Tangs Keep Dieing from Ich

[lmforbis]

Ich is only in a tank if it is introduced. Anything wet you add from a tank with ich can introduce ich to your tank. I think the vast majority of fish stores have ich in their tanks. Many run low levels of copper or low salinity to keep the fish alive until they are sold. This is why a small investment in a QT tank is worth it. TTM is the easiest way I've found to clear ich from fish and is less stress than copper or hypo salinity.
You do have to keep your main tank fish free for the full 72 days.
This will be a recurrent problem if you don't clear the tank now and don't QT future fish.


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[Deinonych]

Ich is only in a tank if it is introduced. Anything wet you add from a tank with ich can introduce ich to your tank. I think the vast majority of fish stores have ich in their tanks. Many run low levels of copper or low salinity to keep the fish alive until they are sold. This is why a small investment in a QT tank is worth it. TTM is the easiest way I've found to clear ich from fish and is less stress than copper or hypo salinity.
You do have to keep your main tank fish free for the full 72 days.
This will be a recurrent problem if you don't clear the tank now and don't QT future fish.


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This.

 

[FindingEmily]

Just as an fyi, I believe it is now being recommended to leave a tank fallow for 76 days, not 72. Just throwing that out there.

 

[Jeff4777]

Its still recommended for a 72 day fallow, its just proven some strains of ich can survive longer. How much longer is unclear. Rumors of dormant cysts lasting near a year.

 

[ThRoewer]

Do you think TTM is better than copper in QT tank?

Copper is never a good treatment option for ich as there are plenty of less harmful and effective treatment options against this parasite.
If treating several fish for an active outbreak hyposalinity would also be a viable option. The fish usually clear up within 2 weeks.
To be sure they are clean you can still run them through TTM before returning them to the DT or to a holding tank.

Its still recommended for a 72 day fallow, its just proven some strains of ich can survive longer. How much longer is unclear. Rumors of dormant cysts lasting near a year.

Long lasting cysts seem to be only with certain ich strains and it seem not to happen too often even with those or this would have been discovered much earlier.
The encystment duration for most strains is up to 35 days with the excystment peak being around 6 to 7 days.
If you are willing to take a risk, 6 weeks of fallow might be enough.
If you want to be on the safe side go 3 full months or even more.

 

[krullshards]

This post brings up some questions: Are you sure it was ich? How long has your tank been set up? Some of your comments make it seem like this is a new tank. What are your water parameters?

It's easy to get caught up in the debate of tank sizes and the best ich treatment, but while all of that is very valid, I find it hard to believe that your fish die within a week from ich. I saw this poor blue tang at a Petco absolutely coated with ich, but I kept seeing it in there for WEEKS and even pointed out to the employees there that they needed to treat the tang.

So, again, are you sure it was ich?