My fish has ICH... Now what?

[jasonzns2]

I have a 150 gallon tank with 7 fish and decided to add a blue hippo tang that appeared to be fine at the LFS. I have had him in the tank for two days and I see visible signs of ICH on the fins and body. Other than the white spots this fish acts perfectly normal with no loss of appetite, no loss of color and no fast gilling. Everything about the fish seems normal except for these white spots that are spreading.
There is about 300 pounds of live rock so catching him is an almost impossible task. What should I do? I dont want to completly dismantle and established tank for 1 fish but I fear this stuff spreading to the other fish. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RegalAngel]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1500214
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

Live rock...any inverts, corals?
If so then copper and hypo won't work.

Perhaps an additive like this:
http://www.fishvet.com/no-ich.htm

But with a 150g tank it would be very expensive to treat.

 

[smcfall176]

I have a Powder Blue that got ich. What I did is put a nora sheet into the tank on a clip when he came up for some I scooped him up with a net. Put him in QT and after a month he was ready to go. Other than that good luck catching him.

 

[Chris27]

Two options:

1.) Feed well and cross your fingers
Pros - easy, don't have to spend time catching fish.
Cons - other fish will get Crypt, stressors will eventually succumb a healthy fish and they will get Crypt, new fish will most likely get Crypt.

2.) Pull all the fish and QT while leaving DT fallow for a month or so.
Pros - The parasite will be eradicated from your system, existing fish will never get Crypt again, new fish won't get crypt if properly QT'd before adding to the DT, won't loose sleep anymore.
Cons - Hard to get the fish out, no fish in the DT for a while, QT can be difficult on some fish (puffers, sand sifting gobies, mandarins).

 

[RBU1]

Two options:

1.) Feed well and cross your fingers
Pros - easy, don't have to spend time catching fish.
Cons - other fish will get Crypt, stressors will eventually succumb a healthy fish and they will get Crypt, new fish will most likely get Crypt.

2.) Pull all the fish and QT while leaving DT fallow for a month or so.
Pros - The parasite will be eradicated from your system, existing fish will never get Crypt again, new fish won't get crypt if properly QT'd before adding to the DT, won't loose sleep anymore.
Cons - Hard to get the fish out, no fish in the DT for a while, QT can be difficult on some fish (puffers, sand sifting gobies, mandarins).

I would go with number 2 but a 3 month fallow time would be better....

 

[sedor]

The problem is #2 is sometimes an almost impossible task. Throwing all the fish from a 150 into say a 29 or 40 hospital tank will likely cause more stress than the parasite itself due to space restrictions. But if you only remove the fish with visible signs of the parasite, you will spend all your time nursing it back to help, and then as soon as it goes back into the DT the parasite will be back.

Personally, I think almost everyone has ich in their system, and I feel its usually best to try and build the fish's immune system through feeding and additives such as selcon and garlic. Don't let this discourage you from QTing new additions to the tank as new inhabitants will usually be more susceptible to disease. Good luck. Tangs tend to show ich very easily so as long as he is eating I wouldn't worry to much about it. When he settles in it should go away.

 

[BR12349]

I agree I have had my Hippo for 3 years now and he gets ich for a day or so every 30 days or so. As long as he is eating leave him be.

 

[jasonzns2]

I am reading on several other message boards that ICH outbreaks are very common with Hippo tangs when first introduced to the tank. If they are acting normal most overcome within a few days. I did go buy some kyolic garlic extract to soak the nori in. Hopefully mine will overcome as well. The real question I have is did he bring the ICH with him from the LFS or did my tank already have it and the other fish inhabitants immune systems are preventing me from seeing signs. No fish scratch or appear in anyway bothered by ich..

 

[discus510]

yea ich. i got like 30 tangs and few wks ago added 2 diamond gobies. now all my fish got ich its been 2 wks now and all fish still alive. i just feed them more and there all eatin and swimmin around like normal. so i didnt pull them from tank. even if i did i wouldnt know where to QT them at

 

[wooden_reefer]

I have a 150 gallon tank with 7 fish and decided to add a blue hippo tang that appeared to be fine at the LFS. I have had him in the tank for two days and I see visible signs of ICH on the fins and body. Other than the white spots this fish acts perfectly normal with no loss of appetite, no loss of color and no fast gilling. Everything about the fish seems normal except for these white spots that are spreading.
There is about 300 pounds of live rock so catching him is an almost impossible task. What should I do? I dont want to completly dismantle and established tank for 1 fish but I fear this stuff spreading to the other fish. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You may try all means available (suggested as possible) to slow the spread of ich, but ultimately you want to (or you want to have at least the option) eradicate ich.

To eradicate ich, you have to treat (not observe) ALL your fish in QT for eight weeks and allow the DT to be fishless for the same period.

How are you going to keep ammonia very low in QT for the 8 weeks of treatment? This is the crux. With 7 fish, depending on how large they are, this can be very hard to do.

At any rate, you should at once start a cycle in a SEPARATE container using, a medium such as sponges, polyester floss, crushed coral etc, bacteria seed and a source of ammonia. If you drip water over the medium (wet-dry), the cycle may take as few as three weeks. If you submerge the medium, the cycle will take a week or two longer.

After the medium has cycled separately in three or more weeks, you can use it in QT to process the ammonia.

Any ordeal you face possibly in regard to eliminating ammonia is QT can be limited to three weeks, if you start a cycle now in a separate container. Those fish that make it thru the third week will have a better future, at least. This is also a worthwhile exercise for your skill development; perhaps you will know more about the why and how of QT as a result.

 

[wooden_reefer]

The equipment that is effective in slowing the spread of ich is the diatom filter. Say a regular D-1 model when properly charged with enough diatom earth is helpful for a 50 gal tank. It of course does not eradicate ich, but it sort of simulates the dilution effect of the ocean by filtering enough fraction of ich.

I don't know how dear the fish you have are, but it is an option in slowing the spread of ich. If you have more money than time, this is an option that you may want to know.

Also for those inveterate non-believers in QT or believers in immunity against ich, the diatom filter may be handy.

I still have my diatom filter from over 25 years ago. It still has adjunct uses to me. But if you are committed to eradication with thorough QT, the diatom filter is often not needed.

 

[sfboarders]

yea ich. i got like 30 tangs and few wks ago added 2 diamond gobies. now all my fish got ich its been 2 wks now and all fish still alive. i just feed them more and there all eatin and swimmin around like normal. so i didnt pull them from tank. even if i did i wouldnt know where to QT them at

Wing, you better save that tank you are planning to sell and use it as a QT.