chillyfishie
New member
I'm the same with my fish. I have a hurricane plan for them!
Chilly
Chilly
"ICH FREE TANK" Quest Begins
- Thread starter Triggerfish
- Start date
- Status
I'm planning to move all my live rocks and shrimp, snails, and hermit to a big garbage can i use to do water change and use hypo in my 45G
However, since in the beginning of this thread i read some people say that even when a fish is not infected with ich it can still carry it. I'm wondering if this goes the same with shrimps, snails, and hermits? If so, putting them with the live rock together in the same garbage can will do nothing in terms of getting rid of the ich on the rock right?
However, since in the beginning of this thread i read some people say that even when a fish is not infected with ich it can still carry it. I'm wondering if this goes the same with shrimps, snails, and hermits? If so, putting them with the live rock together in the same garbage can will do nothing in terms of getting rid of the ich on the rock right?
Triggerfish
Active member
seek19 said:
fish either have it or they don't. if they have it they are infected.
you can keep the inverts together with the rock..once the tomonts hatch there will be no fish host to continue the lifecycle everything hatched will perish within 2 days or so.
Triggerfish
Active member
seek- not really that i am aware of or have seen mentioned for treatment for any other types of parasites ect...
good luck man..if you have any more direct questions..just ask away...it's a long haul....
good luck man..if you have any more direct questions..just ask away...it's a long haul....
water`bug
Premium Member
Mr. Triggerfish and all others who are actively taking part in this thread, I thank yall for your care and expertise.
It's amazing how I see first hand, time after time, referring ppl to this thread wanting to help give good solid information regarding ick; they come in, ask questions... (obviously not liking what they hear) then turn around and re-post somewhere else until *they hear what they want to hear." ie... feed them garlic, it'll cure your fish...etc... or Ick is in every fish, it'll pass with time... just keep them fat and stress-free. This advice just kills me.
It's not easy having the discipline and patience that it takes to do things right... such as hyposalinity and QT for weeks on end. Water changes, testing and more testing. They'd prefer to take shortcuts instead of doing the right thing. Saving these animals lives are more important to us than others, I guess.
Amazing.
donna in New Orleans
It's amazing how I see first hand, time after time, referring ppl to this thread wanting to help give good solid information regarding ick; they come in, ask questions... (obviously not liking what they hear) then turn around and re-post somewhere else until *they hear what they want to hear." ie... feed them garlic, it'll cure your fish...etc... or Ick is in every fish, it'll pass with time... just keep them fat and stress-free. This advice just kills me.
It's not easy having the discipline and patience that it takes to do things right... such as hyposalinity and QT for weeks on end. Water changes, testing and more testing. They'd prefer to take shortcuts instead of doing the right thing. Saving these animals lives are more important to us than others, I guess.
Amazing.
donna in New Orleans
candiland
New member
I talked to the vet in my family. She said this drug metronidozol will affect the liver, and will do way more harm than good. She said I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t recommend using this for any illness. She doesnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t give this to any of the animals she treats.
Heads note.
Heads note.
I have always wanting to QT new fish but i did not do it for too long or all the time. I've decided to QT every single thing i put in to my tank from now on after so many diease outbreak(ICH ESPECIALLY!) However, I only have a 10G available to me to QT fish for now and i'm just wondering in such a small system, if i'm to keep a fish healthy for long period up to 6 weeks, should I add some live sand and rocks to increase the bacteria and provide places for hiding for the fish? I have always heard people sugguest keeping QT bare bottom, but isn't that bad for a fish to be living in such a uncomfortable(for the fish(no hiding and stuff)) for such a long period of time?
You could put some PVC pipe and maybe an artificial plant in so they will have hiding places. They will need places to hide. However, you will have to pull it out now and then to clean.
You can also add an inexpensive biowheel filter and/or some ceramic media - great for bacteria (keep it running on your main tank's sump to keep bacteria going).
The only thing about the live rock and sand would be that it will have to come out if you end up having to treat the fish.
Also, if you are going to QT more than one fish at a time (or maybe 2 really small ones) - I would really think about getting a bigger tank. Petsmart carries a 20 long for $26 or better yet, try to pick up a used tank locally. Six weeks is a long, long time when you are going through this with fish - the bigger the tank and the more bacteria, the better!
You can also add an inexpensive biowheel filter and/or some ceramic media - great for bacteria (keep it running on your main tank's sump to keep bacteria going).
The only thing about the live rock and sand would be that it will have to come out if you end up having to treat the fish.
Also, if you are going to QT more than one fish at a time (or maybe 2 really small ones) - I would really think about getting a bigger tank. Petsmart carries a 20 long for $26 or better yet, try to pick up a used tank locally. Six weeks is a long, long time when you are going through this with fish - the bigger the tank and the more bacteria, the better!
Triggerfish
Active member
yeah,,i took a short cut the first time in the beginning of this thread and failed baddly.
a quarantine tank does not have to be bare bottom,,however if you do not have another setup to use for a medicated hospital tank then you should keep it BB.
maintain the water quality in the QT and you should not have any problems..the smaller the tank the more maintenance required, that's basically it...also you're going to be limited to how much livestock you can keep in there....
a quarantine tank does not have to be bare bottom,,however if you do not have another setup to use for a medicated hospital tank then you should keep it BB.
maintain the water quality in the QT and you should not have any problems..the smaller the tank the more maintenance required, that's basically it...also you're going to be limited to how much livestock you can keep in there....
Thanks Triggerfish and plaz!
Back to the hypro treatment questions
I still couldn't confirm that my two butterflies are infected with ich. They both KIND OF have some white spot on their tail and pectoral fins, which are not there before, but it does not look like the white spot from ich i saw before on my tangs. These spot are rather small and irregular in shape, some are circle dots, some are not. But both the fish does seems like they are infected with some kind of diease as their body looks a bit weird. The saddled butterfly has some kind of white dots and small patches of white in the black area of the upper back side of the fish. The copperband looks like it lost some scales on it's body.
Do you guys think i should still proceed with the hypo anyways just in case if it really is ich? Will it be bad for the fish if they are not with ich and i put them through hypo? I figure it might be a good thing to do since this tank has been through two or three time of ich and i never really sure if they are gone and plus (shame on me) i didn't put these two butterflies through QT when i got them about one month ago (I WON'T DO THAT AGAIN!)
Back to the hypro treatment questions
I still couldn't confirm that my two butterflies are infected with ich. They both KIND OF have some white spot on their tail and pectoral fins, which are not there before, but it does not look like the white spot from ich i saw before on my tangs. These spot are rather small and irregular in shape, some are circle dots, some are not. But both the fish does seems like they are infected with some kind of diease as their body looks a bit weird. The saddled butterfly has some kind of white dots and small patches of white in the black area of the upper back side of the fish. The copperband looks like it lost some scales on it's body.
Do you guys think i should still proceed with the hypo anyways just in case if it really is ich? Will it be bad for the fish if they are not with ich and i put them through hypo? I figure it might be a good thing to do since this tank has been through two or three time of ich and i never really sure if they are gone and plus (shame on me) i didn't put these two butterflies through QT when i got them about one month ago (I WON'T DO THAT AGAIN!)
Triggerfish
Active member
best thing to do would be to upload a pic of the infected fish.
it could be some other type of infection, lymph, flukes, columnaris.
tough to say exactly what other whitish spots/patches could be.
that is why quarantine is so important..you can try various remedies if a dignosis cannot be positively identified.
what you could do is see if the spots are consistent with the lifecycle of the ich parasite. if the spots dissapear after couple days and then return,,it's more than likely ich... if the spots stay on indefinetely, then it could be something else.
upload the pic if you can and go from there.
it could be some other type of infection, lymph, flukes, columnaris.
tough to say exactly what other whitish spots/patches could be.
that is why quarantine is so important..you can try various remedies if a dignosis cannot be positively identified.
what you could do is see if the spots are consistent with the lifecycle of the ich parasite. if the spots dissapear after couple days and then return,,it's more than likely ich... if the spots stay on indefinetely, then it could be something else.
upload the pic if you can and go from there.
Question for Lee on QT of coral frags:
We've been planning to QT EVERYTHING for at least 32 days - so I am mad at myself for even asking this... but...
We purchased six 1" unmounted acro frags from a reefer that does not quarantine and had experienced ich in the past, when he kept tangs. They arrived 24 days ago and were mounted on our clean LR rubble and put in a 20 gallon QT. We added a 25 watt UV at 80 gph 5 days ago.
I now find we have to go out of town unexpectedly for 2 1/2 days, starting tomorrow. I had an auto top-off setup but removed it because it was not working properly.
I know the frags have no pests unless it would be ich (the sellers tank was clean of everything else and we have inspected them with magnifying glass every day). ICH is as always my biggest fear!!! I don't think there is a way to be sure no ich is present until 32 or at least 28 (with the UV) days have passed. However, given that the big tank would be much more stable than the current auto top-off seems to be.... I just thought I would double check on the risk.
----
PS We will be getting a new top-off valve... and testing it (but it will be hard to get and test properly tonight).
We've been planning to QT EVERYTHING for at least 32 days - so I am mad at myself for even asking this... but...
We purchased six 1" unmounted acro frags from a reefer that does not quarantine and had experienced ich in the past, when he kept tangs. They arrived 24 days ago and were mounted on our clean LR rubble and put in a 20 gallon QT. We added a 25 watt UV at 80 gph 5 days ago.
I now find we have to go out of town unexpectedly for 2 1/2 days, starting tomorrow. I had an auto top-off setup but removed it because it was not working properly.
I know the frags have no pests unless it would be ich (the sellers tank was clean of everything else and we have inspected them with magnifying glass every day). ICH is as always my biggest fear!!! I don't think there is a way to be sure no ich is present until 32 or at least 28 (with the UV) days have passed. However, given that the big tank would be much more stable than the current auto top-off seems to be.... I just thought I would double check on the risk.
----
PS We will be getting a new top-off valve... and testing it (but it will be hard to get and test properly tonight).
Triggerfish
Active member
as unbelievable as it is, a quote from the DR.
rshimek said:
Thanks Triggerfish! That snapped me back to reality!
I can't believe he said that either - it kind of defies common sense (how could it not be possible to transfer it if it is a cyst or it swims in the water?)!!!
I know it would be a very remote chance at this point, but I don't think I could stand myself if I introduce that stuff again. We asked the neighbor to top off the QT (I just hope she doesn't have her 8 year old to do it; he fed them once and it took a lot of cleaning up afterwards!
I can't believe he said that either - it kind of defies common sense (how could it not be possible to transfer it if it is a cyst or it swims in the water?)!!!
I know it would be a very remote chance at this point, but I don't think I could stand myself if I introduce that stuff again. We asked the neighbor to top off the QT (I just hope she doesn't have her 8 year old to do it; he fed them once and it took a lot of cleaning up afterwards
!
markcasto
New member
Report on main tank...
I am happy to report that the main tank is now clear of ich there are only 4 fish still in QT now and they are the 4 chromis.They still have a fungus infection and have not responded to any treatments including copper and melafix and have been in QT now for 10 weeks!I am now just keeping them in clean water changes from the main tank for 2 weeks to see if that helps having run out of ideas to clear it up.
I am happy to report that the main tank is now clear of ich there are only 4 fish still in QT now and they are the 4 chromis.They still have a fungus infection and have not responded to any treatments including copper and melafix and have been in QT now for 10 weeks!I am now just keeping them in clean water changes from the main tank for 2 weeks to see if that helps having run out of ideas to clear it up.
Triggerfish
Active member
UPDATE
UPDATE
Quarantine Round 2: Week 3
well 37% of quarantine is complete. no sign of ich with copper treatment since 7/20.
i began to carbon out the copper. i will remove for 1 week then i am thinking of doing hypo for 3 weeks, sort of a double treatment. after 8 weeks, i got to be sure this parasite is gone.
both quarantine tanks are holding steady. so far after a week, the clowns are showing no sign of infection and look good.
brown diatoms are growing like crazy in 55g so that is keeping my blenny busy..keeping that fish happy and fed has been my main concern. so far, so good.
I am actually finding that this 2nd time is easier to wait it out as i know that i have no other options, although i'm not even 1/2 way there yet.
SUMMARY
1. QT-1: 7 fish all look ok..except puffer has developed some type of secondary infections. i may need to setup another hospital tank to care for him. 5 weeks remaining.
2. QT-2: 2 clownfish w/BTA - look good
5 weeks remaining.
3. New additions: local guy is breaking down tank: i plan on getting a small yellow wrasse - will put in the 10g QT for 6 weeks.
Live rock - cheap looking for some select pieces - i only plan on quarantining LR and inverts for 5 weeks so i may put these right in the tank as it will remain fallow for 5 weeks anyway...
the tank i am getting this stuff from houses a hippo tang..so the notorious ich magnet should be a good indictation if the tank is infected or not..if it is..he will surely let you know...
UPDATE
Quarantine Round 2: Week 3
well 37% of quarantine is complete. no sign of ich with copper treatment since 7/20.
i began to carbon out the copper. i will remove for 1 week then i am thinking of doing hypo for 3 weeks, sort of a double treatment. after 8 weeks, i got to be sure this parasite is gone.
both quarantine tanks are holding steady. so far after a week, the clowns are showing no sign of infection and look good.
brown diatoms are growing like crazy in 55g so that is keeping my blenny busy..keeping that fish happy and fed has been my main concern. so far, so good.
I am actually finding that this 2nd time is easier to wait it out as i know that i have no other options, although i'm not even 1/2 way there yet.
SUMMARY
1. QT-1: 7 fish all look ok..except puffer has developed some type of secondary infections. i may need to setup another hospital tank to care for him. 5 weeks remaining.
2. QT-2: 2 clownfish w/BTA - look good
5 weeks remaining.
3. New additions: local guy is breaking down tank: i plan on getting a small yellow wrasse - will put in the 10g QT for 6 weeks.
Live rock - cheap looking for some select pieces - i only plan on quarantining LR and inverts for 5 weeks so i may put these right in the tank as it will remain fallow for 5 weeks anyway...
the tank i am getting this stuff from houses a hippo tang..so the notorious ich magnet should be a good indictation if the tank is infected or not..if it is..he will surely let you know...
cduran02
New member
Its been a while since I posted, here's an update. Its been just about 2 months since the fish are back in the display since I treated for ich. No signs since then.
I purchaced a harlequin shrimp and put him in QT, but since they feed solely on live sea stars I figured it would be impossible for me to feed the little guy in the display without QTing the sea stars. So I decided to set up a 10gal nanoreef which will host the harlequin shrimp and mostly corals (no fish at all). I think I may also get a sea horse also (it should do fine there since there are no fish to stress it or compete with for food).
Just to recap, I treated with copper for a little over 14 days, and kept in QT and main tank fallow for a little over 8 weeks.
I purchaced a harlequin shrimp and put him in QT, but since they feed solely on live sea stars I figured it would be impossible for me to feed the little guy in the display without QTing the sea stars. So I decided to set up a 10gal nanoreef which will host the harlequin shrimp and mostly corals (no fish at all). I think I may also get a sea horse also (it should do fine there since there are no fish to stress it or compete with for food).
Just to recap, I treated with copper for a little over 14 days, and kept in QT and main tank fallow for a little over 8 weeks.
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