Adding Fish After Ich Attack

[euphoria]

Hello everyone and happy mother's day to those who are one
I lost all my fish 2 weeks ago to ich, and my tank has been empty for 2 weeks now (except snails, crabs in it). How much longer should I wait until I slowly start to add fish again? In other words, how long does it take for the ich to die off w/out a host? I want to be patient and not rush it, so if I have to wait longer, I'll do it, as long as I"m certain that the ich in the water is gone.
Thanks

 

[jimmy g]

I would wait 2 more weeks at least.

 

[fishtanker]

your half way to an ich free enviroment
i recommend quarantining any new fish so that you'll never have to worry about ich again

 

[robchuck]

If you have a QT tank, buy your fish now and keep them in QT for 4 weeks. That will allow you to treat any diseases that appear, and after the 4 weeks is up, your display tank will have sat fishless for 6 weeks.

 

[euphoria]

I don't have a QT tank, and I'm kinda hesitant about spending more $ to get the QT tank. How much will a 10 gallon QT w/ required filters and light cost me to set up?
Will I need LR or LS in there?

 

[robchuck]

You can pick up a 10 gallon "Walmart special" with filter/heater/lights usually for around $50 at the big box stores. A QT doesn't require LR or LS, just hiding places for the fish, which could be as simple as a piece of PVC or a few flowerpots.
It takes minimal effort to set one up, and as long as all newcomers are properly QT'd before they enter the display, you won't ever have to worry much about a widespread outbreak in your main tank!
If you want to look into this more, click here to read Beth's sticky on QT from the Disease & Treatment forum.

 

[lutz493]

Hesitant to start a QT?
If you would have QT'd the fish from the start, more then likely all the fish you just recently lost would be alive. I am sure they cost more then $50.
Why risk the next batch of fish your gonna put in there over $50?
I never had a QT - My first batch of fish ever got Ick - I had noway to treat it. I gave them all back to my LFS 2 days after the outbreak, nothing died in the end. I had my QT up and running a day after that.
You still need to let the QT cycle, before you put something like a Tang in there.
If you wanna start fussing with your tank, then instead of buying new fish while you wait for the QT to cycle, start adding some corals. Provided you have your tank properly set-up to do so.
If I remember right, you lost a Tang a few weeks back because of a problem. Only a short time later (1-2 weeks) you purchased I believe your Blue Tang. You were questioned if your tank was fixed of its problems. You claimed yes.
Two weeks ago, you lost everything.
Just let your tank sit. Take this time to fix, tweak anything that needs to be done.

 

[euphoria]

I didn't lose my first Tang then go buy another. My first Tang was doing great, then when I got the secondo one, that's when hell broke loose and the first Tang got ich also. I shouldn't have gotten the second Tang.
Anyways, my tank has always had good levels, and still does. I did start buying corals while waiting for the ich to die off.
By the way, why do I have to cycle the QT tank if I'm going to use the water from my original tank? All I'm doing is using the same 'cycled' water and adding fish to it.

 

[lutz493]

So if you use the water from your main system which has been fishless for 2 weeks. You still have ich in the system. If you took out the water from your main tank and put it into a QT before the 4 weeks was over, you would have a QT that is possibly carrying the same ich that wiped your fish.
Water doesn't really 'cycle' your tank. You still need something for the beneficial bacteria to grow on... Live Rock, Bioballs. Using the water from your display is good for the fact it will carry over your water levels.
You could get a piece or two of fully cured LR from your LFS and put it in there to help with things. There is only 1 problem with this.
The problem with that method is - The fish is going to be stressed bigtime from the trip home from the LFS. Your LFS I am sure has ich in his system in one form or another. This stress can lower the fishes defenses against the parasite causing it to get ich. You would then need to perform hyposalinty which will inturn kill the living organisms on the LR causing a possible ammonia spike.
Properly setting up a QT and waiting the little bit of extra time for it to beable to hold the bio-load of a fish on its own can save you alot of time and headache in the future.

 

[janelle]

choose a quarantine tank depending on what size fish you are planning on getting. for a tang or other large active fish you need at least a 20 gallon. you can see if you can find one in the paper or elsewhere used to save money. get some bioballs (cheap) and a little whisper hang on filter (ten or 15 bucks at wal mart) and an airstone/airpump for water movement/aeration and a heater, some pvc elbows for hiding spots and fill with newly mixed salt water. add a pinch of fish food to start your cycle going. test your water and when your cycle is over, use your quarantine tank to keep all new fish in for at least four weeks before adding them to your tank.
trust me i know from experience that impatience now will not save you any time or shortcuts later, it will only come back to bite you in the batootie.
i just had to TEAR DOWN my 120 gallon REEF to catch all the fish and quarantine them. THIS IS NOT MY IDEA OF FUN. DONT LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU
youre lucky right now cuz you have to wait anyways for the ich to die off. this way, you can get your qt all set up and you will feel like a nice responsible hobbyist and know that you are saving yourself time and money by doing this the RIGHT way.
good for you!