questions about ich and treatments

[bboy aqua]

I have quite a few questions about the parasite and ive read all the articles and threads about it but i want to clarify this

what signs will your fish show that means it has ich
for example i have noticed white spots on my fire fish a couple days ago and recently its been rubbing its body against the sand like its trying to scratch its side

if my firefish has ich:
which treatment method is easier to perform and maintain(less work)
copper or hypo?

also would a 5.5g be large enough for a qt for a firefish?
what should i have running in the qt?

also a few questions about the parasite itself

if i do perform one of the treatments i mentioned for a period of 8weeks, will the ich in my tank die off and never return unless another fish is introduced that has the parasite?

the firefish is the only fish i got in the tank but i have a bunch of corals
will i have to qt the corals too?

please help me with this problem

 

[kevin2000]

My 02

Small white salt like spots are a good sign of ich .. however if you have a sand substrate they may just be grains of sand. If sand they will fall off during the day .. if ich it will stick around for at least a couple days and often up to a week.

Hypo is easier on both the fish and the aquarist. Copper requires frequent testing to insure you have the proper dosage and copper takes a certain toll on the fish.

A 5.5 gallon tank is probably sufficient for a fire fish but a ten gallon tank only cost 10 bucks at Petco/Petsmart and I would never go smaller than that.

My std qt consist of a ten gallon tank combined with an inexpensive HOB filter and heater. I place a variety of pvc pipes in the QT to provide shelter/hiding spots for the fish. You should not use a substrate and you don't need a dedicated light on a QT .. nearby desk lamp will suffice.

Heres a link where a fish breeder discusses how he QT's his clowns .. I use most of his recommendations.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288805

As far as "how long" do you keep your ST empty ... in theory the tomont state of ich is suppose to last 3-28 days .. as such "in theory" keeping your QT w/o fish for 29 days should suffice. In practice however extra time makes sense since you don't want to take chances with your fish .. many recommend 5-6 weeks some longer.

Hope this helps.

 

[bboy aqua]

ok thanks kevin
but can someone answer this part of my question

"if i do perform one of the treatments i mentioned for a period of 8weeks, will the ich in my tank die off and never return unless another fish is introduced that has the parasite?

the firefish is the only fish i got in the tank but i have a bunch of corals
will i have to qt the corals too?"

 

[kevin2000]

Ich need a fish to perpetuate their life cycle ... no fish ... no ich.

Heres a link discussing ich ... note the diagram of the life cycle.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

Hope this helps.

 

[rrrrob]

bboy: what is your ammonia reading?

 

[bboy aqua]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10029012#post10029012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rrrrob
bboy: what is your ammonia reading?

right now its at 0
not sure why it matters though

 

[rrrrob]

i have noticed that my fish "flash"/scratch when the amonia is anything other than 0...can indicate early signs of ich due to poor water quality, but since you say your amonia is at 0, must not be the amonia level...

 

[bboy aqua]

i didnt know amonia can have an effect on your fish

i though that the rubbing and scrathing was just a reaction towards the ich doing who know what on your fish