Ich Is Spreading

[scuba10110]

I HAVE 135 GALLON TANK FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS NOW AND BOUGHT A FOX FACE ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO. IT GOT ICH ABOUT 1 1/2 WEEKS AGO. I BOUGHT KENT RXP AND THE SOME OF THE SPOTS HAVE GONE AWAY BUT NOW APPEAR ON MY BICOLOR PARROT FISH. I DO NOT HAVE QT TANK AND CANT AFFORD IT RIGHT NOW. I DO NOT HAVE ANY LR BUT I DO HAVE 5 RED LEGGED HERMITS. SHOULD I TAKE OUT THE CRABS OUT AND PUT COOPER IN THE TANK? IT WILL REMAIN A FISH ONLY TANK FOR AS ASLONG I HAVE A TANK.I DONT PLAN ON MAKING IT A REEF TANK. HELP!

 

[elfdoctors]

You can remove your live rock and inverts and do hyposalinity in that tank. Copper has to be dosed properly and is more toxic (and more expensive) than hyposalinity. However these are really your only reliable options. The live rock and inverts can be maintained in a clean rubbermaid container for the few weeks of treatment.

 

[scuba10110]

I DONT HAVE ANY LIVE ROCK BUT I READ ON THE RXP BOTTLE I NEEDED TO DO IT FOR 7 DAYS (WHICH REALLY MEANS 14 DAYS) BUT I HAVE ONLY DONE OT FOR 4 (8 DAYS) CUZ THE BOTTLE RAN OUT SHOULD I FINISH THE TREATMENT OR SAVE MY MONEY AND START HYPOSALINITY? DID THE PARROT FISH GET ICH BECAUSE THE TREATMENT ISNT WORKING OR WILL I FOUND IF I FINISH THE TREATMENT?

 

[lefty]

Could you please lower your caps? It makes it more difficult to read when you're yelling the whole time.
It's not a fish only tank if you have hermits in it. The best thing for you to do would be hyposalinity. However, if you only have a plastic hydrometer, I don't recommend performing it. The salinity needs to be exact in order for hypo to work like it should.
I would take your hermits back to the LFS or find someone to hold on to them for you while you perform hypo.
Your parrot fish probably got ich because the treatment isn't working. I don't know much about that product, but the only two treatments considered pretty much one hundred percent effective are copper and hyposalinity.
If you really won't miss having any inverts in your tank, then just get rid of the hermits and do copper. It'll be cheaper for you unless you already have a refractometer or a glass hydrometer. :happyfish
-lefty

 

[glaekenjz]

Somebody once told me that a cleaner shrimp will help keep Ich in check, because if the fish will allow it, it will feed off of the protozoan. Is there any truth in this, or just someone trying to sell me a shrimp?

 

[lefty]

Shrimp will not cure ich. They may clean the ich off the fish, but this is not a way to keep ich from spreading throughout your tank. Often times, cleaner shrimp might not even be interested in cleaning your fish. Or the fish might not allow the shrimp to clean them. Shrimp may certainly help though. What you heard was true, but if you want to eliminate the parasite completely, you'll have to use copper or perform hyposalinity in a QT.
-lefty