Ich outbreak!

[ROB712]

hey guys need your help..i have a 300g reef up and running...just recently bought an Achilles tang and literally overnight he got ich after i QTed him and put him in the show tank...now my purple tang and a few others are also getting some white spots..should i treat the entire tank for ich or put them in QT one by one?

 

[Jerry W]

In a large reef system, there is nothing you can do to treat the display. I'd remove the fish and treat them all in quarantine, leaving the display fallow for 6-8 weeks. This will ensure the parasite dies off. How many fish do you have and do you have quarantine capacity for all of them?

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14514630#post14514630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerry W
In a large reef system, there is nothing you can do to treat the display. I'd remove the fish and treat them all in quarantine, leaving the display fallow for 6-8 weeks. This will ensure the parasite dies off. How many fish do you have and do you have quarantine capacity for all of them?

i have a lot of fish in it right now..my friend at the LFS said he has something that i can treat the whole tank...the achilles has it the worst i may just take him out and put him back into QT. my QT is barely big enough to hold 2 fish in QT.

 

[Freed]

QTing one fish at a time will ensure you do not get rid of the ich. Your buddy at the LFS is either trying to pull a fast one you or he has no clue what he's doing. There is no reef safe med that will work on ich. The only way to kill ich is to QT all your fish and let the tank run fallow for at least 6 weeks.

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14514876#post14514876 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
QTing one fish at a time will ensure you do not get rid of the ich. Your buddy at the LFS is either trying to pull a fast one you or he has no clue what he's doing. There is no reef safe med that will work on ich. The only way to kill ich is to QT all your fish and let the tank run fallow for at least 6 weeks.

ok after ripping apart my fish room trying to get these fish i got the most important one which is the Achilles tang out he got really bad in one day which amazes me because i cant believe it got ick that fast..the purple tang is still in there and boy did that little guy get me mad trying to catch him...

my question is just because ONE fish has ick doesnt mean they will ALL get ick right? it could just pass or will it just keep getting worse and worse till he dies or spreads to the rest of the fish? i remember last week my Naso was starting to get ick on his fins but nows its completely gone...what do you guys think????

 

[Freed]

If one had ich, there is a high probability that the others have it or you just can't see it as it's probably in the gills or is in the sand bed/live rock multiplying waiting to strike again in the next few days to a week or so.

 

[biger]

Hey Rob, sounds like you need to do some reading up about ich.
Here is a site with a lot of info.

http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14521935#post14521935 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by biger
Hey Rob, sounds like you need to do some reading up about ich.
Here is a site with a lot of info.

http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

Thank you!

im using an ich treatment thats safe for corals and inverts. call "kick ich" the guy at the LFS which is a good friend of mine used it in his large reef tank and said it works fine so i will be treating my reef with this for the next few weeks along with my Achilles tang who gets the QT tank for himself.

anyone ever heard of this?

 

[Freed]

Yes, it is at best "snake oil". Like I stated before, your friend has no idea that it doesn't work and/or is only trying to make a sale. I guarantee you if you didn't use it, the ich would disappear on it's own in the exact same amount of time as it would by adding that bottle of water. The ich would then reappear after a short time.

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14523414#post14523414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
Yes, it is at best "snake oil". Like I stated before, your friend has no idea that it doesn't work and/or is only trying to make a sale. I guarantee you if you didn't use it, the ich would disappear on it's own in the exact same amount of time as it would by adding that bottle of water. The ich would then reappear after a short time.

lol seems like you have a grudge for LFS..before i had my 300g reef i had a nano cube up and running and that broke out with ich pretty bad and i used this exact same product and i never got ich again so the only reason i have trust in this is because ive already used it some time ago.

as far as him not knowing anything about keeping a reef or fish in general..i think if you were to see his tank you would have more respect for him haha plus he wasnt trying to make a sale considering i get pretty much everything at wholesale price hence why i go to the wholesale with him to get my fish and corals etc etc...i will update you guys as this goes along and how the product works on a larger scale(300g).

if he thought this product was crap then he would of just told me to do it another way and not wasted my time that has been my past experience so i have a lot of trust in what he tells me and ive learned most of what i know through them ive been to a lot fo LFS where they tell me what will get them a sale and i assure you this store is NOT like that..thats why i continue to go there regularly..him and his brother(owners) are not just a typical LFS that is trying to make a profit they have a rep for being one of the best stores in Southern California/San Fernando valley area

i guess its a hit or miss so i hope i get lucky like last time.

 

[Saltliquid]

sick fish

sick fish

Have you reduced your feeding?

Have you done every thing to keep your water PH stable during the out break?

Have you made sure there are no dirty dead spots in your tank?

Is the temp stable?

Have you dropped your salinity to -22 to -24ish during this time to reduce the work load (stress)on the fishes salt removing organ?

Have you done more than usual to reduce any and all possible stress in the tank during this out break?

If it is one of those fish that will never settle into tank life properly and continualy be stressed and there for a parrasite factory,than thats a shame.

If it is not one of those rarities,than one or more of the above are why you have a problem!

 

[ROB712]

Re: sick fish

Re: sick fish

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14531084#post14531084 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by liquidg
Have you reduced your feeding?

Have you done every thing to keep your water PH stable during the out break?

Have you made sure there are no dirty dead spots in your tank?

Is the temp stable?

Have you dropped your salinity to -22 to -24ish during this time to reduce the work load (stress)on the fishes salt removing organ?

Have you done more than usual to reduce any and all possible stress in the tank during this out break?

If it is one of those fish that will never settle into tank life properly and continualy be stressed and there for a parrasite factory,than thats a shame.

If it is not one of those rarities,than one or more of the above are why you have a problem!

should i run my lights less? my Achilles tang is in the QT and seems to be getting worse...my temp is stable at 79-80 degrees. my PH is stable...i feed them a good amount because some ppl on here told me to keep them all eating very good so im making sure or that.

should i run my lights less?

also the only fish that really have the ICH bad are the two new fish i added which is the purple tang and the Achilles tang..my yellows tang fight with the purple tang and im sure that stressing them out and the Achilles is back in the 29g Qt so im sure thats stressing him out as well all the rest of the fish are pretty much clean except one yellow tang with i noticed he had a few spots on him fins.

My Achilles is starting to breath a little heavy and he seemed to get worse in the last day after looking like he was clearing up.

 

[Mperfume]

ich

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14514630#post14514630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerry W
In a large reef system, there is nothing you can do to treat the display. I'd remove the fish and treat them all in quarantine, leaving the display fallow for 6-8 weeks. This will ensure the parasite dies off. How many fish do you have and do you have quarantine capacity for all of them?

I need help also! I just notice what looks like ick on my hippo tang and my powder blue. This just popped up within the last 24 hours. I have a smaller tank that I place all the fish in-- about 9 of them. What do I treat them with? Do I need a protein skimmer, uv, good lighting ect while I'm quarantining them? Can I get away with a cannister filter on a 35 gal hex with daily water changes? Can I use just regular lighting on the tank? Please help, I'm a rank beginner (which probably means that I shouldn't have gotten these 2 fish in the first place), but I need all the help I can get. I can be out at the LFS first thing in the morning to get what I need-- just need the names of what is best and how to use it. I trust you guys more then I do the LFS. Feel free to email me if you have to. Thank you all in advance,
Michelle

 

[Freed]

mperfume, the link up above toward the top of the page has very good info on ich and the treatment of it. Only three methods have ever been proven to cure ich of which copper and hypo are easiest to perform in a QT tank. Please don't fall for the "reef safe" treatments like others do and you will be fine.

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14531578#post14531578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
mperfume, the link up above toward the top of the page has very good info on ich and the treatment of it. Only three methods have ever been proven to cure ich of which copper and hypo are easiest to perform in a QT tank. Please don't fall for the "reef safe" treatments like others do and you will be fine.

what do you do when you cant QT all your fish for ich?

 

[Freed]

I QT them before putting them in. A large rubbermaid bin would be your best bet along with a heater, sponge filter, powerhead.

 

[ROB712]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14531661#post14531661 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
I QT them before putting them in. A large rubbermaid bin would be your best bet along with a heater, sponge filter, powerhead.

i have a fluval canister filter from my Freshwater setup..you think that will do the job? and i still have my 125G tank i dont use.

 

[Freed]

Yes, but the sponge in the filter needs to be seeded with bacteria from your tank, or you can use some water from your tank in the rubbermaid, etc but keep an eye on your ammonia as you won't have alot of bacteria in there at first to break down nitrates/ites. pH should be watched as well.

 

[Saltliquid]

parrasites

parrasites

I agree with freed on reef safe treatments.

What attacks our fish are parrasites and they are inverts as are corals as such.

If they are reef safe they will only annoy the parrasites and maybe not kill the corals.

In the past i use to use a mix of a particular acid and copper sulphate from the chemist and mix it myself.

With some good monitoring it works very well in killing all inverts and fish if you don't dose correctly.

The feeding thing i do differently.

When they are hungry they have a very strong will to survive and the less feeding keeps the water quality up.

During these times i use a small amount of nori and dry food.

If you think you should put them into quarantine,do it and treat them quickly and very carefully as you raise the dose.

Just remember when you treat fish for parrasites,they tend to deplete there muccus coating of which has there imune system in it to help fight off parrasites,so when they go back in your tank,they may have very little protection for a while.

Infact that is why sometimes new fish get attacks in your tank when you buy them,sometimes the store has had them in treatment when you bought it.

We use clorquin(spelling) here a lot,i havent,but others say it is the best?

I hope your fish do well!

 

[ROB712]

Re: parrasites

Re: parrasites

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14531779#post14531779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by liquidg
I agree with freed on reef safe treatments.

What attacks our fish are parrasites and they are inverts as are corals as such.

If they are reef safe they will only annoy the parrasites and maybe not kill the corals.

In the past i use to use a mix of a particular acid and copper sulphate from the chemist and mix it myself.

With some good monitoring it works very well in killing all inverts and fish if you don't dose correctly.

The feeding thing i do differently.

When they are hungry they have a very strong will to survive and the less feeding keeps the water quality up.

During these times i use a small amount of nori and dry food.

If you think you should put them into quarantine,do it and treat them quickly and very carefully as you raise the dose.

Just remember when you treat fish for parrasites,they tend to deplete there muccus coating of which has there imune system in it to help fight off parrasites,so when they go back in your tank,they may have very little protection for a while.

Infact that is why sometimes new fish get attacks in your tank when you buy them,sometimes the store has had them in treatment when you bought it.

We use clorquin(spelling) here a lot,i havent,but others say it is the best?

I hope your fish do well!

thanks guys i will do my best..if i could catch the darn purple tang i think i would be ok but hes a little sh!t haha i just hope i can pull out of this smoothly cause ive learned my lesson yet again and i will never add any fish without Qting him for ATLEAST 2 weeks!