Ich Questions

[jrisgr8]

My yellow tang has had a mild case of Ich for about 2 weeks (I caught it very early). I have added Coppersafe to QT (although after I did, I heard tangs do not react to this). I have also done hyposalinity. I have just completed the 48 hour specific gravity drop. My questions are: 1) How long before I notice a difference? 2) Should I do a freshwater dip? 3) I only have 1 clownfish in the original tank, he seems fine but how long until he is "out of the woods"? Also, why does it seem like my fish has more "spots" at night? This seems weird.
Tang seems to be doing alright. The spots have not really increased, but I don't think they have really gotten better either. Swimming fine, fins are not clamped, seems to be "breathing" just fine. The fish is not acting "sick". I really hope this is a good sign that my fish can be nursed back to health.

 

[elfdoctors]

If the clownfish was with the tang in the same tank, you should assume that fish is infected also and begin treatment for it also. It may take 3 weeks before you see more spots.
Freshwater dips are ineffective for ich - the parasites are protected by the slime layer of the fish. Hyposalinity also does not kill the spots on the fish (trophonts) but rather the free swimming stages of the parasite. It may take 5-7 days for the trophonts that are already attached to mature and fall off.

 

[jrisgr8]

My QT is only 10 gallons. Can I put both the clownfish and the Tang together in that tank? That seems small. I have inverts in my main tank so the hyposalinity is not an option there.

 

[beth]

Copper and hyposalinity is overkill. And, you are right, tangs sometimes develop HLLE due to copper treatment, IMO anyway.
You should continue with the hyposalinity, however, no need for copper or any other treatment for that matter. No need for dips. Are you using a refractometer?
A small clown is not going to make that much difference in a 10 gal QT.

 

[jrisgr8]

No refractometer. No LFS carried them around here. Do have a glass lab hydrometer though. My clownfish is 3 1/2 inches. He is a biggie. I have been doing the hyposalinity and not been replacing the copper with the new water introductions so the copper level is lower than the instructions say to do. I did not want to empty the entire tank out though and start over because I was afraid that may cause shock to my tang.
In regards to the clownfish, what do I do now that he is still in the main tank and the QT is under hyposalinty? The salt difference is very drastic. Any advise?

 

[jrisgr8]

Good news. All of the spots on my tang are gone. She has great color and is looking good. Now, I have to keep the salinity down for at least 3 weeks correct? Then I gradually increase it over a 1 week period? My clownfish is still in the main tank and looks fine. I have not moved him because of the specific gravity difference. I will wait to hear from someone. Since the clownfish is asymptomatic at this point I do not want to rush at doing something and then shock him and possibly kill him.
One more thing. My QT was not cycled as it was only up for about a week before putting the tang in it. My ammonia is pretty high. Everything else is great though. How often should I do water changes? I don't want the ammonia level to be too high with the tang in there. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[elfdoctors]

Keep the specific gravity down around 1.009 for three weeks after the fish seems cured. Then gradually bring it back up over about a week.
It is possible that your clownfish was not infected. At this point, I would probably just leave him in there and pray for the best. The worst thing likely to happen would be that the ich comes back and then you can do it for both fish.
Ammonia in a QT is a relative emergency. You need to do either massive water changes or treat with something like Amquel to remove ammonia from your system. Good Luck!

 

[jrisgr8]

I did do some water changes and the ammonia has gone down a bit. I am going to look for some amquel though to make it even better.
Thanks