Ich dead yet?

[ohscc]

I found ich on my fish on Dec 22 and started copper treatment (was nervous about hypo) for 7 days on Dec 23. So the tank has been fishless for 5 weeks now. Is this enough time? The tanks temp has been about 74 and salt at 1.023. It is a 55 gal tank with a remora pro and live rock and LS. I want to re introduce the fish now b/c the trigger is not eating very well. Is the ich dead in thet tank yet to make it safe to put fish back in? Thanks.

 

[buzz]

Just curious...is this going to stay a fish only tank? Or were you planning for a reef tank? Because if so, your copper treatment may have killed that as a possibility...
Also, IMO your temp is way too low....Most, including myself, keep their tanks at about 82 degrees...74 is cold.
It's hard to say if the ich is gone yet, but if you don't see it anymore, there is a strong possibility it is gone...but I would be more concerned with what caused the ich in the first place...perhaps the stress from the water temp?

 

[simm]

Originally posted by OhsCC
The tanks temp has been about 74 and salt at 1.023. It is a 55 gal tank with a remora pro and live rock and LS.
I would give it atlease 6 weeks. However you said you used copper? If you have LR and LS it wont be alive very long and if you do set it up as a reef your LR and LS may be ruined. Just FYI if you go reef.

 

[steve40]

Most fish have ich but it does not affect them. The fish being stressed out is what causes the ich to start harming the fish. So there may always be ich on your fish but as long as they are healthy and active then there should be no problems.

 

[ohscc]

i am sorry i didn't explain myself very well. My fish are in there Q tanks with copper in them (or very little copper now because i have done water changes). My 55 gal has mushrooms LR and LS. is there a way to see if my take is ich free?

 

[simm]

O ok a QT is better. I was getting worried. ICK can not survive in a hostless tank for more than I would say 6 weeks. How to tell if there is still ick in your tank? Im not sure but I have heard ick can be dormant in LR/LS.

 

[ohscc]

Ok here is my plan i just fed my fish and they both ate well. So i am going to wait a week and in the mean time i will get a heater and some extract garlic.

 

[simm]

That sounds like a good plan. Feed with garlic and feed with garlic even in the main tank on a regular basis. Then just watch for any abnormal behavior or eating problems. Just remember to acclimate him to your main tank over a couple of hours and when you add him into the main tank be careful and not to drip to much water from the net into the main tank since you added copper to the QT.

 

[ohscc]

Hey thanks simm you have been a big help on both my post. Thanks. and thanks for everyone who replied.

 

[justlooking]

What kind of garlic do you buy?

 

[simm]

No prob. Thats what everyone is here for. Justlooking I use Kents Garlic Xtreme from LFS. Alot of people use fresh garlic cloves as well. Its a little more potent.

 

[gatorcsm]

I don't know if this is the right/or ok way, but I take garlic cloves, throw them in a blender with hot water, and run it untill it is very smooth. Then I run it through a coffee filter, and I get a very concentrated garlic juice... Just my way, open to reasons why it is bad... I personally use hot (boiling) water to help kill anything, it doesn't get everything i'm sure, but maybe it does something...