ich question

[RealReef7]

I know for a fact that there is ich in my tank, and i dont have enough space to medicate all my fish at once. i plan on getting another fish and i plan on QT it, but my question is, is it worth doing so if i know for sure there is already ich present in my tanK? I know this because i saw a few spots on my yellow tang a few months ago.

 

[b0bab0ey]

The only thing you can do is QT ALL your fish and treat with hypo/copper, AND leave your DT fallow for 8-9 weeks to starve out the remaining Ich. I'm guessing this is probably not the answer you wanted to hear but it's the only one that's going to work.

I wouldn't get anymore fish until after you do this.

 

[sandwi54]

It's of course not worth doing. What's the point of treating a new fish only to have it go in and get infected again?

How big is your display tank and how many and what type of fish do you have? You need to pull them all out to treat and leave the display fallow for at least 8-10 weeks. If you have a large numer of fish, you'll need to get a large QT.

 

[MrTuskfish]

There is a school of SW fishkeeping that says you can manage ich. I'm not a member. Ich, when present, can and will overwhelm your tank. The only question is when. Just adding a new fish could be the stressor that could easily change you tank from "ich is there, but unseen" to "all my fish are gasping and covered with ich. The number of hobbyists who give up because of an ongoing ich war must be astronomical and it is probably the most common thread on this section of the RC Forum. For the price of a new fish, you could probably set up a QT, try Craigs List.

 

[Gill_bucket]

I don't QT my fish, however just because you have ick in the system dosn't mean you want to bring in marine velvet or something else. Like I said I don't QT my fish and personally I wouldn't take all your fish out and QT them, just pointing out that ick is not the only reason people QT new fish.

 

[RealReef7]

I QT'd all my fish individually or sometimes multiples, for 5 weeks in a 10g tank. So saying i'm not being "responsible" is out of the question, i just cant afford the space... and after doing all that i still have ich. my current fish are:
-yellow tang
-purple tang
-3 yellow tail damsels
-twin spot wrasse
-"christmas" wrasse
-2 clown fish
-1 blenny

my DT is a standard 120g, all my fish are pretty small, the biggest being 5" the yellow tang. I guess im just going to QT the next fish i get and if it gets ich.. oh well.

 

[sandwi54]

I QT'd all my fish individually or sometimes multiples, for 5 weeks in a 10g tank.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. QT is mainly for buying new fish, or when a fish in DT has some kind of infection. If you already have ich in your system, QT "individually" or "sometimes multiples" is not going to do anything. The ich are still on the fish, in your DT, and in your QT. Unless you follow the recommended treatment method, ich is not going to go away, which I assume is what you want.

Put all the fish in a large QT (you may seed the QT's bio filter in your DT for a couple of weeks just to get it going). Perform either hypo or cupramine (read the stickies on this forum if you don't know how). Let the DT be fallow for 8-10 weeks and you'll be ich free. Just remember to QT any new fish you buy and treat prophylactically, and you'll never have to go through this again.

 

[sandwi54]

my DT is a standard 120g, all my fish are pretty small, the biggest being 5" the yellow tang. I guess im just going to QT the next fish i get and if it gets ich.. oh well.

Trust me, it's just a matter of time before ich kills everything in your tank. Right now you're just striking a balance because the fish are healthy enough to fight the ich off. Once that balance is disturbed, and it will be some time in the future, the ich will find opportunities to explode. All it takes is introduction of a new fish (stress to the existing fish), an occasional laziness to do water change, the fish growing up and start getting territorial and fighting. I can think of hundreds of reasons that can tip off that balance.

I have also seen lots of hobbyists who ignore the ich in their systems, thinking that it *may* go away on its own, or the fish will fight it off. Sure they will, but not indefinitely. They may get away for a few months, but eventually ich will take over the tank. just google on this forum and read the hundreds of posts on "ich killed everything in my tank!!!"

 

[b0bab0ey]

my current fish are:
-yellow tang
-purple tang
-3 yellow tail damsels
-twin spot wrasse
-"christmas" wrasse
-2 clown fish
-1 blenny

I'd say you could get by with a 50-60g QT for a couple of months with that stock list. A 4-foot 55g would probably be best, but you could also go with something like a 58g if it had to be a 3-foot tank. I'd go bare-bottom w/a heater, HOB power filter, maybe a couple of sponge filters and a powerhead for good measure. Up to you.

 

[RealReef7]

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. QT is mainly for buying new fish, or when a fish in DT has some kind of infection. If you already have ich in your system, QT "individually" or "sometimes multiples" is not going to do anything. The ich are still on the fish, in your DT, and in your QT. Unless you follow the recommended treatment method, ich is not going to go away, which I assume is what you want.

Put all the fish in a large QT (you may seed the QT's bio filter in your DT for a couple of weeks just to get it going). Perform either hypo or cupramine (read the stickies on this forum if you don't know how). Let the DT be fallow for 8-10 weeks and you'll be ich free. Just remember to QT any new fish you buy and treat prophylactically, and you'll never have to go through this again.

When i first set up my 120g, all the fish were qt'd in a 10g(not all at the same time) before going into the DT. Another words, ive QT all my fish before they went in the DT. Sometimes i would do multiple fish in the 10g tank, ex. 2 perculas and a blenny. I dont think you get it, or maybe i wasnt clear.
note; i didnt add all my fish at the same time in my dt.
i suppose i got ich maybe from hitching a ride on a big piece of coral.

 

[MrTuskfish]

When i first set up my 120g, all the fish were qt'd in a 10g(not all at the same time) before going into the DT. Another words, ive QT all my fish before they went in the DT. Sometimes i would do multiple fish in the 10g tank, ex. 2 perculas and a blenny. I dont think you get it, or maybe i wasnt clear.
note; i didnt add all my fish at the same time in my dt.
i suppose i got ich maybe from hitching a ride on a big piece of coral.

Forms of parasites can arrive in your DT via coral, LR, snails, LS, crabs....anything wet should go through a QT.

 

[sandwi54]

When i first set up my 120g, all the fish were qt'd in a 10g(not all at the same time) before going into the DT. Another words, ive QT all my fish before they went in the DT. Sometimes i would do multiple fish in the 10g tank, ex. 2 perculas and a blenny. I dont think you get it, or maybe i wasnt clear.
note; i didnt add all my fish at the same time in my dt.
i suppose i got ich maybe from hitching a ride on a big piece of coral.

I see what you meant and apologize for my misunderstanding. Do you prophylactically treat with prazipro and cupramine in the QT? I find that to help a lot go guarantee that any potential disease is eradicated before the fish goes into DT.

Parasites could hitch-hike with invertebrates but the probability of that is low. Nevertheless, they should be quarantined for 6-8 weeks anyway just to make sure all the parasites complete the life cycle and die off.

 

[RealReef7]

I didnt use prazipro because i wasn't aware of it. However I did use cupramine. QT everything that goes in the tank seems a little extreme... i think im just going continue with the QT procedures on any new fish and if they get ich then hopefully they pull through. I plan on adding maybe a small blue line angel in the future, i will treat with prazi+cupramine for 4 weeks and hope for the best i guess.