mysaltyfish
New member
I have an Ich problem. I have Ich in my 80 gallon display tank, which consists of 2 amphiprion ocellaris (clownfish), 1 salarias fasciatus (sailfin/algae/lawnmower blenny), 1 acanthurus nigricans (whitecheek tang), and also: a bulb anemone, a chocolate chip starfish, a few shrimp, and a mix of 30-40 snails.
According to what I've read (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php), I need to move my fish to a quarantine tank for treatment, and allow my display tank to sit for 4+ weeks without the fish (so the Ich dies off).
Questions:
1) Will any ich survive in my anemone, starfish, shrimp or snails? I just want to be certain that if I leave those in my display tank for 4-6 weeks, the ich won't host in them. I read it won't live without fish, but what about a starfish or anemone?
2) My quarantine tank filtration isn't ready! Should I put a sponge filter in my display tank and let it soak up beneficial bacteria for 4 weeks before moving the fish to the QT and beginning treatment? Or should I start right away and worry about the quarantine tank cycling (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate...) and combatting that with chemicals and frequent water changes?
3) My barebone (just some PVC) quarantine tank is only 15 gallons. Is it large enough to quarantine 4 fish for 4-6 weeks? I have a tank divider if necessary. Here are the sizes of my fish:
Clown1: 1"
Clown2: 1.5"
Blenny: 3"
Tang: 2.5"
According to what I've read (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php), I need to move my fish to a quarantine tank for treatment, and allow my display tank to sit for 4+ weeks without the fish (so the Ich dies off).
Questions:
1) Will any ich survive in my anemone, starfish, shrimp or snails? I just want to be certain that if I leave those in my display tank for 4-6 weeks, the ich won't host in them. I read it won't live without fish, but what about a starfish or anemone?
2) My quarantine tank filtration isn't ready! Should I put a sponge filter in my display tank and let it soak up beneficial bacteria for 4 weeks before moving the fish to the QT and beginning treatment? Or should I start right away and worry about the quarantine tank cycling (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate...) and combatting that with chemicals and frequent water changes?
3) My barebone (just some PVC) quarantine tank is only 15 gallons. Is it large enough to quarantine 4 fish for 4-6 weeks? I have a tank divider if necessary. Here are the sizes of my fish:
Clown1: 1"
Clown2: 1.5"
Blenny: 3"
Tang: 2.5"
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