Ich in the reef tank

[Melchiah]

Hello everyone.
I have an aqua with 600l with about 4 months. All was well until the introduction of a leocosternon that probably introducted an epidemic of ich. The leucosternon eventually die. The other five fish survived but have also been infested. At this time no signs of disease but as you know, this continues in the aquarium until I remove all the fish for at least 6 weeks. The aquarium has some corals - 3 LPS, 4 SPS, 2 Ricordea and some Zoanthus. Now my doubt is:
Should I remove all the fish to a quarantine tank and treat them properly for at least 6 weeks?
The aquarium parametres will not change caused by the decrease in organic load, can it put corals at risk?
Should I change all the fish simultaneously for quarantine?
An aqua with 240L is sufficient for 1 hepatus, 1 veliferum, 2 salarias and 1 goby? This aquarium must have skimmer and filter? Wich skimmer and filter should I choose?

I'm sorry for the big text and thank you for your help.

 

[steelhead77]

IMO, if the fish are showing no signs of anything, why stress them out by chasing them around with a net and taking them out of their home? Even IF they were showing signs, I would still advocate for leaving them alone, making sure they are eating well and your water quality is pristine. If you've read any other recent ich threads, qt and fallowness - even for 8-10 weeks - is hit or miss, despite what all the supposed know-it-all's around here say.

 

[Melchiah]

And, what about the future addings to this tank? I want to add more fish in the future but... Doesn't I run the risk, every time I introduce a new fish in the tank, starting a new period of uncontrolled infection?

 

[jcw]

Well, I think that's the problem. Every new fish may start off a new ich problem.

How about instead of moving the fish, moving the coral and LR? More a question than a solution.

 

[steelhead77]

And, what about the future addings to this tank? I want to add more fish in the future but... Doesn't I run the risk, every time I introduce a new fish in the tank, starting a new period of uncontrolled infection?

I know I go against the CW around here and I'm sure I'll get flamed but my answer is; not necessarily. My Purple Tang:



You must admit he's pretty infected. Well this was over two years ago and he is still going strong today. I never qt'd him, no other fish came down with it and I now have 17 or 18 fish in the tank and none have ever came down with it. There are those that will say that I have a ticking time bomb, just a little stress and boom! my tank is history - to them I say: I don't think so. I have upgraded tanks twice so my fish have been through a lot of stress and I have added 3 other tangs since this pic was taken.

All I am doing is sharing my personal experience, YMMV, of course. However, I am positive that my experience is not unique - many other reefers do just as I have and have been successful. You may lose other fish following my advice, you may lose other fish following the "qt and treat" advice. You could qt, leave your tank fallow for 10 weeks, feel confident that ich is gone, return your fish and bang - ich is back - there are many threads here recently where that has happened. You can do what you want and follow other advice (that I am sure will be posted soon) if you feel more comfortable with that, but I am of the school that says you leave the fish alone and as stress free as possible, keep water quality pristine, and things will sort themselves out.

Good Luck

 

[duncantse]

Well, my clownfish came down with ich but it wasn't serious. I only see about 10 spots on it. After a day, it came down to 5 then the next day, it came down to 2. I don't know if the ich fell off or the fish is killing it off. I am not going to QT it because I will stress them out a lot. My pair of clowns is doing fine and I think that they will get rid of ich on their on. I am not saying not to QT sick fish but if the fish is fish is eating well, don't stress it anymore.

 

[Chris27]

A fish will not die from stress. On countless occasions, I have chased a fish around the display, and not one of them have died as a result.

If stress were that bad a killer, then the aquarium hobby would not exist, think about it, a fish is caught in the South Pacific, put into a shoddy holding tank, flown to California, put into a nice holding tank, then shipped again to another fish store. Somehow the stress of those trips isn't enough to kill them, why would chasing it around a fish tank for 10 min. be....

I QT everything, and recommended the same to others. With chemistry, equipment choices, compatibility and everything else we have to worry about, why should one have to deal with parasites? QT is so easy, and so much is gained from it.

 

[yeloowtang]

as chris and others will say, to QT everything to start with is the way to go if you can !!
however in all of the years i`ve been in the hobby i have never QT fish or coral and i haven`t used dips either..of course the risk is there but i know to many people that lose things in QT.
i`ve had ick and it went away with no signs of it,it`s probably still there but my fish aren`t showing any signs of it..

would i recommend this to others !!!! no
some will QT everything !!! fish,corals,inverts, hell might as well QT live rock to make sure no unwanted crabs show up...

for me the only fish i ever lost due to ick is a powder blue tang
and i say ick but he had no signs of it for months and one day he just vanished !!!!

i keep my water prestine and make sure my tank is well fed with good skimming and water changes..

if you can QT, it`s the best route but as others said it`s not a rule of thumb..

steff

 

[steelhead77]

A fish will not die from stress. On countless occasions, I have chased a fish around the display, and not one of them have died as a result.

If stress were that bad a killer, then the aquarium hobby would not exist, think about it, a fish is caught in the South Pacific, put into a shoddy holding tank, flown to California, put into a nice holding tank, then shipped again to another fish store. Somehow the stress of those trips isn't enough to kill them, why would chasing it around a fish tank for 10 min. be....

I QT everything, and recommended the same to others. With chemistry, equipment choices, compatibility and everything else we have to worry about, why should one have to deal with parasites? QT is so easy, and so much is gained from it.

Nobody is saying that stress kills fish. Anecdotal evidence says that ich can be brought about by inducing stress in fish. The theory goes, if you can reduce stress, you will reduce the incidence of a fish coming down with ich.

If there were no rock in a tank I would agree with your claim that chasing a fish for 10 minutes causes no harm. However, in a tank filled with rock, you can cause damage, not only to the fish but to corals as well. Hence the recommendation to refrain from chasing the fish around and trying to keep things stress free.

This is my opinion only. You may have different experiences than me. I can only share what I did, and continue to do, and the results I have had.

 

[125G Reefer]

Nobody is saying that stress kills fish. Anecdotal evidence says that ich can be brought about by inducing stress in fish. The theory goes, if you can reduce stress, you will reduce the incidence of a fish coming down with ich.

If there were no rock in a tank I would agree with your claim that chasing a fish for 10 minutes causes no harm. However, in a tank filled with rock, you can cause damage, not only to the fish but to corals as well. Hence the recommendation to refrain from chasing the fish around and trying to keep things stress free.

This is my opinion only. You may have different experiences than me. I can only share what I did, and continue to do, and the results I have had.

+1. I agree.