Quote:
Originally Posted by
lcaldwell85 http:///t/391351/best-cleaner-shrimp#post_3470094
Well, I've got the dreaded ich in my main display. It's not feasible at this juncture to try to QT all of my fish. I've come to the conclusion it's going to be impossible to quarantine them after spending several hours chasing my coral beauty with a net and succeeding in doing nothing more than freaking her out even worse. She's the only one showing symptoms. The clowns, the green chromis, and a pair of firefish are eating normally and not showing any spots. I've turned up the temp in the display to around 82 and it's been hovering there for around a week. I've been feeding garlic soaked food at every feeding, and the temp increase has seemed to get the ich somewhat in check. Can anyone suggest some good cleaners to add to the tank? I've got two peppermint shrimp, so anything that wouldn't get along with them is pretty much instantly DQ'd.
Unfortunately the only way to truly rid the tank of ich is to treat the fish in a separate system and leave your tank fallow for 8 weeks. In the long run, this really is best for the fish and your tank, even if it means tearing apart the rock work now to catch the fish. That being said, I know that's not what most people want to do. I have ich in my tank, I make it no secret. There is no way in h*ll that I'm going through the process of draining my system and QT'ing all my fish, it's just not going to happen, so I feel your pain. Feed your fish vitamins with every meal and don't stress them out. It's also a good idea to NOT add any other fish to the system. I know there is still ich in my tank, as I've never treated it, but I rarely see it. But when I do add a new fish, they get it immediately. My fish are all happy together, etc and are able to fight it off and have been this way for years. If I see it flare up, I know something is not right in my tank. Is this the right way to go about ich? Debatable. But it is an option, especially for those of us with numerous fish in a large system. Either way, it works for me, I just can't add any new specimens to my tank anymore. I keep my tank at 79*, soak food in garlic and vitamins, feed a little on the heavy side, have a UV sterilizer (not sure that it really does much, but I had one, so why not), have two cleaner shrimp (fire and skunk) and a cleaner wrasse (I do not recommend one, especially in a smaller system, but nonetheless, I have one) and my fish are happy and healthy. You're going to have to monitor.
If you have a smaller system (less than 90G), I really do recommend trying to catch the fish and QT them. Whether you drain your tank for a few minutes to catch the fish, or move rocks to do so, it really is best in the long run.