ICH!!!! Not again

[jbadge]

I don't get it.....I had ich in my tank about two months ago. It killed all my fish. My tank sat empty for about 6 weeks. It is a reef tank... Got my fish from SWF, acclimated them. It's been about 2 weeks now and my Royal Gramma and Yellow tang are ICH ridden. I just don't get it. What do I do. I have the YT and YG out of the main tank now and in a QT with copper. And am treating the main tank with Kick-ICH.
:help:

 

[beth]

Did you QT the new fish?

 

[jbadge]

Yes I did. For a week

 

[elfdoctors]

1 week is not enough for most parasites to fully run their lifecycles. Most people recommend keeping fish quarantined for at least 3-4 weeks.
Kick ich is not a reliable treatment for ich. You should probably treat all of your fish with hyposalinity or copper.

 

[flamehawk]

Does Kick Ich work or not?
I've tried hypo for so many months and sorry but it does not work. The empty tank situation w/ no fish does not work either. Yes I have a refractometer. Short of copper which will kill my live rock and sand, what optionsa re there?

 

[beth]

You can't treat ich in a reef tank. There are no effective medications that you can put in a reef.
How did you do the hypo? I've seen any situation where it did not work if done correctly?

 

[flamehawk]

not sure what you mean??
Lowered salinity to 1.008-9 as measured by refrac. and kept it there for three months. Fish started stressing so I gradually raised it back and they got ich again. Also removed L/R into holding tank which was left with no fish but at 1.0023 salinity w/ light and power head.
Returned everything to tank and they got ich again.....as you know I've been in the hobby for a time and this process has been very frustrating. The fish that are involved are all tangs....pb,hippo and purple. The sohal in seperate tank by himself and he is ok.

 

[flamehawk]

Beth-???

 

[beth]

flame, what was the salinity level during treatment in hypo [that would be the ppt measurement, not the specific gravity? Also did you calibrate your refract before use?
Tangs have not been nick-named "ick magnets" for nothing! Did you add any fish to the display wo QTing and treating as necessay. What is your ability to QT all fish and start over? There really is no other choice. Only hypo and copper treat ich.

 

[flamehawk]

Ok I'm a bit confused...not easy after being in the hobby as long as I have.....All posts in the past have refferred to 1.008-9 for hypo....why specific gravity measurement now?
In any event is 1.008-9 ok?
I've again moved all fish into 55g and started hypo again at 1.008-9. Refrac was and is calabrated.
How long would you suggest I leave the fish in hypo? How long should I leave the display tank fishless? Do hermits have to come out of display which remains @ 1.0023? Thanks.

 

[flamehawk]

beth....jwt???

 

[eagle1]

Originally posted by flamehawk
Does Kick Ich work or not?
I've tried hypo for so many months and sorry but it does not work. The empty tank situation w/ no fish does not work either. Yes I have a refractometer. Short of copper which will kill my live rock and sand, what optionsa re there?
I'm sorry but Kich Ich didn't work for me. WORTHLESS. Wasted my money on the stuff.
I performed hypo in a QT for four weeks and have been Ich free ever since. I'll vouch for hypo 100%. I did not use the 1.009 measurement. I used 14 PPT for hypo using a calibrated refractometer. Good luck.

 

[beth]

Does your refract measure both specfic gravity and salinity? Check out the hyposalinity post in the FAQ Thread by trojan. The correct directions are there.
Basically, you need to balance between specific gravity and the target salinity level of 14 ppt.
Just treat fish, no inverts. Start counting the hypo when you have achieved the above stated target AND ALL fish are clear of white dots. That will be day one of hyposalinity. You must meet both those requirements.
Take a water test everyday to test for sg/salinity, adjust as necessary. Continue with hyposalinity for 3 weeks. If all is clear, then you can bring the SG/salinity back up Slowly to normal. Wait another week in QT. If all clear, fish are good to go back home.
In the meantime, don't add anything to the fish tank. It could be that you are getting the ick from an inadvertent source. Lets say that while your fish are in QT with hypo you decide to add a coral. The store where you got the coral maintains their corals in a tank that either has fish in it, or shares filters, water with fish tanks. You see where I'm going? Is that a possibility and a potential cause of re-infection in your case?

 

[nickmetcal]

Here is an idea that most people probably have not tried, but which was VERY succesful in my reef tank.
You can't treat ich in a reef tank. There are no effective medications that you can put in a reef.
This is generally the case, but here is an exception. It's called MelaFix. It is available at Wal-Mart (of all places... who would've known). It is one of those cheap medications for a lot of diseases in fresh and saltwater aquariums. It claims that it is safe for reff aquariums and corals and inverts. I have mushrooms, shrimps, LR LS 6 linds of MAcro algae feather dusters, anemonies, sponges, and also angelfish, clown fish, damsels and scooter blennies. I had a problem with ich and treated with this stuff (in smaller doses than they suggest) and the problem was irradicated and nothing died!
Anyone else tried this?
The only problem with it is that id causes a small bit of bubbling when treating, and can cause your protein skimmer to bubble over... they reccoment turning of skimmers while treating.
As far as I can tell this method is by far the cheapest, and it was VERY effective for me!

 

[flamehawk]

NICKM- INTERESTING. hOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE YOU TREATED AND HAVE NOT HAD A REOCCURENCE? WHAT TYPE OF ISH WERE IN THE TANK WHILE TREATING?

 

[nickmetcal]

it's been about 6 weeks and the list of fish that were in and are still in is above.

 

[nickmetcal]

sorry I forgot to mention that I had some grape caulerpa that went sexual about the same time I trated and then died... but it started the day before I trated, so I am pretty sure that the Melafix didn't have anything to do with it... but just thought I should put that out there in case I am wrong. BTW Grap caulerpa sucks big time! when it goes sexual and releases toxins back into your water.

 

[flamehawk]

Beth-any comment on nickm's experience?
It has only been 6 weeks ich free so time will tell but perhaps there is something to this.

 

[gksipps]

nickm, do you have LR and LS in your reef? No harm done to those either?

 

[nickmetcal]

Yes I do and they're great... full of critters... baby brittle stars, pods, worms and all doing fine.