Removing fish from SPS tank for 2 months

[jjencek]

I got an outbreak of ich after a drop in temperature by accident. I plan to take all the fish out of the DT and solve the ich in the tank problem for good.

The tank is mostly SPS with a few LPS corals. They are all still pretty small, but happy the way things are. I am worried that by removing the fish, I will deplete some of the nutrients the fish was adding to the tank chemistry.

I am removing 5 fish (2 clowns, cardinal, 2 tangs) from a 80 gal tank with about 40 small sized corals. The snails, shrimps, starfish, clam, and the live rock with sand will stay.

Do I need to add anything, in addition to my regular dosing, while the fish is out of the tank?

 

[picoreef]

I wouldnt suggest removing all the fish. This usually adds stress which makes them more susceptible to it. A healthy unstressed fish wont die from ich and if you continue to keep them well fed and happy the ich will usually goes away on its own. Feed your fish garlic enriched foods and try to avoid doing anything that could stress them out.

Ensure your parameters are good so you know nothing else could be causing them stress. Things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be the first things to look for. This method has always worked for me. Its hard not to panic and go buy a bottle of something we think is going to instantly solve our problem. Patience goes a long way in the hobby.

If you want to add anything add a cleaner shrimp as they will remove some of the ich from the fish and its cool to watch. Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[jjencek]

I have received your advise from others. I try to stay cool, but it is hard to watch the fish getting worse for the last week. Specially the blue tang is getting visible sores. The parameters are stable. The fish is eating. I do have a cleaner shrimp which the blue tang is taking advantage of. Now the flame angel is showing the same signs.

Then I got the opposite advice from about the same number of people ... medicate all of the fish in a separate tank. While doing that wait for at least 72 days for the DT tank ich parasite to die off. You will then have the problem eliminated for good. Medicate all new incoming fish and keep it in QT for 4-6 weeks. You will have ich-free tank.

That is why I actually started this thread. I was evaluating the "kill the ich for good" method.

 

[adamPL]

Don't wait! Take all fish and put them in copper for treatment. You will see, that they will look much better after first couple of days.
I'm telling you from my recent experience. If I would take all my fish week earlier, wouldn't loose half of them.

 

[ClownNut]

nutrients don't come from your fish, they came from the food you feed. so as long as you adding food into the tank. you will be fine.
unless you are not adding anything,i mean anything at all, ich will always find a way into your system. so its better make sure your fish is healthy and can fight off ich.

 

[jjencek]

Feeding corals was what I was hoping would be the answer. If I do decide to use the hospital tank (by the way probably a transfer method using two tanks and no copper), I will keep feeding the corals and keep checking the nutrients.

So transfer or not to transfer.... that is the question.

Thank you for your help.

 

[ClownNut]

Feeding corals was what I was hoping would be the answer. If I do decide to use the hospital tank (by the way probably a transfer method using two tanks and no copper), I will keep feeding the corals and keep checking the nutrients.

So transfer or not to transfer.... that is the question.

Thank you for your help.

i wouldnt do that, since you already taking the time to catch the fish, do the copper treatment or CP if you worry about sensitive fish.

 

[DopeCantWin]

I wouldnt suggest removing all the fish. This usually adds stress which makes them more susceptible to it. A healthy unstressed fish wont die from ich and if you continue to keep them well fed and happy the ich will usually goes away on its own. Feed your fish garlic enriched foods and try to avoid doing anything that could stress them out.

Ensure your parameters are good so you know nothing else could be causing them stress. Things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be the first things to look for. This method has always worked for me. Its hard not to panic and go buy a bottle of something we think is going to instantly solve our problem. Patience goes a long way in the hobby.

If you want to add anything add a cleaner shrimp as they will remove some of the ich from the fish and its cool to watch. Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

It seems you meant well, but your post is full of misinformation. Garlic will not help ich, it is more likely to hurt the fish. For more info check out http://www.afishionado.org/blogs/my...reef-tank-miracle-additive-or-stinky-delusion. Ich doesn't go away, you just don't see it in its other stages. Ich lives under the skin, and cleaner shrimp don't eat it. They're actually removing the dead skin.

 

[picoreef]

It seems you meant well, but your post is full of misinformation. Garlic will not help ich, it is more likely to hurt the fish. For more info check out http://www.afishionado.org/blogs/my...reef-tank-miracle-additive-or-stinky-delusion. Ich doesn't go away, you just don't see it in its other stages. Ich lives under the skin, and cleaner shrimp don't eat it. They're actually removing the dead skin.

It's all about personal experience. The point I was trying to get across was healthy unstressed fish dont die from ich. Do what to need to do to ensure they are happy and ich will go away on it's own. For me garlic seems to make them eat more or maybe it just my imagination.

Its impossible to rid a tank of ich or prevent it from entering your tank. It's one if those parasites that will always find a way in your tank but if your fish are happy theres nothing to worry about.

If someone wants to dismantle their tank, catch all their fish and move them to a foreign tank with chemicals then they better make sure they do it carefully because those same fish will get ich again in a heartbeat if they are stressed. Find out what is stressing the fish and solve the root cause of the problem.

As for the cleaner shrimp I always thought they were picking off parasites lol. Learn something everyday which is why this hobby is so awesome.

Thanks for the info.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[jjencek]

Thank you for all the notes including several private messages. Here is what I am doing (I do apologize to all whom recommended different approach):

I did setup two identical 10 gal tanks. Each tank has a heater, air stone, ammonia indicator, several plastic tubes, and a few dead coral skeletons hot-glued to a ceramic tile.

Day 1:
I moved all my 5 fish (cardinal, juvenile blue tang, flame angel, 2 perculas) from the DT to the first HT. I used water (10 gal) from the DT.

They seemed to be ok - all eating within 20 minutes.
Blue tang - showing ich and has an open sore near his chin
Flame angel - showing ich
other fish - no visible signs

 

[DopeCantWin]

It's all about personal experience. The point I was trying to get across was healthy unstressed fish dont die from ich. Do what to need to do to ensure they are happy and ich will go away on it's own. For me garlic seems to make them eat more or maybe it just my imagination.

Its impossible to rid a tank of ich or prevent it from entering your tank. It's one if those parasites that will always find a way in your tank but if your fish are happy theres nothing to worry about.

If someone wants to dismantle their tank, catch all their fish and move them to a foreign tank with chemicals then they better make sure they do it carefully because those same fish will get ich again in a heartbeat if they are stressed. Find out what is stressing the fish and solve the root cause of the problem.

As for the cleaner shrimp I always thought they were picking off parasites lol. Learn something everyday which is why this hobby is so awesome.

Thanks for the info.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Read the link I put in, garlic isn't helping your fish, including making them eat more. It is your imagination. In retrospect I commend the marketing gurus who made the myth so popular in this hobby.

It is possible to rid your tank of ich, read http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1500214. There's also prevention info there.

Your fish aren't healthy, they still have ich. Imagine if you had cancer, does it always show? Also stress doesn't manifest a parasite out of thin air.

 

[picoreef]

Cancer is a virus and ich is a parasite. You cant compare the two. Stress effects your immune system, are you going to debate that as well? Like I said the basis of my opinion from experience... not from what some guy posted on his blog. I havent lost a fish to ich in 14 years so I think my opinion has some merit.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[picoreef]

Correction cancers are not viruses but can sometimes be caused by them.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[jjencek]

For anyone that might be interested. Here is my update:

The QT got murky very fast (within 12 hours). I thought it was odd, but figured as long as ammonia indicator was fine, it was ok. Within about 30 hours my flame angel started to act weird. I looked like it was grasping for air. It was breaking the surface and almost looked like it wanted to jump out. The remaining fish also did not look happy. I measured all the parameters, but they were all ok.

I made up a new fresh water and switched them to the second QT. They immediately calmed down. My guess is that I screwed up by adding several dead coral skeletons into the tank. They were my old dead colonies, but I did not cure them first.

Now on day 4:
Everything is calm. Fish is eating. Blue Angel's open wound is healing. No sign of itch on the fish. I am switching them to the next QT (without dead coral skeletons!!!!!)

 

[Achilles Torben]

Very good!

Tank have to be 2 months without fish or 40 days is enough? My tank is also without fish since yesterday. My mostly fish walk through TTM the last months. Only rabbit fish for bubble algea left. So I have to be hurry to bring fish back to tank that bubble algea not go to SPS.

40 days enough or 2 months must be for Cryptocaryon and Oodimium?

Greetings Torben

 

[jjencek]

I plan to do 72 days without fish in the DT, but I am doing this method for the first time - so I am not an expert to answer your question.

 

[dkeller_nc]

72 days is the no-ifs-ands-or-buts length of time to ensure that there is no remaining ich tomonts in the display tank. This page accurately describes the lifecycle of cryptocaryon irritans.

As noted in the thread, there is no effective chemical treatment for cryptocaryon irritans except for copper, and copper is extremely toxic and must be managed very carefully in a bare quarantine tank to cure the fish without killing them.

That's why Tank Transfer or Hyposalinity is most often used for treatment. Tank Transfer, if done scrupulously with no transfer of theronts between the tanks on nets, dip boxes (or even the aquarist's hands) is 100% effective - the main issue is managing ammonia levels. Hyposalinity is effective in the vast majority of cryptocaryon irritans strains, but not all. The advantage of this method is that it can be used in a tank with gravel/liverock to prevent an ammonia spike.

You will want to think about what to do for the 72 days you'll need to wait before moving the fish back to the display tank. Rather obviously, moving them to a tank of fresh seawater (or changing 100% of the water in the existing tank after curing them of ich) isn't going to be very practical.

For the tank with corals, I'd suggest starting a regimen of feeding coral foods, and carefully monitoring nutrient levels. Your concern over a nutrient crash in the tank after removing the fish is well-founded. Fortunately, that's fairly easy to manage with all of the coral foods available on the market.

 

[jjencek]

I am on day 8 in the QT tank. The blue tang is almost healed. All fish eating and without any visible stress. They almost look like they got used to me catching them every three days and moving them.

I am really watching the parameters in the DT and keeping them the same as they were before moving the fish. I am feeding the coral with frozen mysis and AcroPower. They seem to fine.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Excellent, good to hear all fish are doing fine. There's a lot of posts on RC about ich outbreaks in reef tanks that don't go nearly so well.

 

[jjencek]

Day 14 update:

QT - last transfer done. All fish no signs of ich or stress. Feeding frozen mysis twice per day. Blue tang fully healed. Now for the long haul of another 60 days. Added small power head, AI prime HD light at 25%, charcoal, GFO, ceramic tubes (for bacteria), bacto reef blend, ammonia alert tag, and heater.

DT - feeding 50% of what I used to feed when there was fish seems too much. Started showing brown algae on glass and rocks. Decrease feeding to every other day. Increased carbon dosing by 10%. All other parameters are stable.