Need Some Advice!

[JGross4]

Hey Everyone,

I started a glass 36 gallon bow front about 3 months ago. It is my first saltwater tank and im learning a lot about the hobby quickly. I initially did not quarantine anything because i didn’t really know better until i already had about 5 small fish in the tank, throughout they past few weeks fish have been surviving for about a week and then they die, i even bought a new fish about two weeks ago, and sure enough it died within a week. Looking at all the fish ive had (I only have one left now, a very small yellow tang about 1.25", and also i now know that the tang will soon out grow the tank anyway), i know for sure that it was ICK!

I have been trying to read articles about solutions and such, but it takes me time to get through them all, for i am a very very busy college student (aerospace engineering major). i feel that i must do some think quick! so i was hoping you guys could give me the answers i have been looking for. I have a 10 gallon reef that i started and i am in the process of converting to a QT/Hospital Tank .

Here are some questions:

1. I have read about hyposaltity and copper treatments, which
would be better for my situation?
2. Can Inverts and Coral carry ICK into my tank? Do they have to
be treated or QT'd like the fish?
3. Will letting my 36 gallon go fallow fix my ICK problem if i leave
all the inverts and coral in and how long should it be fallow if so?
4. Will the tang be ok in 10 gallon tank for treatment, if my LFS will
not tank the fish back as long as it has ick?

Here are my tank specs just in case you guys need to know:
- 6 gallon refugium with built in protein skimmer
- 130w satellite PC's
- 45 lbs of live rock
- i do weekly 5 gallon water changes with ro/di water
- 1 purple clam (4")
- 1 brain coral
- 2 large feather dusters
- about 15 snails and 15 hermits
- some small zoo frags
- cleaner shrimp
- sifting star fish
- currently a small sick yellow tang (1.25", eats well)

The tank looks great, very clean and alive, i have conquered several other small problems along they way accept for the fish problem. I am addicted to this hobby for life! haha

Thank you very much for your time and help!
Josh

 

[Steven Pro]

1.) Either will work but don't use both at the same time.

2.) Yes, while corals are not infected by fish parasites, they can bring various parasites into the tank with the water or as cysts in their reproductive stage. For that reason, quarantine everything wet.

3.) Yes, leave it fishless for 1-2 months. Copper treatment lasts two weeks while hyposalinity is about a month. After either treatment is complete, you should hold the fish for an additional month to make sure it was effective.

4.) Provided you have a well established/cycled biological filter and the tang is not too big, it should be ok.

See here for more on quarantine, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.htm