3 fish left

[ickmagnet]

A couple of days ago you help me with my ick problem. but I have 3 fish left in my 400 gal dt. My 29 gal qt is just about ready. I was wondering if I should put my coral beauty and 2 damsels in the qt. they all seem to look good but I need to make sure the ick has time to die of in my dt. will a healthy fish still carry the ick. If so then I will pull them out and wait for 5 or 6 weeks to put them back in. thanks...

 

[beth]

If you can catch these fish without ripping apart your whole tank?

 

[beth]

I received your pm. Try doing some heavy garlic feeding over the next couple of month to see if the ich can be knocked out that way. Follow the garlic food prep instructions detailed in the FAQ Thread. Hopefully, that will work for you, otherwise, you may continue to have problems with ich.

 

[beth]

Its great that you will buy fish from Saltwaterfish.com in the future, but that will not mean that you won't have to quarantine all new fish. All new fish need to be quarantined. Fish stores, even great ones, can not take on the responsibility of making sure your fish do not have diseases.

 

[ickmagnet]

I understand that I will have to qt all fish. do you think that I should get the last 3 out of my dt.

 

[ickmagnet]

at this point it does not really matter if I have to tear things up a little. my concern is that it will stress the fish so bad that they will not live.

 

[beth]

What kind of display tank do you have, size? Is it a reef, fish only tank?

 

[ickmagnet]

After I get the 3 fish out and lower the salt to 1.009 for 3 weeks I will put them back in the dt. then order my next fish. after 3 weeks of qt I will put them in the dt. I hope this will be the end of my ick. if I am right about this there should be no ick left in the tank. and all the fish that go in should be ick free. please let me know if this sounds right. thanks

 

[beth]

That is correct. You have to really observe fish in QT every day, better to even use a magnifying glass.
What are you using to measure salinity?

 

[ickmagnet]

My tank is 250 gal with a 150 sump, protien skimmer, 350 lbs of live rock, the only other thing in the tank is crabs and snails. also 3 anemones. the kh is 12, the ph 8.3, salt is 1.024, no ammonia or nitrite. but I do have a problem with algae of some sort that grows on the substrate every day when the metale holide lights come on

 

[ickmagnet]

I do not now the name of the hydrometer that I have but you put some water on it then close the lid and look through the end

 

[beth]

If you have a plastic swing arm hydrometer like this, you can not do hyposalinity with this.
Also, I don't know if I'd break down a tank that size to catch a few fish with ich. Try the garlic I suggested above.

 

[ickmagnet]

I believe it is called a refractor

 

[ickmagnet]

I was just wondering if you are still there.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by ickmagnet
I believe it is called a refractor
Not to disagree with Beth ,who knows quite a bit about ich, but I do not see how garlic will help the situation. Some ich will still host and the life cycle would still be going. Garlic helps the fish fight off the parasite but it wouldn't stop ich from hosting to some extent, enough for them to reproduce. New fish will still be at risk even after quarantine. Does your unit for measuring salinity look something like this?

 

[ickmagnet]

yes that is the one I have. so you think it would be best to remove the other fish. I dont think it will be that hard. I have already had to move some rock around to got the clowns that died anyway. thanks

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by ickmagnet
yes that is the one I have. so you think it would be best to remove the other fish. I dont think it will be that hard. I have already had to move some rock around to got the clowns that died anyway. thanks
I would. You can hypo those fish in a qt while your display remains fishless for 6 weeks. Ich cannot survive without a host. With a larger tank, like you have, I would hate to see you qt all new fish just for them to get ich again.

 

[ickmagnet]

Sepulatian, and Beth thank you both for taking the time out of your day to help !!!! I will try this and let you know how things are going. after everything returns to normal I will have to get some good pictures and post them for you to see. thanks again !!!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by ickmagnet
Sepulatian, and Beth thank you both for taking the time out of your day to help !!!! I will try this and let you know how things are going. after everything returns to normal I will have to get some good pictures and post them for you to see. thanks again !!!
We will be looking forward to pics! If you have any trouble at all, please do not hesitate to ask us anything.

 

[beth]

Sep, this conversation started in PM. He has already tried to remove the 3 remaining fish he has, but cannot get them. Dismantling his 250 is the only option, he feels, which is a semi-reef.
I could not in good conscious recommend sacrificing an entire echo-system for 3 fish. The fish only have a few spots, so I feel garlic is worth a shot, before jumping into dismantling the tank.
But, its up to you ichmag. Good luck!