Ich question.

[glenns]

I introduced a Kleins butterfly to my tank yesterday. He made it through Quarantine without a problem and pigged out. But, when I placed him in my display tank, the Yellow tang and Coral Beauty began harassing him. Even though I rearranged some rock and had the lights out for a few hours, they continue to chase him. Well now he has an out brake of ich. The other fish seem to have calmed down. Still some minor chasing, but not like before. Do I borrow a fish trap and try to get him out, or will reduced stress and the cleaner shrimp take care of his ich? He is still with me this morning and still eating.

 

[cmulawka]

sounds like the ich is in the main tank try qt everyone or doseing copper make sure you dont have any inverts or corals in with the copper also you may need to just get rid of the fish while it is still alive sometimes the all just dont get along

 

[glenns]

Thanks cmulawka. When I got home yesterday, everyone seemed to be getting along better. There was still some territory disputes, but no more than is common among all the tank mates. No other fish have ich, and the Klein Butterfly appears to have fewer spots. I'll keep an eye on it for a day or two.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that ich is always present to some degree. It only gains an advantage when a fish is stressed and its' immune system is weakened.

Glenn

 

[cmulawka]

correct

 

[kfowler]

Glenn are you asking if Ich is present in every tank? Absolutely not. If you do have it in your display, it will most likely always be there unless you treat your tank.

I would suggest putting all your fish in QT and hypo for six weeks. Then you'll know for sure that the Ich has been permanently eliminated from your tank.

 

[glenns]

Great news, his ich is gone. He is feeding well. He is also holding his own against the Tang and Coral beauty who initially bullied him. Now if he would just eat the Aiptasia instead of just picking at it.

kfowler, thanks for clearing that up. Unfortunately, I don't have a QT tank large enough to support all my fish. Not to mention wouldn't going hypo and raising the tank temp kill my corals?