ICH help!!

aprilschutt

aprilschutt

New member
Hi there. It seems that one of my clowns in showing signs of ich. Here is my question...I do not have a QT tank (I know!!). How can I treat my tank while keeping my snails safe? I have the copper treatment but read its not good for inverts...any advice would be appreciated!

TIA
 
If you use copper medications in your DT all your inverts will be toast. This includes snails, starfish, and any corals, not to mention all the beneficial bacteria in your live rock. Personally, I wouldn't use copper anyway. It is very hard on most fish, especially those already compromised. Do a quick search for the tank transfer method (TTM)

First thing tomorrow, go get yourself a tank to use as a quarantine/hospital tank. All you really need in it are a powerhead and a heater. Depending on what fish you have (and they ALL must go in there) you can get by with a fairly small tank, or even 5g buckets. If you follow the TTM method, you can have your fish Ich free in a fairly short time. Your DT, on the other hand, MUST remain fishless (fallow) for a minimum of 72 days. There really is no way around that.

hth
 
If you do the tank transfer method you will need to buy two of everything though. Thats 2 tanks/containers, 2 heaters, 2 thermometers, 4 airstones, 4 lengths of airline, 2 powerheads (if you want to use them), and a heap of RO/DI and salt.
 
IMO you cannot treat your display successfully get a 10 gal an a cheap HOB filter to run quarintine. Then run copper or chloroquine phosphate.
 
Do you have a image of the fish and some history on the tank.. So it can be confirmed to be ich or not something else.
 
You might also go to the Fish Disease Forum on RC and start reading.

Recommend the tank transfer method, and separate the treatment and display tanks by at least 10 feet.

But indeed, let's first confirm it's ich. Were there white dots or pimple-like pale bumps?
 
Hi there. It seems that one of my clowns in showing signs of ich. Here is my question...I do not have a QT tank (I know!!).
Click to expand...

Sk8r is right - a LOT of people see white spots on fish and AUTOMATICALLY assume it's ich, when it could be any number of other things. BACTERIAL and FUNGAL infections AND LYMPHOCYTOSIS often mimic ICH in symptoms.
The spots of Ich are usually grainy salt-pebble like and bright white. They usually manifest themselves FIRST at the tip of the tail or the dorsal fin (NOT on the body - initially) and go away after a day or so - only to reappear several days afterwards. If this is happening to your clown, you can be REASONABLY sure it's ich.
Get a ten gallon quarantine tank ASAP (they're cheap enough and easy to use) and START HYPOSALINITY! It's MUCH gentler on the fish than copper!
 
monkeysee1 said:
Sk8r is right - a LOT of people see white spots on fish and AUTOMATICALLY assume it's ich, when it could be any number of other things. BACTERIAL and FUNGAL infections AND LYMPHOCYTOSIS often mimic ICH in symptoms.
The spots of Ich are usually grainy salt-pebble like and bright white. They usually manifest themselves FIRST at the tip of the tail or the dorsal fin (NOT on the body - initially) and go away after a day or so - only to reappear several days afterwards. If this is happening to your clown, you can be REASONABLY sure it's ich.
Get a ten gallon quarantine tank ASAP (they're cheap enough and easy to use) and START HYPOSALINITY! It's MUCH gentler on the fish than copper!
Click to expand...

or nothing but a Clown fish having a play in the Sand Bed..
 
yep. do not use cooper in your DT. it will kill everything but the fish, it will even kill the bacteria and your live rock. you usually can find a cheap 10 gallon kit on craigslist.
 
Ok I got everything set up as far as my quarentine tank goes. Now to catch my fish. This is proving to be a funny joke. Any suggestions??
 
Alright! I finally caught one. :) So, now that my clown is in my QT it doesn't look like there are any spots on it at all!! Ahh, could it be the less then steller lighting in my QT tank that is making it hard to see? Should I just observe him now before treating to make sure I am seeing ich signs? Sorry, I'm just so new to this. Thank everyone for the help!
 
Would it hurt anything if I did treat my fish even if it ends up the one does not have ich? I have two different medications on hand. I have CopperSafe (which I see varying opinions on) and I also have an Herbal Ich Treatment (made by Petco). Any thoughts?
 
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So that article was helpful but still didn't answer whether I can treat if I am wrong in the diagnosis of ich. Also, according to the article then just feeding my fish won't work either.

He is eating and acting fine now but just occasionally opens his mouth really wide as if to "yawn".
 
The least invasive treatment for ich is Tank Transfer Method (TTM). There is a sticky at the top of this forum, it does not require the use of medications. I use TTM on all new fish proactively for ich.

Copper treatment is a toxic and some fish handle it better than others.

Chloroquin phosphate is an option but I have not used it.

Hyposalinity is the final option. It does not require the use of medication but the salinity must be meticulously maintained or it is not effective. There is also some evidence that some strains of ich can survive hypo.

You can use any of the above methods to proactively treat a fish the choice is yours.

As suggested earlier management is an option. This involves keeping the fish healthy with a good immune system to fight off ich. Keep in mind with this approach any fish added will be subjected to ich. I personally do not advocate this approach.
 
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