do saltwater fish get ick?

[faith]

Recently I aquired a 55 gallon saltwater aqarium.....in it is live sand, live rock, some coral, anemone an urchin, clam, peppermint shrimp,damsels, tang, clownfish and a starfish. I noticed that the tang is rubbing itself on the rocks and today I noticed that the tang has white spots and so does the damsel..... I really feel stupid asking this question, but do saltwater fish get ick and how do I treat this if this is the problem, without hurting anything in the tank. I feel like a fish out of water here.

 

[cowfishrule]

saltwater fish do get ich
search around in the disease forum... the answer is definatly there.
also, move your guys to quarentine tanks

 

[jon.316]

Yes fish do get ich, and out of experience I can assure you that tangs are prolly one of the most supceptable to ich (supcetible,susceptable...whatever u get the idea) :notsure:
I'd suggest picking up a 10 gallon tank with a small filter and pump $9, and a small heater $6 and a bottle of coppersafe $6. Fish the fish out...

and set him in the tank for 2-3 days and the copper will rid the tang of any bacteria including ich. This btw most people refer to as a hospital tank...you dont want to put copper into your main tank because you need the bacteria in there to keep your other critters alive....do some research, it seems overwhelming at first when you switch to saltwater but its much more rewarding.....good luck

 

[mbrands]

There was another posting that was quite extensive on ick. I can't find it now, but will post a link onto your thread if I can find it later.
Basically I'd take Jon's advice and set up a quarantine tank (QT). However, from the other thread, the advice was to keep the fish in it for 2-3 weeks. Apparently, ick can be in your system for up to 23 days total.
I can't stress enough what Jon said about NOT adding copper medications to your tank . . . unless you want everything to die. You can't even transfer any LR or LS from your QT after you've medicated.
Good luck.

 

[cowfishrule]

oh yeah, just remembered something.
take some of the media out of your main tank's filter, and use that in your qt tank.
if you just buy a tank, put in salt water, and put the fish in, he's definatly a goner because your going to be cycling your qt tank while trying to treat him..

 

[mbrands]

cowfishrule,
Is he necessarily a goner? If you used media from your tank, water from your tank, plus a decent sized piece of live rock then wouldn't the QT not go through much of a cycle?

 

[faith]

I want to thank all of you for your help. I am in the process of setting up the Qt . I will let you know how it goes.

 

[fishy1]

Hey! :scared:
Move them all with the same water, sand and a few of your cheap ornaments that are easily replaceable and will make your fish feel safe. Do not put these back in your old tank because the copper in harmful to all live rock and inverts; you'll have to replace them later if you want.
In your filter, do not put the carbon in when you treat with copper.
Please look at the forum at the most recent postings today, I have given advice on the same problem many times and each time it gets smaller. Go to the first ich posting, I think that's the one with so much detail. There are after treatment questions answered there too.
Good luck!
Fishy1 :happyfish

 

[cowfishrule]

Originally posted by mbrands
cowfishrule,
Is he necessarily a goner? If you used media from your tank, water from your tank, plus a decent sized piece of live rock then wouldn't the QT not go through much of a cycle?
if you have a fish that has ich, and you go out and buy a tank and filter(new filter, new media), fill the tank with water from your tank, and put in your sick fish, he's done.
i suggested to take some media (not carbon if medicating btw)and put that in the filter, as the media contains the bacteria needed to keep the qt water stable.

 

[faith]

One more question......Do I place all the fish in the QT or just the infected ones? I was thinking that if the ones that aren't infected are still in the main tank, they still run the risk of getting the ick since it is already in the tank. If I place them all into the QT then the main tank will be empty of fish, killing all the parasites. I will be doing water changes on the QT daily anyway.
I have been reading as many posts on this as I can.
Thank- you all for yoour help.
By the way I think the tang likes the QT, it seems very happy there.

 

[jacknjill]

yes put ALL the fish in the QT. they could have it internally and you may never see it. you could also start feeding garlic soaked food.

 

[fishy1]

I second that! Put all of them in there!
You can also buy anti parasite food to help get rid of the internal ich. It comes in dry form, only costs about $2- and you feed it to them for 3 days straight, then give them thier regular food for four and repeat for a month. My bottle is actually called Anti-Parasite.
Best of luck! :yes:
Fishy1

 

[fishy1]

I forgot to say, regarding your tang.....isn't that funny?? My clown was so happy in the QT tank it's crazy. Now he's back home and he stays up in the corner. They say it's normal, but I agree with you, I find it odd myself.
Good luch again!
Fishy1 :happyfish