I'd be worried I'd kill them.

Now.. if I'm planning on setting up a qt tank in my new 47gal (the only other tanks I have are a 2gal a friend gave me with a beta in it and my fresh which has all my cichlids), can I use the water from my original salt tank or is it ich infested? I'm unsure whether they live in the sand/rock or the water.

Also, if I'm planning on upgrading, is it better to start over and rebuild the ecosystem or, once ich free, can I just use the water, sand and all from my old tank to put into my new one?

Tank inhabitants for reference:

I have a decent size sebae anemone, small ball (hitchhiker) anemone, two emerald crabs, one large and two little cleaner shrimp and a butt tone of snails. I also have a torch coral, hammer coral and two coral I haven't identified yet.

I have to get this all going fairly quick as I don't want my clown to die or anyone else to die


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[sde1500]

Depending on the life cycle stage of ich, it is in your water, on your fish, or in your rock and sand. I'd say still use it, transfer it over and let it cycle/run fallow for 72+ days and the new tank will be fine.

As for the current fish, as partial as you are to a freshwater dip, it won't accomplish anything. Check the stickies for info on the Tank Transfer Method, TTM for short. This will be the easiest non-chemical way for you to QT the fish while your new tank cycles fallow.

 

[Anemonee]

I found a link to a very well explained TTM and I thank you for that recommendation. That sounds like a good option.


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[Anemonee]

Also, can I keep my inverts, coral and anem in the fallow tank for the 72 days? It's only fish that ich hosts, right?


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[nereefpat]

I agree with TTM. You can use small tanks, buckets, rubbermaids, etc.

Then I would put the fish into the new 46gallon as a qt until the 76 day fallow period is over for your current tank. Then deal with the upgrade.

 

[nereefpat]

Also, can I keep my inverts, coral and anem in the fallow tank for the 72 days? It's only fish that ich hosts, right?


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Correct.

 

[Anemonee]

I agree with TTM. You can use small tanks, buckets, rubbermaids, etc.



Then I would put the fish into the new 46gallon as a qt until the 76 day fallow period is over for your current tank. Then deal with the upgrade.

And I'd set up the qt tank with new water or current tank water?


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[nereefpat]

Keep your ich-infected display water away from the qt. No fish touches that tank or water/rock/inverts/etc for 72+ days.

 

[sde1500]

Use new water, definitely new water. Only time I use old DT water for QT is when I start a new QT on a batch of fish. Call it superstition or whatever, but best round of QT I had for fish surviving was doing it that way, so all start that way now. But since your tank has ich, QT in water with ich in it doesn't really make sense.

 

[Anemonee]

So let's see if I have this straight..

Set up the new tank as a qt tank. Set up new tanks and containers for ttm and just let my other tank sit and run fallow. They will go into the qt tank and go between qt and ttm tanks/containers. Then remain in qt until the 76 day fallow is done. Then I can upgrade my tank.


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[Dmorty217]

So let’s see if I have this straight..

Set up the new tank as a qt tank. Set up new tanks and containers for ttm and just let my other tank sit and run fallow. They will go into the qt tank and go between qt and ttm tanks/containers. Then remain in qt until the 76 day fallow is done. Then I can upgrade my tank.


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Setup new tank with new water and transfer everything but the clownfish to the new tank and let it sit fallow for 76 days. Use the current tank as the QT/ holding tank while you do TTM. You need to get 2 10g tanks to use or any decent sized container for that matter.

 

[Anemonee]

Setup new tank with new water and transfer everything but the clownfish to the new tank and let it sit fallow for 76 days. Use the current tank as the QT/ holding tank while you do TTM. You need to get 2 10g tanks to use or any decent sized container for that matter.

But the current tank has the ich so using it as a qt wouldn't work would it??


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[Dmorty217]

But the current tank has the ich so using it as a qt wouldn't work would it??


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If you're taking everything out of the tank, you will use something to sterilize the tank while you are TTM the clown. When TTM is complete the non upgrade tank can be set back up with new water and media to use as a holding tank until the new tank can sit fallow for 72-76 days.

 

[Uncle99]

+1 above

 

[Anemonee]

If you're taking everything out of the tank, you will use something to sterilize the tank while you are TTM the clown. When TTM is complete the non upgrade tank can be set back up with new water and media to use as a holding tank until the new tank can sit fallow for 72-76 days.

I was planning on leaving everything but the fish in my current (ich) tank to let it run for 76 days. Meanwhile keeping my heee fish in the new qt tank and doing ttm in my other tanks and containers.


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[nereefpat]

I was planning on leaving everything but the fish in my current (ich) tank to let it run for 76 days. Meanwhile keeping my heee fish in the new qt tank and doing ttm in my other tanks and containers.


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leave everything, except the fish obviously, in the current tank.

Take the fish out, and put them through TTM.

After TTM, put them into the new tank until the 72+ day fallow period is over.

Then go through the upgrade process.

 

[Icewing726]

I'm going to disagree... 2 reasons:

1) I dealt with Ich before. Some fish are prone to ich because they don't normally live near the substrate and have thinner skin/mucus layers. You may want to read about the fish you have first. You may also have a really, really bad infestation as well.

2) I read the research on ich that lists 72 days as its life cycle. One problem with the comments above, 72 days was at like 50 something degrees. Sounds to me like those above are just looking at worst case scenario rather then the science of the life cycle at normal temps. So instead of a 72 day QT, read a little on it and make up your own mind.

Personally I ran my tank hot for a while and only one fish had issues with ich and eventually passed. The others lived long lives until San Antonio wouldn't turn on the power and I had to sell them at a steep discount to a local fish store.... who doesn't turn on the power on a Saturday....

Don't fret, feed them well and maybe do some tank transfers to reduce the number of reproducing parasites in the tank. BUT PLEASE READ THE LIFE CYCLE POST WITH ACTUAL RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!

 

[Anemonee]

I'm going to disagree... 2 reasons:

1) I dealt with Ich before. Some fish are prone to ich because they don't normally live near the substrate and have thinner skin/mucus layers. You may want to read about the fish you have first. You may also have a really, really bad infestation as well.

2) I read the research on ich that lists 72 days as its life cycle. One problem with the comments above, 72 days was at like 50 something degrees. Sounds to me like those above are just looking at worst case scenario rather then the science of the life cycle at normal temps. So instead of a 72 day QT, read a little on it and make up your own mind.

Personally I ran my tank hot for a while and only one fish had issues with ich and eventually passed. The others lived long lives until San Antonio wouldn't turn on the power and I had to sell them at a steep discount to a local fish store.... who doesn't turn on the power on a Saturday....

Don't fret, feed them well and maybe do some tank transfers to reduce the number of reproducing parasites in the tank. BUT PLEASE READ THE LIFE CYCLE POST WITH ACTUAL RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!

I'm still keeping an eye on my clown, gramma and goby. Since this is my first go I'm not 100% my clown even ich yet but I have the new 47 gal and while I slowly set that up, I'm going to monitor and research. I appreciate your input, and I have a lot more reading to do.


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