Treating Ich - questions

[Fredvs79]

Hey guys,
I pretty sure my fish (royal gramma and catalina goby) have ich, so I'm about to start moving them out of my display tank to a quarantine tank. I read that I should give them a bath in hypotonic saltwater with Formalin, then dip them into an even more hypotonic saltwater solution (or freshwater solution), and then move them to the quarantine tank for 30-40 days for treatment, while the Ich dies off in the display tank.


I have a few questions:

1) What do I do about invertebrates??? My display tank has a few shrimp, a bunch of snails, bristle stars and serpent stars. ... what should i do with them while treating the ich on my fish? Should I leave them in the display tank devoid of fish, or should I remove them also (but not to a copper medication tank)? Can Ich complete its life cycle in invertebrates? I don't htink so.

2) the quarantine tank doesn't need any filtration does it? I just have an airstone and small powerhead for water movement. Also some ammonia absorbing stuff to prevent ammonia burn.

3) What do I do about sea horses??? I have two sea horses I added about a week ago (without quarantining) from a friend of mine. He said that sea horses don't get ich, but i suspect the ich must have come in with them. Do I need to treat sea horses for ich as well, or can i leave them in the display tank?

 

[leebca]

For more information about the parasite, you should read this:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

For the different treatment options you have, you should read this:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.htm
(Part 2):
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.htm

For the best guidance on quarantine, you should read this:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.htm

All the above provide the in-depth info you need. The short answers are:

Don't dip your fish going into quarantine. Just acclimate them to the QT

1. Inverts aren't affected by Marine Ich. They can be left in the fishless tank and the parasite will die off without the fish.

2. It would be good if the QT had biological filtration. Otherwise you will need to perform daily or twice-daily water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites low. The alternative you mention and that is chemical filtration to remove ammonia AND nitrites can be an option. You still must monitor temp, pH, and salinity very often to keep them steady and under control.

3. I don't know if seahorses and Marine Ich interact. Sometimes organisms can carry the disease but are resistant to it. If they are in this category, they need treatment. But if they can't be affected by Marine Ich AND they can't carry it, then they should be okay without treatment. I don't know the answer to this, however. If you don't get the answer, then you can compromise by putting them in their own QT, not giving them treatment, but still keep your display fishless, and treat the other fishes in their own QT.

Good luck! :rollface:

 

[sunfishh]

There is nothing wrong with leebca suggestions. They will certainly work. If you don't want to risk a newly set up hospital tank then you may want to just dip your fish and then put them back in the main display. Here is a good thread on treating disease by dipping.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=821105

 

[Sk8r]

Be careful with the seahorses: they're susceptible to certain things that don't bother fish. Inquire in that forum about their treatment.