So My Clown Definitely Has Ich :( What Now?

[Blinkerbee]

Hey guys...:thumbdown

I wasn't sure about my clown and ich but he's been poking at the rock looking for pods to eat (which slows him down enough for me to get a good look at him), and I'm almost 100% sure he has ich. I've diagnosed freshwater ich at petstores before, so I know what it looks like.

I just don't know what to do from here. I don't have a QT tank set up. He's the only fish in there and my tank is only about 6 weeks old. I have maintained good water quality. The pet store I got him from is a real quality place... but I guess ich can happen anywhere. What do I do now?

He acts totally normal. He looks happy and healthy. He's eating well. ...etc.

 

[JackandJill]

I would suggest reading the ICH stickies and deciding your course of action from there starting with this one

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196

 

[Blinkerbee]

Do you know if the copper method kills inverts/pods also?

 

[Deinonych]

Do you know if the copper method kills inverts/pods also?

Yes, you will need to treat him in a dedicated hospital tank and leave the main tank without fish for a minimum of 10 weeks. I would also recommend reading up on how to quarantine newly acquired fish so you don't have to go through this again. There is a sticky in the "New to the Hobby" forum.

 

[Blinkerbee]

Yeah, when I bought him I checked him out carefully and everything looked good. Since it was the first fish to the tank, I took a risk... bam. Ich. I'll do that from now on. This really stinks! Totally derailed my progress, haha. 10 weeks is a long time... longer than my tank's even been up! :/

 

[Blinkerbee]

Got another question. My tank is a fluval edge 6g. My fish is a juvenile percula clown. He is the only thing in there right now other than lots of pods and 3 astrea snails. If I take him out...how do I keep the bacteria feeding off his ammonia/poo happy and not dead? Like, how do I keep the cycle balanced as it is now?

 

[JackandJill]

It is up to you how much risk your willing to take with ICH recurring in the main tank. There is a 95% chance all the ICH will have died in as little as 6 weeks, and a 99.7% chance it will all have died in 9 weeks.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2041951

 

[Blinkerbee]

ok, cool. Thanks. And what about my other question... " If I take him out...how do I keep the bacteria feeding off his ammonia/poo happy and not dead? Like, how do I keep the cycle balanced as it is now?"

 

[snorvich]

ok, cool. Thanks. And what about my other question... " If I take him out...how do I keep the bacteria feeding off his ammonia/poo happy and not dead? Like, how do I keep the cycle balanced as it is now?"

a small pinch of flake food every other day should suffice.

 

[Marshall O]

Being a 6 gallon tank, I am assuming this will be the only fish in the tank (well it should be anyways). If this is the case, you may not need to treat him period. How bad is the Ich? Just a couple of spots, or covered? If just a few spots, I personally would not put him into a different tank to treat just yet.

 

[Blinkerbee]

Being a 6 gallon tank, I am assuming this will be the only fish in the tank (well it should be anyways). If this is the case, you may not need to treat him period. How bad is the Ich? Just a couple of spots, or covered? If just a few spots, I personally would not put him into a different tank to treat just yet.

Yeah my first post says it's the only fish in there. The spots are just a few...but why wait? I don't think ich goes away on its own, right?

 

[Marshall O]

Yeah my first post says it's the only fish in there. The spots are just a few...but why wait? I don't think ich goes away on its own, right?

My point was more that there would not be any risk of infecting other fish, since this is the first and only fish that will be in the tank.

If the fish only has a few visible cysts (white spots), just by maintaining high water quality (no easy task in a 6 gallon tank!) and keeping the fish well fed with a varied and nutritious diet, it can certainly fight off Ich on its own. If it is covered with cysts, then I would definitely recommend treating it.

 

[Blinkerbee]

Gotcha. Yeah, that makes sense. I'll give that a try. Thanks, man!

 

[snorvich]

If the fish only has a few visible cysts (white spots), just by maintaining high water quality (no easy task in a 6 gallon tank!) and keeping the fish well fed with a varied and nutritious diet, it can certainly fight off Ich on its own. If it is covered with cysts, then I would definitely recommend treating it.

I disagree. Since ich is a parasite that eventually overwhelms due to the exponential nature of the life cycle, smaller tanks increase the near term probability of it being overwhelmed since reinfection will be correspondingly easy.

 

[reeferstace]

I hope you have plans for getting this fish into a large tank as it grows.

 

[Blinkerbee]

I hope you have plans for getting this fish into a large tank as it grows.

That's the plan.

 

[SecretiveFish]

Like other said, I would treat immediately. Actually right now I am in the middle of treating my fish for ICK. Lucky me right? No, that is what I get for not quarantining...

Anyway, I treated my fish with Cupramine in a quarantine tank for the recommended 14 days at the 0.5mg/L level leaving the fish in the quarantine for observation, and about 3 weeks after that the fish had ick again. Posters on here recommended that I re-treat for 30 days at the 0.35 to 0.4 mg/L level; I am one week into that.

I am upset with having to subject my poor fish to treatment AGAIN, so I wanted to make you aware that you probably will need to treat for more than the directions indicate.