I bit the Bullet!! ICH!!

asmodyus

asmodyus

New member
So I just bought 2 nice healthy looking tangs on Saturday a powder blue, and Yellow and decided that since they looked healthy came from a well establish tank, and I did not have any QT that were ready to go I put them in the DT reef tank. Well today looks like they are both developing ich and Now I am screwed I don't really know what to do since I don't have any QT ready. Now I Have 20 Gallon Long and a 10 Gallon in the garage but I have bad circulation no cooler and it get hot out there and last time I QT fish from ich they all died. So I don't know what to do and I don't even know if I can get the tangs out and they affect my DT so who knows who else is going to get ICH. But looks like I will probably have to QT the tangs including my Yellow Eye, and I have 2 clowns, Hawk fish, Mandarin, Midas Blenny, and an Azure Damsel.

So pretty much asking for help I maybe somebody can either QT them for me or help me QT them but I am inexperienced in the quarantine area and I do not want to lose these fish.
 
Buy some garlic, cut it up and press it, then add some water to that and use a spoon to kinda mash it up some more. Strain out chunks that are left in there, soak your nori and whatever else they are eating. I'm currently doing this with my PBT and the ich is staying away. Has worked for my tangs in the past who were completely covered. Best part, don't have to setup a QT.
 
I know it doesn't cure ich but you can try metro flake food to put a band aid on the situation it had always worked for me and i always saved my fish two days spots gone....I have had two outbreaks and it was always when I introduced a new tang to the tank that white spots would show up even know i had purchased from well established tanks ......I would say go talk to FAOIS ask them about metro its a few bucks and your fish will probably live......
 
Reefpilot11 said:
Buy some garlic, cut it up and press it, then add some water to that and use a spoon to kinda mash it up some more. Strain out chunks that are left in there, soak your nori and whatever else they are eating. I'm currently doing this with my PBT and the ich is staying away. Has worked for my tangs in the past who were completely covered. Best part, don't have to setup a QT.
Click to expand...

Can I use Minced garlic Juice and how long do you soak the nori and do you dry it out?

snake1 said:
I know it doesn't cure ich but you can try metro flake food to put a band aid on the situation it had always worked for me and i always saved my fish two days spots gone....I have had two outbreaks and it was always when I introduced a new tang to the tank that white spots would show up even know i had purchased from well established tanks ......I would say go talk to FAOIS ask them about metro its a few bucks and your fish will probably live......
Click to expand...

I had it before so I might get some, but I have flakes now and the new tangs are indifferent but my yellow eye likes them. So far only the 2 tangs have Ick I know that will change in a couple days (should probably get UV sterilizer anybody have one?). But if I can catch the Tangs should I QT them if I can find a QT or person who would QT Them or just tough it and hope they make it. As of right now there still eating. Also is it common for new tang to have ick even though they had no break out before or that What I was told?
 
Last edited:
Just had this problem in the wife's tank, I went out of town for 4 days and came back to a new fish in her tank and everyone covered in spots. Went to faois and they set me up with some copper treatment and great advise.

Your last fish in qt may have died from ammonia, I check for ammonia every day when i get home from work and even though I've never got a trace I still do a 25% change every 3-4 days using water from my tank and dumping the used qt water.

This is what i did and it saved my fish.

1. Reiterate to my wife that if she ever put anything into MY tank we would get a divorce.
2. Drive to faois, buy their copper treatment and a copper test kit.
3. Setup a 20 long using 50% water from the infected tank and 50% new water. I also used already "live" ceramic pellets from my sump to help with bio filtration.
4. Setup a auto top off to keep the water level and therefor the medication concentration in the optimum range.
5. Dosed the tank with copper treatment, wait 24 hours and test.
6. Quick acclimation and dumped the fish in the hospital. May or may not be needed but that's what i did.
7. Overfeed
8. Water change
9. Overfeed
10. Test ammonia every day

I just started all this on the 6th but the spots are already gone and my fish look/act 100% again. Faois saved my fish no doubt, customer for life.
 
Reefpilot11 said:
Buy some garlic, cut it up and press it, then add some water to that and use a spoon to kinda mash it up some more. Strain out chunks that are left in there, soak your nori and whatever else they are eating. I'm currently doing this with my PBT and the ich is staying away. Has worked for my tangs in the past who were completely covered. Best part, don't have to setup a QT.
Click to expand...

Garlic doesn’t do anything to the marine ich parasite directly. It is “believe” to work as an appetite stimulant which can help indirectly but it has not been proven. On the other hand there is also the possibility that long term use of garlic in fish diet can be detrimental. That you do not see visual symptoms of ich does not mean that it is “staying away”.

To the OP, that is a lot of fish and it would require a well thought out plan. You need to leave the tank fishless for at least 12 weeks if you want it to be ich free, and treat all the fish before re introducing them in you main system. I would suggest the tank transfer method, it is easy and the most effective. Otherwise you can use any of the recommendations previously posted to help improve the immune system of your fish but you will always have ich in your system. This means any new fish (specially tangs) introduced in the tank will most likely show visual symptoms. Also, any changes in your system that might weaken your fish’s immune system can open a door for a major outbreak/wipe out.

Don't always assume the new fish are the culprit. From the above paragraph, the ich might had been in your tank already and the new tangs were just exposed to it which cause the visual symptoms on them. This would most likely be the case if those are the only fish showing the symptoms. Of course, this might not be the case if you properly qt and treated every single fish that went in your tank and can absolutely guarantee there was not ich in your tank.
 
Last edited:
Supposedly needs to be fresh garlic so I would use that. As to the garlic not working, I purchased a decent size blue hippo and it quickly developed ich, totally covered in it. I just let it run it's course for about a week with no improvement. So I used some garlic with their food (the hippo would eat the straight garlic) and within a couple days ich free and has been for the last two months since this incident.
 
Reefpilot11 said:
Supposedly needs to be fresh garlic so I would use that. As to the garlic not working, I purchased a decent size blue hippo and it quickly developed ich, totally covered in it. I just let it run it's course for about a week with no improvement. So I used some garlic with their food (the hippo would eat the straight garlic) and within a couple days ich free and has been for the last two months since this incident.
Click to expand...

Your anecdotal experience does not prove anything, there are many variables. As I mentioned above it is believe to help with appetite which helps the immune system but I can guarantee you that your tang is not "ich free". The tang is just stronger and can "handle" the parasite better but still suffers from it. Again, no visual sings doesn't mean there is no ich present, the fish still suffer it and the life expectancy is probably lower.
 
Feel free to come over to my fish-less tank. My last fish died in May and its been fallow ever since. I still have half a bag of Metro too if you want it. Best you'll ever do is suppress it for the short term.
Someone has a great saying here on RC that ICH is like Russian Roulette, nobody wins, some just get to play longer. So true.
I suggest you bite the bullet and stand up a QT tank. Its now a permanent fixture in my arsenal and EVERYTHING will be going in there, snails and all. Find a spot in your house, even if its awkward and get a tank up and running and cycled. Its only 12 weeks or so to cure them and rid your DT of it as well. Do like I did and use it as an opportunity to rework you rock/plumbing or something. :)
 
ganjero said:
Your anecdotal experience does not prove anything, there are many variables. As I mentioned above it is believe to help with appetite which helps the immune system but I can guarantee you that your tang is not "ich free". The tang is just stronger and can "handle" the parasite better but still suffers from it. Again, no visual sings doesn't mean there is no ich present, the fish still suffer it and the life expectancy is probably lower.
Click to expand...

Whatever you say but the fish is healthy with no visible sign of a parasite or abnormal behavior and I will continue to use that as a remedy for combating ich. Yes I'm sure a QT is a much better way to treat the fish but I've never bit the bullet and set one up.
 
I agree with the above posts maybe just suppress or band aid the problem with metro till they are a little healthier and in the mean time start up the qt tank let it cycle properly.... And when the fish are healthier then qt them it will be a lot less stressful on them when they are healthier and the tank is cycled ....instead of chasing sick fish around for an hour or so in you display tank and stressing them out
 
There are products now that have the medicine IN the food. Dr. G's makes a parasite treatment that worked wonders for me. Creative Aquariums in Tampa has also started carrying New Life Spectrum's new ICH treatment that is in the food. These both range between $20-$30. This all hinges on whether the fish are eating of course but the Dr. G's uses caviar that my fish couldn't resist. Hope I didn't break any forum rules by naming specific products/Stores?
 
Dr G and the medicated nls pellets both use chloroquine phosphate. It's known to work when dosed in the water, but in food, it would only work or every fish eats consistently for the full medication period.
 
I will be down in the Keys until Sunday...if you can hold them in something with copper until then I have an established 55 gal QT that has 2.0 copper and I just ran prazi through that you can use...I would have you bring them over sooner but I have a foot long Naso , Tenneti tang and a dusky wrasse that are in it now. When I get back in town,they go in the DT. PM me if that works
 
rfalvey89 said:
I will be down in the Keys until Sunday...if you can hold them in something with copper until then I have an established 55 gal QT that has 2.0 copper and I just ran prazi through that you can use...I would have you bring them over sooner but I have a foot long Naso , Tenneti tang and a dusky wrasse that are in it now. When I get back in town,they go in the DT. PM me if that works
Click to expand...

:beer:
 
thank you everyone for you input but after denying it and being angry, thinking what if I QT'd fish first, and my day of depression I have come to the conclusion I have ICH yes I said it.

This means that I'm not going to be able to get all the fish out of there unless I tear it down and well I have a lot of corals that seem to be set in were there homes are at the moment. So if I QT the tangs I well only than put them back in a tank with ICH. So I got my Metro Food, my Selcon, Garlic Guard, and DR G's Medicated Caviar, and of course DR Pepper because hey there one of the original Snake Oils.

So I am going to just fatten my fish up and hope they make it through. Because even if I sit there for a couple hours chasing fish and stick them in a QT system for 4 to 6 weeks when they come back my tank will still have ICH.
 
adeebm said:
Dr G and the medicated nls pellets both use chloroquine phosphate. It's known to work when dosed in the water, but in food, it would only work or every fish eats consistently for the full medication period.
Click to expand...

I never had a problem getting the fish to eat the Dr. G's on a consistent basis. I haven't personally tried the NLS. Dr. G's did cause my phosphates to jump after a 3 week dosing period. Instructions states to pull up any uneaten food with turkey baster but they are tiny white pieces that disappear after hitting substrate or rock. It is also listed as reef and coral safe.

Having said that only sure fire method is QT. I was just willing to try everything else before putting the fish ( and myself) through all the stress.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Coral beauty Sick - how do i treat
Replies
3
Views
1K
leebca
L
Tamara Marshall
Comprehensive Article About Black Ich- Manta Systems Article
Replies
0
Views
96
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Comprehensive Article About Black Ich- Manta Systems Article
Replies
0
Views
133
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬 - 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞
Replies
0
Views
82
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬 - 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞
Replies
0
Views
101
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Back
Top