So I have ich in my display....

[Eel Freak]

It's not bad, only on my Moorish Idol, Sailfin, and Kole tang. They are all still eating voraciously, they just have some spots on them. They occasionally scratch on a rock or the sand, but other than that they are totally normal. They get a custom food mix I make with added garlic, and their algae sheets (4 or more a day) all have garlic as well in them.

My question is this: should I just let them be and do nothing until/if conditions for them worsen, and they cease to eat? Or should I set up a quarantine now and treat them? They're in a 200g reef... All water parameters are spot on (except phosphate... It's a bit high).

All help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[sandwi54]

take them out and treat them (and of course leave the DT fallow for 8 weeks). ich will most likely not go away on its own and all they need is one weak fish to explode. the fish could be weak from a lot of factors, stress, malnutrition, aggression, etc.

so many people hesitate to treat for ich out of laziness or just wanting to take chances, but most of them end up regretting for not acting earlier.

when the condition worsens, the success rate for treatment is much lower. don't wait until that point. In the future, quarantine all your new fish and treat prophylactically with cupramine and prazipro and you'll never have to do this again. a proper quarantine procedure only needs 4 weeks whereas leaving display fallow requires 8 weeks!