Ich all over the tank

beth

Administrator
Staff member
IMO, you are wasting time with vitamins and kick ich.
The only viable treatment for ich is hyposalinity or copper.
 

jackri

Active Member
Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/3134310
IMO, you are wasting time with vitamins and kick ich.
The only viable treatment for ich is hyposalinity or copper.
I mostly agree with this as don't count on getting them healthy to pull through but with QT not being an option (unless I misread something) it's what I'd try at this point with a reef and let nature takes it's course.
 

geckoxp

Member
Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/3134310
IMO, you are wasting time with vitamins and kick ich.
The only viable treatment for ich is hyposalinity or copper.
Beth...
I appreciate the options...but when dealing with a reef, not being able to catch the fish and having ich in the main tank affecting all of your fish...now that it was introduced somehow...what more can do you but try an all natural way of curing the system? I'm kicking myself about the temps and not getting the sump earlier but I have to deal with what happened and what is going on now.
Unfortunately using hypo and copper does NOT work in a reef tank...and going out and getting a larger tank with everything I need to treat more then 1 fish is not going to happen with the limited space I have...
Sorry but I am limited here....using copper and hypo WILL treat the fish but it will NOT get rid of the ich in the system. So causing more stress and putting it another system may actually do more harm then good in my view...
I thought I had it beat mid week to be honest but it came back worse then before for whatever reason...so i am reaching out to the forum and I appreciate all the help!
 

meowzer

Moderator
Gecko...you must realize one thing.....vitamins and such will build up the fish's immune system.....you will not be rid of the ich....if the fish get weak or stressed the ich will still be there
 

geckoxp

Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3134327
Gecko...you must realize one thing.....vitamins and such will build up the fish's immune system.....you will not be rid of the ich....if the fish get weak or stressed the ich will still be there
Yes correct...there is nothing that will get rid of ich in the tank that I am aware of. Using hypo and copper will not work in the tank either. It will help just the fish but unless you boost the immune system up the chances of having the fish get it again is a real big risk.
Now the only thing I can think of getting rid of ich is to get rid of all the fish, basically kill everything in the system and start over again in a reef tank right?
I am hoping that boosting the immune system up in my fish it may break the cycle of ich...hope and a dream i guess?
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Originally Posted by GeckoXp
http:///forum/post/3134326
Beth...
using copper and hypo WILL treat the fish but it will NOT get rid of the ich in the system.
Actually, that's not correct. Once your reef is empty of fish for 3 weeks, and you are not adding any more contamination during that time, ich will die off. Ich need fish to survive.
Reef hobbyist have got to QT before introducing new fish, otherwise you have to deal with a no-win situation such as this one. Extreme caution is also needed when introducing hard surfaced items, such as live rocks as ich can be introduced that way as well, though not so much so as with fish.
There are a few "reef safe" threads I've posted in the FAQ Topic. While I don't endorse these products, there may some products that seemingly have more success than othersr. Take a look there.
Massive daily water changes may help as well. You'd have to keep it up for 3 weeks.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by mkroher
http:///forum/post/3135303
Set up fish traps and QT.

Hard to do when you have a reef..those traps don't work very well, and you can't QT all those fish into a tiny tank...
I will say this...QT any new fish, and do everything you can to keep the natural immunity up for those you have. Even coral can come with ich on them if they have been exposed to a sick fish.
Ich in a reef is the absolutely worst situation to have. Avoid exposure is the smart thing to do. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold in this hobby. QT everything FIRST... the best advice!
 

geckoxp

Member
I completely understand...now haha. Ah well so far no changes. I have a 200 micron sock in the tank that I will be removing later on today as I was reading that it could be a harbor of bacteria growth including ich..
I know I know...but tomorrow I will be adding in another dose of kick ich, since I have it. The temps are around 83 in the tank...may raise that one more degree and see what happens. So far no one has kicked the bucket and all are eating so nothing more I can do at this point then still sit and wait.
 

mkroher

Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3135335

Hard to do when you have a reef..those traps don't work very well, and you can't QT all those fish into a tiny tank...
I will say this...QT any new fish, and do everything you can to keep the natural immunity up for those you have. Even coral can come with ich on them if they have been exposed to a sick fish.
Ich in a reef is the absolutely worst situation to have. Avoid exposure is the smart thing to do. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold in this hobby. QT everything FIRST... the best advice!
Who said a QT had to be tiny?
he can buy a 55gal tank at walmart for $50 for a QT and start hypo.
 

geckoxp

Member
Whelp I lost my flame angel and firefish today so the ich is killing off the weak in the tank...the more I think about this it may be a good thing as much as i hate to say it :( I hate that this has even occured but not much I can do now...
So when this is all over...whenever its all over to possibly prevent such an outbreak from happening again would a uv sterilizer help at all or is it just a waste of money? If it would is there one to go with that I could put in the sump? I know that it helps the free flowing ich only.
Along with QT any new additions I want to do as much as possible so this does not occur again!!
 

meowzer

Moderator
well then get a qt....put all your fish in it....do hypo....and leave the display empty for at least weeks
that would be the best thing to do
 

luvmyreef

Active Member
I have heard that a high wattage UV sterilizer and diatom filters will work. The very fine diatom filters can help strain Cryptocaryon out of the water during its free-floating stage. A properly sized UV sterilizer will also kill the free-floating Cryptocaryon.
 

geckoxp

Member
Just a real quick update...
As noted before I did lose my flame angel and the 2nd firefish on Sun/Mon. Since the loss here is what is going on...
1. On Monday...again since I have it I might as well use it...I added in another dose of kick ich to the tank.
2. I removed the sock that I had in the sump to ease any elevated Nitrate readings in the tank that I have been getting.
3.I lowered the temps from 84 that I had them at to around 81-82 in the tank.
4. I have decided that I was way overfeeding my fish and now went to a regimen where I give the following:
1 cube of #2 mixed algae in the morning with 2 drops of Kents Garlic and .5 ML of Selcon for the tangs. 1 1/2 bloodworm / Mysis Shrimp (alternating days) in the afternoon with the other .5ml of selcon and 2 more drops of kent garlic. Every other day I put in a algae clip and let the tangs feed on that. I remove any not finished the next morning.
Fish health:
So far the Royal Gramma and bicolor blenny look better and swimming around the tank a lot more then what they were doing. The Six line wrasse and Percs never had ich so they are doing very well. The Yellow tang is not scratching any more and shows little to no signs of ich. The Blue hippo looks better but by this weekend if things do not improve I will be setting up a QT tank for him.
I have also noticed that my soft corals look pretty good as well. I have been adding in Cyclop-eeze 2 times a week as well for the corals so maybe that has helped a little bit.
I have another 20G water change coming this weekend along with another dose of Kick ich etc...so the wait continues!
Thanks for all the info as always!
 

jackri

Active Member
If you QT your one fish until he's healthy and put him back in the tank odds are he'll contract it again unless you QT all the fish and wait out the life cycle in the main tank.
 

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/3137225
If you QT your one fish until he's healthy and put him back in the tank odds are he'll contract it again unless you QT all the fish and wait out the life cycle in the main tank.
Agreed. If you don't QT everything, it may suck, but get rid of the Hippo. The other fish are resistant enough, to combat your Ich levels with good diets. The Hippo will only continue to fester and allow the Ich to keep regenerating.
Also, add New Life Spectrum Pellets to your daily feeding routine.
 

geckoxp

Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/3137373
Agreed. If you don't QT everything, it may suck, but get rid of the Hippo. The other fish are resistant enough, to combat your Ich levels with good diets. The Hippo will only continue to fester and allow the Ich to keep regenerating.
Also, add New Life Spectrum Pellets to your daily feeding routine.

What would be a good consideration for a replacement fish for the hippo? I have a 90G with a 25Gsump. I know off topic but figured I would ask anyway..
 

jackri

Active Member
You're a long ways off before I would even consider another fish. You still may end up with a total loss or not losing any and then I would wait 2 months of not seeing any ich in the tank before I made any additions or you could be repeating the cycle with a new stressed fish.
Ich sucks, period.
 
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