can anemone protect clown against ich

[lstt]

Hi , I have had major problems with ich and marine velvet almost since i started my tank . In one night i lost almost all of my fish ??? dont know what from but it happened after i added a cladiella coral. I had 2 fish survive. Ironically one of them was a flame angel( which i thought were more delicate and believe it or not my chromis were one of the first to go. all three of them.) And a clown ocellarias ?sp. i put them in QTtank with copper until the ammonia went dangeroulsy high. i paniced and put them back in the main tank. to make a long sad story short last night i lost the angel and all i have left for fish is the clown. she has an anemone that she lives in and basically leaves it to eat and then goes right back in it. she has no signs what so ever of any ich or marine velvet and the angel was so plastered with it you couldnt recognize it was an angel. does the slime that comes from the anemone protect the clown from any parasites that try to attach? or is my lonely little clown the carrier of all my problems? any feedback would be deeply appreciated...

 

[red79]

When u added your anemone did you put the water in your tank? If so that could have started it.

 

[angelsrock]

red i think you mean coral, but i agree if you used someof the water that the coral was brought home in from the lfs that definitely could have started it.

 

[thomas712]

I've never seen any evidence that an anemone can help cure ick. However having an anemone with your clownfish might help keep it happier and therefore boost its immune system.... Least thats my thought.
Best to QT your remaining clownfish, and do water changes from the main tank to prevent the ammonia spikes. Hyposalinity will be the cure here.
Thomas

 

[beth]

I believe what Thomas says is correct. However, as a person who is interested in Fish Diseases, I have noticed that clowns seem to fare better all the way around when they have an anemone, and that includes fare better with disease resistance. Now why that is...not sure if it is as Thomas says, or if there is something more to it. I have wondered the same thing.

 

[lstt]

sorry so late getting back . the answer is no i didnt add the water from the lfs. i always drain off any water.but as my son said im sure the coral absorbs water from the tank they were in and we certainly cant squeeze it out. is that why they make coral dip??? im new to this. let me tell you this whole situation has definately not been a good first experience . but, i sure am learning a lot.
spoke with a marine biologist about my problem and he said to stop any treatment turn on PS, put carbon back in and get a few chromis or damsels cuz my bio will not be maintained with only one clown in there. i also have a few hermit crabs and a cleaner shrimp left. see what happens. if i see any sign of ich or velvet start treating with kick ich and rally. i know everyone has had different opions on those products but i have found that they even use them at sea world. they are sworn to be reef safe although the rally has a small % of formulin in it.
as for the clown , i strongly believe that the slimey stuff that they have on them gets onto the clown and protects the parasites from being able to attach themselves. i am not saying an anemone is a cure for parasites, rather a preventative . thanks for your input everyone.

 

[iceemn360]

i feel that copper is not the best treatment since it is hard to dose correctly and is more hamful to angels, clowns, and tangs. Flame angels have long been debated to die because of exposure to copper, as it is thought to deteriorate their inner organs.