"ICH FREE TANK" Quest Begins

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Hi all. I hope y'all don't mind me jumping in here. I have read the entire thread. It took me three weeks off and on. I'm in my 7th week of hypo. I was ready to put the fish back in display, but after reading the thread, decided it would be safer to wait the eight weeks. I'm hoping I will be successful like the few that have posted here with success with hypo.

One question I have. Has anyone successfully hypo'd a blue tang? After four weeks my blue tang appeared to have more spots. I can't be sure, because I needed some really strong reading glasses to see it. I don't see anything now at the 7th week. One option is to find someone to take him.

Would it be safe to start raising salinity? Also how long can the fish withstand low salinity, 1.009? I'm thinking I might just leave them in there for another month.

I lost two fish to high nitrites in the first two weeks trying to get my bio filter going. Seems like that's happening to everyone posting.

Trigger, that sounds like a lot of fish for a 125. I have half that many and thought I was overstocked. I think overstocking can definitely make ich worse. Thanks for starting the thread. I've learned so much.

If this doesn't work, I'll be doing the copper thing. Thanks.
 
janakaybravo, the primary concern with extended hypo is kidney function. At those levels, the kidneys do not flush properly, which can cause problems eventually. After ~45 days in hypo, my achilles became very ill, and I had already started reaising sg back to normal. He developed a large bulge in his abdomen, and his swim bladder was not functioning properly. He was listing to he side and wouldn't swim much.

Although we have no proof, I strongly suspect this was kidney related. In the area of the swelling, the two main organs present are the kidney and the swim bladder. Fortunately, the fish was able to recover, but it was a bit scary after investing so much time and effort in QT.

You face quite a dilemma. Because ich reappeared after 4 weeks, you essentially needed to reset your day count. So you're now in your 3rd week with no visible ich. That's not long enough to interrupt the life cycle, IMO. However, another 3-4 weeks in hypo, and you may start seeing problems with the fish.

One possibility would be to continue hypo until you start seeing any change in the fish. Be ready to start raising sg at the first sign of distress, but remember you can't go too fast. Then hold the fish for a few weeks and watch for re-infection. If ich shows up again, you may have to go through another round of hypo, or try another method.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6635460#post6635460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by guyguerra
I really thought I had this QT PROCESS DOWN COLD. This morning my Sailfin Tang was almost dead.

guy- when i used the copper product, i had concerns with having to add 3-4x more copper than what was stated on the product label. i was just basically hoping that the kit was going to measure accurately and kept dosing.
once it did get to correct reading, as correct as i could tell anyway, i needed to periodically dose additional amounts.

i think based on what can go wrong with this type of treatment is why hypo is the recommended treatment of the "experts".
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6638076#post6638076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by janakaybravo

1. After four weeks my blue tang appeared to have more spots. I can't be sure, because I needed some really strong reading glasses to see it. I don't see anything now at the 7th week.
Would it be safe to start raising salinity? Also how long can the fish withstand low salinity, 1.009? I'm thinking I might just leave them in there for another month.

2. I lost two fish to high nitrites in the first two weeks trying to get my bio filter going. Seems like that's happening to everyone posting.

3. Trigger, that sounds like a lot of fish for a 125. I have half that many and thought I was overstocked. I think overstocking can definitely make ich worse.

4. If this doesn't work, I'll be doing the copper thing. Thanks.

here's my take on your situation:
1. was the fish ever spot free during the 4 weeks in hypo or are you saying the fish now has additional spots?
how long has the fish been free of any visible spots?
sounds like you're having an issue there with treatment.
what are you using to measure and what size is QT?

2. i still have not lost any fish due to this situation. i had 8 fish in a 55g qt on 2 separate occassions. you need to ensure a tank is cycled prior to adding livestock. i used both cycled filter media and established water to assist with the cycling process.

3. most of the fish are small 1-1.5". i actually plan on stocking many more. overstocking is such an ambiguous word relative to each and every tank situation. it's all about what works in relation to what each hobbyist is looking to attempt and accomplish.
it's true that the more stocked a tank is with possible host fish for the parasite to latch onto, the larger the ich population may/will become. in addition, it's more likely that something will have to be done to fully eradicate it from the system as the fish (no mater how healthy) will not be able to constantly battle an ever growing population.

4. like what was mentioned., depending how long it was when you seen the last spot you could be taking this treatment into a 3 month period.. could be pushing it with a tang species.
 
hi all,

just wondering i've been keeping my main display tank fallow for about 5weeks. The fish has been in QT w/ Copper for about 2 weeks now. Everything is looking good. I need to add more clean-up crew to my tank, do i need to QT snails,hermits and starfish? does ich travel w/ inverts? any info on this?
 
Ich can attach to things like rock, snail/crab shells, etc. during its reproductive stage, similar to how it attaches to sand & substrate. The rule I use: quarantine anything that's "wet".
 
if the inverts came from a system with fish, then yes,,it could be a risk..you can scrub the shells prior to putting into your display and that should destroy anything that is attached. 100%? no, but as good as you will get without quarantine for 5 weeks or so.
 
Triggerfish, I am not quite as pro copper as I was before because of the quick loss of my sailfin that up until then was doing so well. My initial trials with hypo last year were long and laborious compared to copper. I have to stay the coarse on this group, in which the Coral beauty has already stopped eating and is flashing a good bit. The wrasse and jawfish are as healthy as ever. After trying both methods several times with various fish, I still prefer Cupramine, but as a test, I'll use hypo on the next fish I acquire.
As for QT'ing inverts and corals, I will be honest and admit I believe in it, but wasn't able to do it. My tank is 7 feet long with 42 corals, 2 anemones, sea cukes, stars, snails, mandarins (which you could never QT because of their diet, and additions in my refugium). I am careful, but it wasn't possible to do them all. The additional lighting for a tank for the clams and acro's on top of everything else is just too much for me. Again, I don't recommend it, and now that my tank is finished I am able to stop wondering what if, but EVERY fish has to make it for 6 weeks minimum before it gets to live in the reef in my living room.
 
Well, I'm a glutton for punishment. The LFS has a lovely flame angel on hold for me, for possible Monday pickup. My QT is ready to go, I'm ready to try again. A failed heater cooked my last fish. My plans: Cupramine. I'm hoping for a (relatively) quick 3 week stint in QT before going to the display. Hoping, hoping, hoping...
 
Looks like the spots may be back.. i'm pretty sure a couple of fish have something that strongly resembles ich..like 1-2 spots that are pretty distinct.
well...gonna have to fully sacrafice anything within the tank and begin hypo process again and take it no less than 4 weeks. i do believe the 1st shortened attempt put a decent dent in the population.
updates to follow.
 
I lost my Coral Beauty. It was not able to swim properly and hadn't eaten for days. I put it in water and put it in the freezer, I've read on this site that that was a humane way to put them to sleep. The wrasse and jawfish look great. They never showed anything, so if they are good in two weeks I'm putting them in the big tank. They will be in Cupramine till then.. Guitarfish, are you going to set the Copper levels in the QT before you get the fish, or start adding it after the fish goes in? I've thought about adding it before, that way the levels are set and established properly before the fish goes in. What do you think of this idea? After these two go in, I'm going to try a Sailfin again, but this time I'll just QT the one fish by itself. I don't know if I want to treat the Sailfin right away, or wait to see if I see anything. I don't want to kill another by treating it if it isn't showing anything. I know there are many people that treat tangs no matter what. Any one have any input?
 
I don't think I'd try putting a fish into a tank that has copper at therapeutic levels, because that may be too drastic of a change.

I noticed when I was at the LFS this week that he had "CU .025" written on his tank glass - yup, he runs a low level of copper. Why, I don't know. I've read where .04 is about the minimum level to be effective, and .05 is the recommended level. What's the point of .025? Beats me.

I've decided to take a break from the ich fight for now. I did a 50% water change on my QT and have carbon in there to absorb the rest if the copper. My next move is to buy some snails, and possible a soft coral. I'm planning to keep them in the QT tank for a couple weeks, just in case there's anything on them. Once that's out of the way, it's back to finding the next fish.

Gee, I'd kinda like a new fish in my display by summer...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6699057#post6699057 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by guyguerra
I know there are many people that treat tangs no matter what. Any one have any input?

my plan going forward will be to treat all new arrivals with hypo for 4 weeks. that will be an added safety measure just in case i miss seeing something.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6700884#post6700884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by guitarfish
I've read where .04 is about the minimum level to be effective, and .05 is the recommended level. What's the point of .025? Beats me.

doesn't it depend on what brand of copper is being used?..thought SeaCure was recommended at .015 ppm.
 
The guy's at Seachem told me that .2 was therapeutic, but .5 was better. They shared this when I told them I was having trouble getting my levels to .5 and was worried about overdosing. They said as long as it was over .2 I was ok.
 
interesting...sort of a lge difference b/t .2 - .5 wouldn't ya think.
if .2 works then what would the need be to dose 150% more?

the CU either works at a certain dosage or it doesn't.. go figure.
 
I'm too excited for words! As you know, I lost the Coral Beauty, and the other fish that were with it NEVER showed signs of illness. I have always been afraid of loosing the cleaner wrasse, and most people will tell us that we shouldn't take them from the waters. The one I bought was eating regular food, so I decided to try it. He did well through all of this. I have also been waiting to get a second jawfish to be a buddy to our first one named "Johnny". Well, today I decided they have been in the QT long enough. These two fish could not look healthier, so I moved them to the big tank. It was like releasing rehabilitated animals back into their natural habitat. I was very fortunate with the jawfish. I originally bought a pair. When I put the two in the tank I didn't think to put them in the same area, and one was a lot shyer than the other. That one ended up dying. So I've been waiting months to get a second one. I netted her and lowered the net right over Johnny's hole (it's a BIG hole under a large rock), and as luck would have it, she swam out of the net and right into Johnny's hole. Johnny has been grinning ear to ear ever since. he even spit out a little more sand to make room for her. And for Joe Dirt (the cleaner wrasse), all the other fish are swimming circles around him waiting their turn to be cleaned. I really wanted these two to make it. I didn't feel that they needed more time in QT, and I feel I made the right call. To see these two in my tank is fantastic. I'll post a couple pictures. I also added another bi colored acro that I've been wanting for a while. I've also added some more pics in my gallery. I added a Dersia clam and some acro's, and I've had a lot of good growth lately. Now, after I clean up the QT I want to try another sailfin. I intend to stick to my decision of one fish at a time now.
80647WaitingToBeCleaned.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/80647JohnnysHappy.jpg
 
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