conditions when dealing with ick...

[drew_tt]

I got a pb tang just over two weeks ago... saved him from a small, stressed tank (at lfs where I work)... he was a fair size (3") and he was already coming down with ick... take him home, his ick clears up in two days... I have a 90 gallon system with basically a flame angel and a ton of live rock.... and a TON of macro algae... I believe he recovered so well because he was able to graze all day long...
anyways, he was fine today, but I just checked on him and he is COVERED in ick... Ive seen him go through little 'ick fits' where he gets a few spots sometime in the day for a handful of hours...
this is the most serious he's had it so far... anyways, about 5 days (I think) ago, I added on a set of 2x55W PC's to my 2x40W NO's.... immediately he got really stressed out and lost most of his colour... since then he has been a bit stressed, but his colour is coming back (like the one in the picture to the left <---)...
anyways, my question is would it help if I kept the tanklights off or just put the two normal outputs on?
removing him is not an option and I do not have a tank that I would rather put him in (if you really want to see a sick pb, try putting one in a bare quarantine/hospital tank by itself for a long time...)...
Drew :S

 

[carrie1429]

IMO its probably better if your tank lights are off. But you better start treating the ich if not already. The ich sometimes is not always visible, its there one day then its not. This is often mistaken for the fish recovering from ich but really the ich is still there.

 

[beth]

OMG, why on earth did you place a sick fish with ick in your tank???? You’ve basically contaminated your tank now. You can’t treat in tank. Do you have a hospital tank??

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

volunteering your display tank for a sick fish isn't what I have the time nor the patience to do. I have too many other animals in my tank that would not have appreciated wht you did.
with that said - I applaud your concern for the fish and here is what you need to do - IMO
1. Get yourself tow or three Cleaner Shrimp - (These guys eat ick for food of of the fish)
2. Begin to treat your fish food with Garlic - (Garlic helps by creating a slick surface ion your fish - this making it a bit hard for the tomites to attach themselves to the fish)
3. Try Quick Cure from Aquarium Products - (This is a form of formaldehyde that helps kill inverts - I have not seen this stuff kill any oy my shrimp, crabs, urchins, star fish and I've over medicated successfullly)
4. Do 10% Water Changes very three/four days (this will reduce the number of free tomites in the water)
Good luck and be patient - the removal of ICK takes months and sometimes years. Stay on top of it!!