Help with ICH please.

doggie

doggie

Member
Hi folks.
So it finally happened. I got a case of ICH. I had a really nice QT/hospital tank set up for when I purchase new fish but it broke a few weeks ago. I started a new job that has been taking a lot of my time but I finally got a new QT tank. I just got it set up. I used the water from my DT. Here are my questions I can't find answers to:
1. I've heard eels do not get Ich. Is this true and if they do not then can I leave mine in the DT tank while the others are in HYPO? I have a Fimbriated Moray Eel.
2. Can I still run carbon in the hypo tank? I have an emperor filter on it, or should I take it out?
3. I read somewhere that even though inverts do not get sick from ich, that they still can carry it. Is this true? If I leave all my inverts in the DT for 6 weeks while the fish are in hypo will ich still be in the DT because of the inverts? I have many inverts, snails, few different kinds of shrimp, star fish, hermits, etc.
I would do copper but my LFS told me copper+puffer is very bad.
Thanks for your help.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

I don't understand, if you only had your QT break a few weeks ago why did you order fish before you could reset the QT and chance getting ich in the DT? The time to quarantine a fish is BEFORE you add it to the DT.
I don't know anything about eels, or puffers so I can’t answers those questions
Inverts do not carry ich, nor can they be infected, if they came from a community tank of inverts and fish, the WATER they arrive in could carry the parasite and infect your tank that way.
If you remove all your fish, without a host the parasite will die in 6 to 8 weeks..the inverts are safe to just leave them alone in the tank while you tend to your sick fish in another tank.
 
doggie

doggie

Member
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
I haven't put anything in my tank for at least 3 months. It has been up and running for about a year now. The ich just seemed to come from no where. The guy from my LFS told me my tank probably always had it but it just got bad recently.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by doggie
http:///forum/post/3276271
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
I haven't put anything in my tank for at least 3 months. It has been up and running for about a year now. The ich just seemed to come from no where. The guy from my LFS told me my tank probably always had it but it just got bad recently.

Your fish were holding out until stress then...go to the store..any grocery store. Get a clove of garlic and crush it up and take a chunk of shrimp and soak it in the juice and feed it to your fish. Up your tank water temp to at least 80. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. I even got the jarred chopped garlic and used the juice from that.
I had resolved that all my fish were going to die and I was just going to let the ich run its course. I decided to try to help their immunity and give them a fighting chance. To my amazement I never lost a fish. When I was trying all sorts of reef safe ich medicine my fish died from the medicines because it wouldn't go away and I would do another round, and it made my coral look sick and all drawn up. My efforts to fix things just made it worse. I also think the cleaner shrimp helped as well.
It has been over a year now and I have had no outbreaks. I even moved my tank to another house and all were just fine, very stressed but no ich. Before, even if I did a small water change my Hippo would come down with white spots and rubbing on the rocks, no other fish, just him. Now all is well. So you can overcome it, but it isn't easy.
 
bs

bs

Member
I also had ich in my DT. I have my fish in QT, and I have been treating them. They no longer are showing any signs of ich, but I am still treating them. They are not in hypo. My question is, how do I ensure that the fish do not still have it and it isn't just dormant in the fish? Is the only way to completely kill it off to put the fish in hypo?
Thanks.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
The only true way to be sure is to leave the fish in hypo for 6-8 weeks in a real QT tank or treat them with chemicals and leave them in QT and observe. By the way, rid-ich doesn't always work, heard some horror stories about that product.
Anyways, Inverts CAN carry ich, but are not effected by it. Corals can carry ich as well. Although it is rare that it will effect your tank unless you introduce infected water. This is why people say to quarantine EVERYTHING.
---
To the OP, if you can QT your fish and leave your tank fishless with only corals and inverts for 6-8 weeks and treat your fish in the QT with your chosen method (there are many, read the fish disease forums!) then you should be fine. Garlic is not a cure for ich. It helps finicky fish eat and carries SOME vitamins, but not enough to actually make a noticeable difference if you actually measured it in a lab. Get some Selcon or VitaChem and choose your desired method to treat your fish. I highly recommned hypo.
As to your eel, I'm not sure, maybe others that have experience with eels will chime in. You may want to post a separate thread about eels and ick to get a definitive answer. Same goes with the puffer, although this is the first time that I'm hearing of this.
I do run carbon in my QT tank if I'm doing hypo, but not if I'm using a medication. If you choose to run carbon, you must change it regularly or you will not rid your fish of ich.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3276268

I don't understand, if you only had your QT break a few weeks ago why did you order fish before you could reset the QT and chance getting ich in the DT? The time to quarantine a fish is BEFORE you add it to the DT.
Inverts do not carry ich, nor can they be infected, if they came from a community tank of inverts and fish, the WATER they arrive in could carry the parasite and infect your tank that way
I beg to differ. Inverts most CERTAINLY can carry ich into a tank. They just cannot host. The water is the least of worries...
Originally Posted by doggie
http:///forum/post/3276271
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
I haven't put anything in my tank for at least 3 months. It has been up and running for about a year now. The ich just seemed to come from no where. The guy from my LFS told me my tank probably always had it but it just got bad recently.
That is quite possible. Ich is a parasite. Fish can live with it is it is only in small amounts, such as in the ocean. Tanks are a glass cage though. If ich is in there then the smallest amount of stress can trigger a chain reaction. Ich is able to feed, drop off, reproduce, and before you know it there are thousands of parasites in the tank.
Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3283583
The only true way to be sure is to leave the fish in hypo for 6-8 weeks in a real QT tank or treat them with chemicals and leave them in QT and observe. By the way, rid-ich doesn't always work, heard some horror stories about that product.
Anyways, Inverts CAN carry ich, but are not effected by it. Corals can carry ich as well. Although it is rare that it will effect your tank unless you introduce infected water. This is why people say to quarantine EVERYTHING.
---
.
I agree, but let's go with Hypo rather than chemicals.
 
doggie

doggie

Member
Thanks folks, I started this thread a month ago and have been doing hypo for about 3 weeks now. I lost my puffer, just couldn't get him to eat. The trigger didn't eat for awhile but it finally started last week. The eel always eats, never a problem, lol.
I noticed since my DT tank has been fishless that the rock has really come to life. lots of feather dusters and other things are thriving.
And I'll also agree not to just dump chemicals into your tank.
Thanks again
 
bs

bs

Member
I'm sorry you all dislike that I'm using a chemical and not hypo. I don't have a refractometer and I don't have the money to buy one right now. Next time I put fish in QT I will be sure that I have one. Does anyone know if Rid-Ich will kill off free swimming parasites though?
Thanks
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong, but it wouldn't be the first thing I'd recommend to someone.
IMO, Rid-Ich doesn't do much.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
I had great sucess with cuprimine. I was nervous about trying to keep my salinity at .009 without a refractometer. While in the QT my fish were active, and ate very well. You wouldnt have known they were being treated at all. The cupramine doesnt disipate in the water so its a one time dosage for the entire 4 weeks.
to the OP, yes you just keep your inverts, corals in the DT for the QT period (hopefully 5+ weeks) without a fish to host the ich should die off.
To the other person who asked the question (BS) about the QT. were you actually medicating with anything or just had him in QT after you saw ich present and you don't see it now?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Cupramine works much better, IMO.
I have a question for you guys that are worried about keeping the salinity at .009 consistently ..... How do you guys keep your tanks at their normal levels without a refractometer?
 
bs

bs

Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3283897
To the other person who asked the question (BS) about the QT. were you actually medicating with anything or just had him in QT after you saw ich present and you don't see it now?
I brought the fish home. Put them in QT, ich appeared. I began to medicate them, then it disappeared, I then continued to medicate for a few days after the fish seemed healthy and back to normal (instructions on the bottle). Now the fish is eating and everything seems back to normal.
 
bs

bs

Member
Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3283929
I have a question for you guys that are worried about keeping the salinity at .009 consistently ..... How do you guys keep your tanks at their normal levels without a refractometer?
I'm not even sure that my hydrometer measures salinity that low.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
If you have a standard swing are, it should.... I have three that do, although I use a refractometer.
 
ibanez

ibanez

Member
I made a mistake a while back and got ich in my 90 gallon display tank, some fish where covered in ich, instead of tearing my tank apart, I decided to feed heavy with pe mysis and many other different frozen foods soaked in selcon and let the ich run its course. This may not always work, but for over a month now I have no sign of ich in the tank and I didn't lose one single fish. I fed 2 to 3 times a day and made sure to keep them on a schedule. I believe it helped them fight off the ich by themselves. I know for a fact that this doesn't always work, but in certain circumstances it is worth a try. By the way, pe mysis seems to work better than regular mysis in increasing appetite and I beleive is more nutritious although I haven't read up on it to know for sure, I have been working a lot lately and haven't had much time to research.
 
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