Please help with ICH outbreak

[BigCountryEsq]

I currently have a 125 gal reef tank and a 55 gal QT tank

I have had a case of ICH develop in both tanks.

I plan to "try" and removing all the fish from my 125 and place them in the 55.

I have removed all inverts from the 55 and placed them in the 125.

How should I proceed to ERADICATE my ICH problem?



My plan is to put all fish into QT tank and try hyposalinity

What should I do to the 125 while I am treating the QT?


I am posting this in the General Interest Forum as well as the Fish Disease Forum to get the best results.

 

[Gwynhidwy]

Leave the 125G completely fishless for 8 weeks. NO FISH AT ALL! That's it. If you do that the 125G will be ich free as the parasite that causes ich requires a fish host in order to survive.

If you are going to use hypo, make sure you have an accurately calibrated refractometer and that you monitor the salinity very closely. Also, keep an eye on the pH as that tends to drop significantly. Depending on how many fish you are treating and the filtration on your tank, you may run into ammonia problems so its a good idea to monitor that too.

I would watch the fish in your QT for a minimum of four weeks after treatment, once you have the tank back to a normal salinity, to observe for signs of reinfection.

 

[BigCountryEsq]

How quickly should I lower the salinity in the QT?

 

[Gwynhidwy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15515990#post15515990 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigCountryEsq
How quickly should I lower the salinity in the QT?

Hopefully someone else will chime in on that; I do not use hyposalinity.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Why do you have both fish and invertebrates in the 55 QT? This is a bit unusual.

Do you have enough nitrification capacity to process the ammonia in the 55 for all the fish? This is the critical issue.

You must remove ALL the fish from the DT and allow it be to fishless for at least eight weeks, including those which do not show sign of ich or is more ich resistant.

If I see many ich salt-like dots on the fish already, I will not rely on hypo. It may be a little slow. Some one here, tmz, I think, states that lowering the salinity quickly to sg 1.009 is safe. I have not tried such quick drop, however. I 'd use Cu first and at once.

Cu may have its problem as it precipitates on calcareuos filter medium such as live rock, making it possibly not suitable for long term use in DT reef tank (many claim). I don't use Live rock in QT, but some people do. Such is another consideration. The nitrification activity you have now in the 55 is tied to the medium, you have to use it now.

 

[BigCountryEsq]

what Cu based medication would everyone recommend?

 

[Gwynhidwy]

Cupramine.