Ich combat plan suggestions?

[aggie13reef]

Alright guys I am starting to worry that my clownfish pair and midas blenny might be showing signs of Ich. Not 100% sure yet just noticed a white spot or two one each of the fish, could be fine substrate particles but not sure. I know the general protocol but want to know y'alls suggestions for the hospital tanks. how many do I need/what other items do I need to complete it. I have a young pair of Oc clowns, a midas blenny, flame hawk, and melanurus wrasse. If this is a false alarm (which I hope) I just want to start buying the right supplies (tanks, powerheads, etc.) if in fact I would need to pull the fish and treat them in the near future.

Thanks for taking the time to read the long question.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

How long have you had the fish? Have you added anything new to the tank recently? Did you quarantine? If this is ich what you will need will depend on which treatment you are going with. I'm sure you read the stickies at the top of the forum. All of the treatments will require the main to be fallow so you will definitely need at least one tank, filter, heater (depending on where you live) and something for water movement. If you are doing tank transfer then you will need two of everything.

 

[Spar]

First depends on what QT method you take, assuming your goal is to eliminate ich from the fish. I'd personally recommend tank transfer method (TTM), but also have copper (cupramine) as an option. Regardless of which you take, you will need to leave your display tank fallow (fishless) for 12 weeks to ensure that Ich runs it life cycle in completion and is no longer present. This means that even when you are done treating with TTM or Copper, you will need to house your fish somewhere for the duration of the 12 weeks.

Best bet is to read the stickies on TTM and Copper usage, plenty of good facts and procedures there. Equipment wise, KISS is the motto; keep it as simple as possible by just doing bare tank(s) (no sand, rocks), airpump (no need for powerheads), heater, PVC for hiding places. For the non-TTM timing you would probably want a 30g to keep them happy for that length of time. For TTM, you could probably get away with 2 20g tanks, or 4 10g if you wanted to split the fish up (melanurus may want/need more space and/or be on his own).

If you do TTM, you will need 2 of each of everything!

Feel free to ask questions here, but again the stickies are loaded up with tidbits of helpful pointers.

 

[aggie13reef]

Thanks to both of y'all! Yeah I have read the stickies, just trying to get fine tuned suggestions for my situation.

The wrasse will not need sand to burrow in at night?

And I don't need lights on the tanks just natural room light will be sufficient correct?

 

[downbeach]

You can add a container of substrate for the wrasse. I would have enough light to observe the fish.

Container idea:

 

[snorvich]

You can add a container of substrate for the wrasse. I would have enough light to observe the fish.

Container idea:

Exactly. However, for tank transfer, the sand should be discarded and replaced with new sand for every cycle.

 

[aggie13reef]

Well with this pay day I am planning on going ahead and purchasing some of the supplies I will need, Problem is I am a pretty broke recent college grad. I want to do my fish justice (as I am a wildlife and fisheries major), just need to figure out how to treat them cost efficiently. I know this is not a cheap hobby, but there are always ways to cut costs and still do a quality job with anything, y'alls opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Did you decide which treatment you are going with? For QT or HTs check your local craigslist or the For Sale forum. Someone is always looking to get rid of tanks. When I'm doing TT (which I'm doing now with 2 clowns) I use those big plastic tubs with the rope handles, air stone, PVC and a heater. Depending on where you live you may be able to get away without a heater for now.

 

[e55MD]

My 400 gallon DT with 700lb of live rock has always had ich. At one point, I emptied it, moved all fish to a 250 gallon QT and ran it fallow for 3 months. Put fish back in and the ich came back. I treated my DT (including Live Rock) with Cupramine. Ich came back. I did hypo salinity on my DT. Ich came back. Incidentally, I now have a full blown reef with the same tank/LR that was treated with Cupramine. So, copper in my opinion does NOT stay in your tank killing invertebrates and corals infinitely like a lot of people claim.
I actually have lost fish in QT (including a 4" $3000 Conspicuous angel). I don't think QT's provide an optimal environment and I don't do it.
What I do is only buy fish from Liveaquaria Diver's Den that are very healthy. They go right right into my DT. New arrivals often get some ich and then it goes away. For me, what has made me successful is keeping pristine water, regular thorough maintenance, and good feeding (primarily PE Mysis mixed with NLS pellets).

 

[Cujo13]

You can add a container of substrate for the wrasse. I would have enough light to observe the fish.

Container idea:

What a nice idea!

 

[aggie13reef]

Did you decide which treatment you are going with? For QT or HTs check your local craigslist or the For Sale forum. Someone is always looking to get rid of tanks. When I'm doing TT (which I'm doing now with 2 clowns) I use those big plastic tubs with the rope handles, air stone, PVC and a heater. Depending on where you live you may be able to get away without a heater for now.

thanks for the advice!

I most likely will go with QT method, it will be perfectly fine to split the fish up in a couple different tanks and treat correct? I am considering a 10G for the clowns and something larger for the wrasse, blenny, and flame hawk.

I live in Texas so I am thinking I can get away with no heater for now.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

You can absolutely split them up. I'm in Florida and I haven't used a heater for a few months Did you decide on your course of treatment?

 

[aggie13reef]

Well I have been observing my fish and the spots I noticed a few days ago when starting this thread appear to have been just substrate particles. I do plan on trying to find some tanks this next week on my day off. I will probably treat with copper if I do have to end up treating in the future (hopefully not anytime soon! :thumbsup.