Hey guys, I'm dealing with an ich issue with my powder blue tang. I'm thinking about taking all my fish out of the display and put them in a bare bottom temporary holding tank and let my tank run empty for a couple weeks to eradicate all the ich in my display. My question is how long should I do this for? And I'm going to be ordering a Rodi unit this friday, is it OK to use tap for the fish only set up while I wait for the unit to come in? Also should I medicate all my fish with the PBT as a prophylactic or is that a bad idea?
Ich help
- Thread starter DJasak
- Start date
Fallow period is 72 days. Tank transfer is the best way to eliminate ich. Are you sure it is ich? History of fish.
ClownFishGuy6
Member
Take all the fish out but the fish that don't have ich put in a separate tank with water that is not from your tank and then if possible put your powder blue tang in a different tank from all the other ones and put in new water and medicate both tanks and your display tank. Or just medicate the 2 tanks with your powder blue tang and other fish. And then just wait a week or 2 so the ich dies out. You can lower your water temp to minimal temperature which is about 78 because it's harder for ich to survive in lower temperatures.
gone fishin
New member
As Steve said if it is indeed ich then the DT needs to be fallow or fishless for 72 days. All the fish in the tank need to be treated. There are stickies in the fish disease forum on the accepted treatments. I personally prefer tank transfer method as well.
Thank you! I can't medicate the display because it is a reef tank. I too like the TTM but I've been tight on money along with space so I haven't been able to set up multiple tanks. I have Mardel quick cure (malachite green plus formalin) the only fish that has ich is the PBT. Should I put the others in a separate observation tank then? Or should I still use the quick cure on everybody. Also when I take the fish out should I take out the shrimp too?
Any fish in a tank that has any fish should be assumed to have ich. TTM can be done with five gallon drums.
There are several errors in this post. Lowering temperature to increase dissolved oxygen (74-75F) is a good thing but it will have no effect on ich. Ich does not die out in a "week or two".
How long has the Powder Blue been in the tank? I think the practical way of doing this is to put them all through a tank transfer schedule. If not you might just have a bunch of other fish that are not showing the actual symptoms but still carrying it. The fact of the matter is they possibly all already have it and you would end up treating one then another showing the symptoms and questioning the best approach again. You obviously have the ability to set up the two tanks since you were saying you could separate the powder from the others. I would bite the bullet and just TTM all of them. Heck, add a couple extra transfers even just to be safe in that they were all not in the same point of the cycle of infection. Make sure you are using clean water when you set up the tanks too.
I am pretty certain the shrimp stays in the DT during the fallow period. You can't have it in a tank while being medicated so should you need to medicate all of the fish (should you not go with a TTM) you will then be taking the shrimp out of the infected hospital tank and putting him back in the display which will result in the 72 days going from THAT transfer date. Leave him in the DT.
I am pretty certain the shrimp stays in the DT during the fallow period. You can't have it in a tank while being medicated so should you need to medicate all of the fish (should you not go with a TTM) you will then be taking the shrimp out of the infected hospital tank and putting him back in the display which will result in the 72 days going from THAT transfer date. Leave him in the DT.
Inverts such as shrimp can not host parasites requiring a fish host. The shrimp stays.
Ok thank you guys, the 2 tanks I have are a 10 gallon and a 16 gallon bow front. The 16 gallon I just finished cycling, it has sand and rock in there and I don't want to have to clean out the sand and rocks to make it a bare bottom. The other issue I have is I only have the heater in my display and one other heater. I don't mind using the 16 gallon as a hospital tank with medication but again I don't think it'll be very effective with sand in there. Would I be correct in saying that the parasite can "hide" in the sand from the medication? I get paid this friday and I believe petco is doing a dollar a gallon sale right now I'll pick up a 20 gallon and heater and then I could do TTM. Also am I ok to use tap water to mix saltwater while I do TTM? And is transferring the fish every 3 days a good schedule? More often/less often? Last question, how long do I do TTM? As in transfer every 3 days for 2 week? 3 weeks? Thank you for your input.
Just read the sticky on TTM answered just about all my questions. Only questions I have is when you say to dry your equipment do u mean let it air dry or should I wipe it out with a towel? Also I understand throwing out the air stone but do I have to throw out the air tubing as well? Seems pretty wasteful, would like to reuse it if I could.
hkgar
Active member
What I do with air tube is have it long enough so that when changing tanks, I reverse the ait tube so that no part of the tube that had any chance of contact with the tank water is noot in the second tank. As an added precaution you could cover the air tube that is out of the water to insure no water gets on it.
I set my tank and the equipment I am drying in front of a large fan for about 12-24 hours.
I set my tank and the equipment I am drying in front of a large fan for about 12-24 hours.
gone fishin
New member
Once I am done cleaning the equipment I will usually wipe it down with some paper towels, then let it air dry. This is just my habit. You want to make sure everything has been dry for at least 24 hours.
As far as the tubing is concerned you want to make sure it has been completely dry for at least 24 hours. Some folks will set it aside and use it for future TTM. Good luck
As far as the tubing is concerned you want to make sure it has been completely dry for at least 24 hours. Some folks will set it aside and use it for future TTM. Good luck
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