Coral/Ick

kornele23

Member
My tank had ick in it about 5 months ago. I took all the fish out for about 2 months or so. The fish are back in there and doing very well.
Now here is my question. I just bought some corals from a guy that has a Hippo and Powder Blue Tang with a BAD case of ick.
I havent put the corals in yet.
Can the corals care ick back into my tank?
I dont want to have to go thru the ick again. I need to be 100% sure I wont get ick back into my tank from the corals.
The corals are:
Hammer, Candy, and a Monti Cap.
Thanks
 

1journeyman

Active Member
Yes.
Ich has multiple life stages in it's life cycle. One stage is free swimming, which means it could be in the water on the corals. Another stage is a cyst, which could also be on the coral.
QT all things "wet".
 

kazarko

Member
Ich does not reproduce above 86F, it will also not reproduce without a host. It has a short lifespan of 10-12 days. If you QT corals in a fish free tank and raise the temp, all ich will be gone after 3-4 weeks, even if they were on the corals.
I am not certain if corals will survive 86F temperatures though. Maybe someone else with more experience on the temp range corals can survive in can help there.
Oh, and any ich should die above 89F.
I wouldn't recommend having such high temps for corals,it may be useful for treating LR.
 

kornele23

Member
My QT tank is being occupied by a Powder Blue that is being hypoed.
I do have a 29 gallon tank but I dont have any lights for it.
What would I need for them to be okay?
Do I need any filtration?
Water and powerhead okay?
This my first try at corals if you cant tell...lol.
 

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by Kazarko
http:///forum/post/2463227
Ich does not reproduce above 86F, it will also not reproduce without a host. It has a short lifespan of 10-12 days. If you QT corals in a fish free tank and raise the temp, all ich will be gone after 3-4 weeks, even if they were on the corals.
I am not certain if corals will survive 86F temperatures though. Maybe someone else with more experience on the temp range corals can survive in can help there.
I believe your information is more accurate for freshwater Ich. Marine Ich has a life cycle of roughly 28 days, depending on temp. QT corals. There is no reason to raise temp and potentially kill them.
 

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by Kornele23
http:///forum/post/2463231
My QT tank is being occupied by a Powder Blue that is being hypoed.
I do have a 29 gallon tank but I dont have any lights for it.
What would I need for them to be okay?
Do I need any filtration?
Water and powerhead okay?
This my first try at corals if you cant tell...lol.
Well... now we've got an issue. I would suggest taking them back to the guy you bought them from, and waiting until your fish is out of QT.
You cannot hypo corals.
 

kazarko

Member
Corals need strong lights. It is a must. Good filtration is a must as well. Depending on what types of coral, you need to feed them the proper foods such as zooplankton and have enough minerals and trace elements in the water for them to survive. Corals are... difficult, they may also sting your fish if the fish come too close or there is not enough room for the fish to move around.
 

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by Kazarko
http:///forum/post/2463239
Corals need strong lights. It is a must. Good filtration is a must as well. Depending on what types of coral, you need to feed them the proper foods such as zooplankton and have enough minerals and trace elements in the water for them to survive. Corals are... difficult, they may also sting your fish if the fish come too close or there is not enough room for the fish to move around.
Not all corals need strong lighting. In fact some don't need lighting at all. Nor do they neccessarily need filtration as long as water parameters are good. Nor do all corals need to be fed plankton, especially the ones that need strong lighting.
Kazarko, thank you for your enthusiasm in posting in the Disease/Treament forum. Not many people post here. Just be sure though that you are posting accurate information. Posting something wrong in this forum can lead someone to end up making a detrimental mistake in handling a bad situation.
 

sepulatian

Moderator

Originally Posted by Kornele23
http:///forum/post/2463206
My tank had ick in it about 5 months ago. I took all the fish out for about 2 months or so. The fish are back in there and doing very well.
Now here is my question. I just bought some corals from a guy that has a Hippo and Powder Blue Tang with a BAD case of ick.
I havent put the corals in yet.
Can the corals care ick back into my tank?
I dont want to have to go thru the ick again. I need to be 100% sure I wont get ick back into my tank from the corals.
The corals are:
Hammer, Candy, and a Monti Cap.
Thanks
Absolutely, qt them for at least three weeks. Any purchase should be qt'd. Three weeks for non fish is a must.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2463344
Absolutely, qt them for at least three weeks. Any purchase should be qt'd. Three weeks for non fish is a must.

Originally Posted by Kazarko

http:///forum/post/2463227
Ich does not reproduce above 86F, it will also not reproduce without a host. It has a short lifespan of 10-12 days. If you QT corals in a fish free tank and raise the temp, all ich will be gone after 3-4 weeks, even if they were on the corals.
I am not certain if corals will survive 86F temperatures though. Maybe someone else with more experience on the temp range corals can survive in can help there.
Oh, and any ich should die above 89F.
I wouldn't recommend having such high temps for corals,it may be useful for treating LR.
This is not accurate. a higher temp speeds up the life cycle of the parasite. If there are no fish then, you are correct, that they cannot host and the parasite will die. There is no reason to raise the temp at all.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Kornele23
http:///forum/post/2463231
My QT tank is being occupied by a Powder Blue that is being hypoed.
I do have a 29 gallon tank but I dont have any lights for it.
What would I need for them to be okay?
Do I need any filtration?
Water and powerhead okay?
This my first try at corals if you cant tell...lol.
You can put the corals in a tub, if needed, with a heater and a powerhead. There will be no bio load and no cycle. You can add a piece of LR if you are uneasy with a bare tank. You will need some light for them, but it is only for three weeks.
 
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