help

[ttnguyen]

hi everyone.

i wonder.. what cause fish getting ick... i got a 100g tank... just set up for 3 month.... after water recycled... i put some fish in... clownfish,,, yeloow tank.... chromis....

and other day... i put hippo tang... and powder brown... they got ick and died....

now i just got a blue atlantic tang.... ( 3 day) ago... it getting ick everywhere,,, so i wonder ... why it cause that.... is there any thing i can do.... please give me some advise

 

[urchinkiller15]

A sudden temperature change usually causes it.

 

[Sk8r]

A parasite causes it. It's like fleas on a dog---but deadly. You brought it into your tank, and now it's in the sand.

Cure: take all fish out to a hospital tank, no sand, no rock, plain filter, no carbon: treat with copper or hyposalinity. When treatment is finished, use carbon to take copper out if you used copper (or use topoff with salt water to raise salinity if you used hyposalinity). Your main tank must have no fish in it for 8 weeks. The ich will starve to death there, and will not be a threat any more.

After this, use an extra tank for 4 weeks of observation of any new fish before you put it in your display tank. Ich will almost always show itself in a 4 week period, and you can then transfer the sick fish to hospital tank and treat BEFORE putting it into tank and letting ich spread into sand.

You do not need to keep a hospital and a quarantine tank ready at all times. just use spare tank water to set them up as needed.

However, copper is a serious poison that will kill live sand, live rock, and inverts (ich is an invert), so you must mark all nets, hoses, filters that are ever used with copper, and NEVER use them in your main tank. It is that serious a poison.

HTH. Always quarantine before placing fish in main tank. Much easier than this.

 

[cdness]

Yeah that's the largest lesson I took from a friend of mine. Always QT before puttin gin the display. He had to tear down his whole tank to get the fish out...

QT is just easier from the beginning

 

[Playa-1]

To Reef Central

I agree with SK8r.

You've introduced a parasite into your tank. Now you get to learn the meaning of QT. This will likely be an experience you will never forget. Be sure you keep the Ammonia under control in the qt tank.

Good Luck to you and your fishies. The fishies are really going to need it.

 

[Sk8r]

Remember: carbon in a quarantine tank and test morning and evening for ph/ammonia/nitrate/salinity.
NO carbon in a treatment tank, and test for same. Make sure evaporation is small in a treatment tank. Water changes will change dosage levels.

 

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13084857#post13084857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Remember: carbon in a quarantine tank and test morning and evening for ph/ammonia/nitrate/salinity.
NO carbon in a treatment tank, and test for same. Make sure evaporation is small in a treatment tank. Water changes will change dosage levels.

Sk8r, I've seen you say this before, but I am wondering why no carbon in a treatment tank if you are using hypo (no medications)? I would think that the carbon would be at least a little useful in trapping and removing nitrates (as long as it was changed out weekly or so)

 

[Vauche]

Some would say that some fish have ich and when healthy they just don't get sick from it. When stressed they can't fight it off and you get an out break.

It is similar to the bacteria (for explanation only- as above ich is not bacteria but the scenario is similar I think) on/in the human body. For the most part very benign but under the right circumstances, immunocompromised, can turn very deadly.