Testing the waters, possibly getting out of the hobby
- Thread starter DamnPepShrimp
- Start date
aquajamieb
New member
Are those the only 3 fish in the QT? You could get dividers and they will have room to swim, but not interact with eachother. That might help lower the stress.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
Craig, your PM inbox is full. I think I will come to the rink, which one is it though? I want to check maybe the last period of it anyway, I used to play competitive hockey when I was younger and miss it a lot!
Jamie, I have those 3 and a little yellow tail damsel in there as well. All the fish seem to get along fine, the emperor does give a small chase to the gray every now and then. They seem to either be getting along better or just getting affected by the ich. They all still eat like pigs though.
Tonight, thanks to craig. I am going to hook up a UV sterilizer and start lowering the SG to 1.009 eventually. My fish seem pretty clear right now so hopefully the UV will kill most of the ick that is floating around in my tank right now. Any suggestions how long to run the sterilizer? I am going to put in carbon to get rid of any copper left in the tank. Also, keep feeding garlic soaked foods. Anything else I should worry about? Aside from checking levels and monitoring PH since it tends to drop when the SG is lowered.
Jamie, I have those 3 and a little yellow tail damsel in there as well. All the fish seem to get along fine, the emperor does give a small chase to the gray every now and then. They seem to either be getting along better or just getting affected by the ich. They all still eat like pigs though.
Tonight, thanks to craig. I am going to hook up a UV sterilizer and start lowering the SG to 1.009 eventually. My fish seem pretty clear right now so hopefully the UV will kill most of the ick that is floating around in my tank right now. Any suggestions how long to run the sterilizer? I am going to put in carbon to get rid of any copper left in the tank. Also, keep feeding garlic soaked foods. Anything else I should worry about? Aside from checking levels and monitoring PH since it tends to drop when the SG is lowered.
aquajamieb
New member
yeah, but whether they are getting along or not, 55 still might be too close quarters for all 3, (for any amount of time) and thats where the stress comes from.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
Yeah, I know they may be stressed in the 55. They seem to get along well and don't fight at all. The emperor really has gotten used to the gray, he rarely chases him anymore. Hopefully with hypo, it will calm them down and the ich will be killed anyway. It would help for them to be less stressed, but the hypo and UV should kill the ich off completely, I hope.
Thanks craig, I will look for you.
Thanks craig, I will look for you.
aquajamieb
New member
How are the angels doing? I just thought of something. As long as you are feeding the fish, the ich will be in there always. Hypo might be a temporary solution, but dont think it will work long term,and UV will only kill what hits the light. Ich is on the fish, or in the gravel. Just some thoughts I hope can help.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
The angels are doing much better. The ich must be in the dormant stage, planning an attack! They seem pretty clear. I have been soaking their food in garlic and they are becoming more active. The emperor still gives a chase to the gray every now and then, but it is less each day. He knows not to do it in front of my while I am watching, very smart fish. So hypo will not kill the ich? My SG is at about 1.010 right now. I plan on knocking it down to 1.009 tonight before I go to bed. I will be checking it every morning and night to make sure it will stay there. So how do I get completely rid of ich? Everyone tells me hypo is the best and safest way? I can't wait until this is over and I can put them in my 125g.
I have heard that hypo with kill the ick but your tank must be fishless for at least 6 weeks in order for the ick to die off in the display tank. Saltwaterfish.com message board has a archived post on hypo for ick that can give you time table and details for ridding your tank of ick.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
Yeah, I have found lots of info on this site and put up posts about it. I've done quite a bit of research. Hypo is the safest treatment by far. I know the ich cycle lasts for 30 days. My display has been fishless since march 9th. My QT tank is almost at 1.009 SG, when I don't see any more signs of ich, I will keep the hypo treatment for at least 4 weeks, people tell me 6. Then I'll bring the SG back to normal slowly, and add the fish to my display. The display tank should be fishless for 60 days at least. It sucks, but will be worth it in the long run.
gillianandjoe
New member
DPS do you ever check your nitrates? Don't be offended, please. Reason I ask is I had a case of ick that came in with a coral beauty a while back, next thing you know everyone had it. I was going to try a hypo treatment, and set up a QT, all the usual. I decided to test my nitrates, and they were way out. I hadn't tested them in probably four months, because the corals were growing like crazy, and I was doing real frequent water changes. I read the test, and had to do it again because I couldn't believe how high they were. Long story short, after what had to be around a 70% water change, and a vacuum of the bottom of my tank, 'trates went down, ick went bye-bye. Probably not your problem, just thought I'd share. Good luck!
Joe
Joe
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
Very possible, but I do every once in a while check my levels. My nitrates and nitrites were noticeable in the QT tank. I have been doing water changes since, and the ick showed up after. So I am sure that stressed the fish and caused them to lower their immune system, thus letting ich infect them. The reason why they were in QT though is a different story. My tank water was fine, but the fish were getting sick through ich/velvet and some even died. So that is why the fish were put into QT. Now I am battling ich and any other disease in the QT tank. My display will be fishless for more then 2 months, so anything in there should die. Meanwhile, my fish in QT should be fully cured in 6 weeks, hopefully I won't have to deal with ich again. As long as I QT every fish that comes into my system. Thanks for the input though, the nitrates did probably cause more ich in my QT tank, but hypo is doing very well.
