Sick fish, need help asap

[JonnyRoe]

How should I go about treating a small adult emperor angel, a medium size blue hippo tang, and a medium size semilarvatus butterflyfish that have ich and the angel and blue hippo have what appears to be an internal parasite because they have stringy poop and have spots of discoloration on their bodies which come and go. The angel and tang are in one tank and the butterfly is in another tank. There is also another butterfly, tang, and clownfish in the butterflyfish's tank. They need to be treated to right? Currently they all appear to be active, eating and overall normal besides the very obvious white specks of ich and the discoloration.

What medicines should I treat them with?
Should they all go in one treatment tank or two?
How big should the tank(s) be?
How long should I treat them for?
How should I make sure the ich doesn't come back and is out of the tanks?

Thank you so much, I don't want to loose these guys.

 

[PRDubois]

Go here and read article from the waterkeeper.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1500214

If you dont have a QT takn all you need is a rubbermaid tub, powerhead, heater and cheep light. or pick up a cheep tank on craigs list

 

[JonnyRoe]

Thank you for the link I have read it before. I am aware of the basic ways of treating ich, but I do not know nor have the time to read through everything to decide on which way is the best and safest for the species involved. For example, is copper safe to use with butterflyfish? Angels? Tangs?

Also I was recommended to treat the angel and blue tang with either api's general cure with both metro and prazipro, or a medication containing a combination of Furazolidone and Nitrofurazone to treat an internal or bacterial infection. So I would like to know if I can combine medications with copper?

 

[PRDubois]

This is what I would use:

Hyposalinity--used for Ich not Velvet

Caution-a refractometer or lab quality hydrometer must be used in this method!

In hyposalinity the normal salt content of the tank is reduced by over half, that is from normal 35 ppt to 16 ppt, which corresponds to a specific gravity of 1.009. The treatment is done in stages. On day one RO/DI is used to replace hospital tank water till specific gravity falls to 1.022, day two it is reduced to 1.018, day three 1.014, day four to 1.009. This last salinity is very important. If even .001 unit high the ich can survive and if too low the fish can be harmed. That is the reason a refractometer is used. Once the specific gravity is down it is wise to make a batch of saltwater up that has a salinity of 1.009. This is used for daily water changes to reduce the chance of ammonia or nitrate buildup during treatment. The low salinity is maintained for a month. The salinity is then increased, but even slower. Raise it 0.002 units each day until 1.026 is again reached. Once at normal salinity the fish may be returned to the display.

Also:
All your fish need to go to QT
Main tank needs to remain without fish for 6 weeks at 80°F

 

[PRDubois]

Ick has a staged life cycle that involves a cyst stage, a free swimming stage and a feeding stage where they attack the host fish. They are both obligate parasites and do not survive if a host fish is not present. Their life cycle is usually complete in a six week period with a tank temperature of 80°F. Lower temperatures prolong the life cycle while high temperatures shorten it. The main vector for introduction into a aquarist's tank is by adding an already infected fish.

Once identified it must be treated in a timely fashion as, once outward signs of the disease are noticed, the infection progresses rapidly. The fish should be isolated in a hospital tank. That is a bare tank with circulation provided by powerheads or hang on the tank filters. A heater should be used and set for 82°F, the slightly higher temperature speeding the life cycle. Do not go too high as breathing is difficult for a diseased fish and high temperature lowers dissolved oxygen. It is best to use water from the main tank. Water quality is maintained through the isolation period by fairly large daily water changes on the order of 20% each day. ALL exposed fish should be treated but invertebrates are not attacked by these parasites and may be left in the display.