ich on hippo tang

[Lanman08]

hey guys- i know there are many posts on this but i wanted to write my own personal situation. bought a hippo tang from infamous petco last week. the fish seemed to appear with ich two days after in my display tank. i do not have a quarrantine tank set up, because i didnt know exactly what was needed for them as well as the cost etc.

the fish this morning is behind my rocks breathing heavily and not swimming around much. he was laying on his side earlier. yesterdya he was swimming around and eating like a pig.

is it too late to treat him? what would be the fastest way to treat his disease? im scared removing him and buying a quarrantine tank will stress him out.

 

[Dmorty217]

Best way to treat him WOULD of been Tank Transfer Method but now you have ich in your DT. Do you have any inverts in the DT?

 

[Dmorty217]

FYI just because the fish came from petco doesn't mean it will be sick... I got a Achilles tang from LA that developed ich in the bag on the way to me. LA had it shipped directly from QM

 

[reeferstace]

QT tank and rigorous QT procedure are a must to keep disease-free fish and to keep parasites out of your display tank.

 

[snorvich]

QT tank and rigorous QT procedure are a must to keep disease-free fish and to keep parasites out of your display tank.

What she said.

 

[Lanman08]

so i got a qt tank and he is in there now with an airstone and pvc pipe and heater in a 10 gal. I dosed it with cupramine and put some nori seaweed in there for him to eat.

should i be doing or adding anything else to his QT tank?

and yes, i do have inverts in the display tank

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[pinnatus]

Watch the ammonia levels - has the qt tank been up for long? What have you done for biological filtration?

Also, how big is your DT? Hippo tangs require a large tank...

 

[Lanman08]

i used water directly from my display tank. no sand or rock its bare bottom, so water should be good since my DT has no ammonia.

I plan to do water changes regularly.

Im not doing anything for bio filtration as i was advised i didnt need to

 

[pinnatus]

With no bio filtration, you need to be prepared to make frequent water changes. Waatch your ammonia levels closely. A tang will put out a lot of waste.

 

[Lanman08]

gotcha thanks for the heads up i will be ready! should I be adding anything else besides copper to treat him?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[pinnatus]

Copper should take care of the ich. Realize that now the display tank is also infected with ich, and it needs to remain fishless for 10-12 weeks before the ich will be gone.

There are some really good threads here on the subjects of ich (cryptocaryon irritans) and QT tanks that I recommend you read. Like this one:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738

 

[Lanman08]

thanks so much! the hippos coloration has definitley flushed out since he has been in quarrantine is this normal?

also, if i was thinking about putting a flame angel in with him, would it be okay? theres one at the LFS that i want to get. the QT tank is 10 gal

 

[pinnatus]

How big is the DT?

 

[Lanman08]

55.

 

[pinnatus]

The flame angel will be fine, but the hippo will outgrow the tank soon.

As for the QT tank, if you put a second fish in there, the ammonia levels will spike much quicker. You have no biological filter. You only have 10 gallons of water. So likely you will kill your fish.

Go slow, nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

 

[wooden_reefer]

What other livestock is in your DT?

 

[Lanman08]

thanks. the hippo is tiny and i know he will outgrow the tank eventually. hes only about 1". and I have two clowns in the tank so far besides the hippo i took out. was just thinking about getting the flame angel

 

[wooden_reefer]

I suppose live rock is all you have in DT for biological filtration.

If some of such rock is relatively free from encrusted lives, you can use a portion of it to support your fish in QT.

Treatment against ich will kill many lives on the rock and causes ammonia surge.

The first thing to combat ich infestation in a DT is always to cycle medium for use in QT. Such cycle will last about three weeks if the setup is close to ideal; hence suffering associated with QT ammonia, WC/ Prime or Amquel will only be for three weeks. You sound quite green so I am not sure you know how to start a cycle ASAP.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Im not doing anything for bio filtration as i was advised i didnt need to

You have been told quite wrongly.

It is true that some methods of QT (incomplete and simplistic per se) can be effective against ich without cycled medium in QT.

But when ich infestation has happened in DT, cycled medium for QT is practically necessary for eradication of ich.

The simplest reason is that you have to support the fish while the DT fallows for 12 weeks.

 

[Lanman08]

thanks guys. should i be worried that his color is really washed out looking almost near white? or is this normal of a hippo just entering the QT tank?