ich

[kingraham]

seems i have run into a ich problem. a couple of my fish have a few white spots on there fins, they aren't covered in them but still a little worried. i have asked some people they all say something different like use a dip, or add garlic to there food. i have a fully stocked tank with coral so i cant not treat the tank and do not have a quarantine tank big enough to house all the fish. i do have some harbtana ich treatment which says is reef safe still make me a little nervous. just wondering what suggestions you might have? i also was wondering i have a sailfin and purple tang which have been together awhile but wondering if stress causes ich? what should i do? thanks

 

[DEEP BLUE SIX]

Sorry to here this.

You really need to treat them in a QT. All of them. Using "tank transfer" or if not at least a combo of hyposalinity and / or formalin or copper treatments all in a QT. These are the only ways of getting rid of the ich 100%.
Even some fish that appear to have none, are still exposed.

You also need to leave your main display fallow for at least 8 weeks. (No fish in it) To leave any remaining free swimming Ich and dormant life stages No fish hosts to live on. They will all die then and leave your tank free of Ich.

Dips can sometimes help and give some relief to the fish.
But they are not going to cure the Ich parasite entirely.
Garlic is not going to hurt. But it's not going to cure the fish of Ich.
Keeping them eating well is good as it sometimes helps the fish keep their immune system up. But again, though good for the fish and may help in a minor way- it's still not going to cure the Ich parasite in most cases enough to rid them of it entirely.

You need to get a QT big enough or more than one to house all the fish.
I know this is really tough and the wait during the treatment and fallow period for the display is a painful wait. But it must be done.
Otherwise you have no gaurantee of getting rid of it 100%.

Tangs are very sensitive to Ich. Some more than others. Stress can induce outbreaks sometimes but the Ich got into your tank somehow from no quarantine of fish at some point to begin with.
Every new fish purchase should go into QT for at least a month before adding to your display.

 

[aguz1126]

I have had very good results using a qt tank, hypo salinity and a uv sterilizer

 

[kingraham]

thanks for the reply i have a purple tang, sailfin tang, blonde naso tang, long nose butterfly, two snowflake clowns, cleaner wrasse, two diamond gobys, and a flame angle. how big of a qt would i need would a 55 gallon be big enough? how long would the qt need to be sat up for before adding the fish? and would my cleaner and blood shrimp also need to be taken out? thanks

 

[DEEP BLUE SIX]

Not sure how big your fish are..(Naso can get pretty big) But a 55 "at least" would have to do. You can do smaller tanks if you split them up. But of course that can be complicated. Having many tanks to use is not always an option everyone can do.

Mix saltwater for it for 24 hours or so.. then you should be able to set up the simple filter/heater etc.. in it and start filling, running it and right after add fish. Just check the parameters to start etc.. DO it as soon as possible.

Only all the FISH need to go in this QT. Your shrimps don't need to come out, nor do any other invertibrates / or corals. Only fish are effected by the parasite(they can only host on fish) Just run the main display, managing it like normal- just with NO fish in it for 8 weeks.

 

[DEEP BLUE SIX]

Read this link:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

This is a good article, though not the newest.
Steven Pro also has just written a new book all on diseases and Quarantine, co-written with Mark Callahan. That can be found online for PDF or bound printed copies for order as well.

Here's another "local" thread that's good reading:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2185929

 

[kingraham]

alright thanks a lot i'm going to purchase a used 55 gallon tank tomorrow what is the best ich medication to use? any tricks to catching a fish especially the goby's in a fully stocked tank?

 

[DEEP BLUE SIX]

I hate to tell you this.. but you can try for hours in a tank with live rock... to catch fish.
fruitlessly. You may get lucky. But it's waste of time to try without removing the contents first.

It's going to sound like "work" here lol. Cause to an extent it is. Especially when your stressed about getting your fish out. The only sure fire way to do it is have however many temporary containers you'll need to take all the live rock / coral etc.. OUT of the tank! Just remove it all. (you can use whatever for temp containers as long as they have been clean. like rubbermaids or even just buckets) Take some water out as well. Save all of it to put back in. Once it's just nothing but your fish in the water in your display- you can easily net them all out. They won't be able to hide.

Then once they are all in the running QT, you just put everything back into the display and keep it running without fish for 8 weeks.

That simple. lol But of course a pain in the rear. Another reason why you want to QT every fish you buy, keep ich from ever getting in your display and you'll never have to go through this again. Don't lose heart. This is all doable.

 

[E_rock]

Tmz is the man if you cant find an answer. I am currently on week 6 of 8 for leaving my DT fallow. I followed his tank transfer method and it worked really well.

As for getting the fish out....I agree taking everything out is the best way. Even then I had to use a piece of eggcrate to help channel them in.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

seems i have run into a ich problem. a couple of my fish have a few white spots on there fins, they aren't covered in them but still a little worried. i have asked some people they all say something different like use a dip, or add garlic to there food. i have a fully stocked tank with coral so i cant not treat the tank and do not have a quarantine tank big enough to house all the fish. i do have some harbtana ich treatment which says is reef safe still make me a little nervous. just wondering what suggestions you might have? i also was wondering i have a sailfin and purple tang which have been together awhile but wondering if stress causes ich? what should i do? thanks

there is no "reef safe" treatment for Cryptocaryon irritans.

 

[E_rock]

I pretty much started the same thread when I ran into the same problem

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2198383