Ich In The Reef – Need A Treatment

big_al

big_al

Member
I have a 110 gallon reef tank with an outbreak of ICH on most fish. I believe came in on a Powder Blue Tang that I added a few weeks ago. Water parameters are all good (pH-8.4, trates-0, trites – 0, ammonia – 0) salinity 1.024 and the temp between 78-80F. Fish (besides PB) include regal and yellow tangs, 2 perculas, 2 bangai cardinals, flame angel and six-line wrasse. They are all eating well.
I tried treating with Metafix and Pimafix for about 7 days but without success. I did a 25% water change this morning.
Considering all the live rock, capturing and quarantining the fish is practically impossible. The only chance of that is to tear down the reef.
My LFS suggested I simply raise the water temp to 82-84F. From what I’ve read online, that only speeds up the ICH cycle. Higher temp and meds is an option.
I’m relatively new to the hobby and would appreciate if anyone could suggest an in-tank treatment that does not include quarantining the fish. That I’ll leave as the last resort.
Thanks
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
I've seen posts from mods and more experienced users that raising the temp actually makes things worse, not better. The "reef-safe" meds are really a crap-shoot, some people swear by them, some people think they crash tanks. Kick-ich does actually take the ich off the fish if done according to the directions but it doesn't kill the ich or stop the ich-life-cycle.... it's not a cure. You'd likely end up dosing with this every few weeks ...forever ... with limited success.
The only real cure is to capture the fish and QT them for treatment. You would then also need to leave the tank fallow (no fish) for 6 weeks so the life-cycle of the ich parasite can end. Treat with the hypo process outlined in Beth's informational sticky thread at the top of this forum (the Disease and Treatment).
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Unfortunately raising the temp is pointless, and may result in worsening the situation. To raise the temp to sufficient levels to kill ich, it would also start killing off your reef.
There is info in the FAQ Thread on other reef alternative meds, none of which will I endorse, but with this desperate situation I would be remiss if I did not at least offer you that info so you can decide yourself.
Breaking down the reef or just letting nature take its course is the only alternative I see.
 
big_al

big_al

Member
Thank you all for your suggestions and information. I'm going to try a combination of "reef-safe" approaches before taking the extreme measure of tearing down my reef. I'm elevating the temp to shorten ich cycle and using a 14-day treatment of "Kick Ich" in an attempt to kill the Ich during it's vulnerable stage.
The Kovalek product looks interesting and per the thread that SteelGuer provided, I may add a dose of garlic too.
Thanks again for all the help and support.
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
If using a bottled product I feel you would be best with the Kich-Ick. Best of Luck.
 
big_al

big_al

Member
I started the Kick Ich treatment last night and today the yellow tang is looking clean. The color of the perculas is still faded as if they had a light dusting of flour on them. The powder blue tang looks the worst with white blotches all over. I don’t expect any fast recovery there.
Accepting the fact that I most likely will need to set up a QT to hold all of my fish for several weeks (powder blue, regal, yellow tangs, 2 perculas, 2 bangai cardinals, flame angel and six-line wrasse) what size QT tank should I aim for? They are currently in a 110 gallon tank with lots of LR.
Thanks again for everyone’s support!
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Originally Posted by Big_Al
I started the Kick Ich treatment last night and today the yellow tang is looking clean. The color of the perculas is still faded as if they had a light dusting of flour on them. The powder blue tang looks the worst with white blotches all over. I don’t expect any fast recovery there.
Accepting the fact that I most likely will need to set up a QT to hold all of my fish for several weeks (powder blue, regal, yellow tangs, 2 perculas, 2 bangai cardinals, flame angel and six-line wrasse) what size QT tank should I aim for? They are currently in a 110 gallon tank with lots of LR.
Thanks again for everyone’s support!
It more depends on the size of the fish, not so much the size tank they're in now. The thing is you don't want a QT that's too big, so you can manage the hypo process (or any treatment) a little easier. Then you also don't want it to be too small and cause too much stress. My guess is, if the fish are small or average for their species, maybe 37 or 40 gal, 55 gal as a max, but I'd say 40 might be just right. Remember, this is going to be temporary and hopefully not longer than 6 weeks.
 
big_al

big_al

Member
Thanks m0nk --- I'll shoot for the 40 gallon as all the fish are average except for the yellow tang which is on the large size.
Why do us newbies always need to learn the hard way?
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by Big_Al
Why do us newbies always need to learn the hard way?

It is a 'right of passage'...........
 
big_al

big_al

Member
Update ---- I've been keeping the water temp between 83 -84, treating with Kick-Ich and adding garlic. The water parameters have not changed (amm - 0, trites - 0, trates - 0, pH - 8.4). Most of the fish have lost the white ich spots although I'm very skeptical so I'm also setting up a QT. My powder blue still looks the worst with white blotches over his body that I'm attributing to stress from abuse by my yellow tang. Picture attached.
 
itom37

itom37

Member
I used kick ich once and saw a moderate improvement at first, but it did not work in the long term. QT!
 
waterlogged

waterlogged

Member
Originally Posted by itom37
I used kick ich once and saw a moderate improvement at first, but it did not work in the long term. QT!
Me too.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
You could also just be seeing the natural life cycle of the parasite. They drop off of the fish to reproduce in the sand.
 
new salt guru

new salt guru

New Member
GARLIC EXTRACT! you need to mix garlic extract with thier food ! It sounds wierd but i talked to a professional at The Fish Place in Tonawanda NY and he told me to do it and it worked it takes about 3 weeks and you will loose a few fish at most. Your inverts will be okay which none have died for me. Email me at jkempf8679@yahoo.com for further questions.
 
big_al

big_al

Member
Well SpiderWoman ….. the reef is looking incredibly great. The ich cleared up within a week after I started treatment and there has been no sign of ich since.

My only loss was the Powder Blue which had more issues than just ich as you can see from the picture above.
I do believe the combination of Kick Ich, high temp and garlic extract (which I still use daily) took care of the outbreak but I’m not confident that my DT is cured. I’m new to this hobby and must believe the experts that suggest I simply bought myself time to set up a QT. I still plan on tearing down the reef so I can hypo my fish while I let my DT fallow. After that, all new residents will pass through my QT before calling my DT home.
Thanks for asking ….
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member

I'm happy to hear that! I was going through some old threads about ICK because of all the questions here and didn't find an update for yours
 
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