ick be gone

zach

zach

Member
Im having a problem with ich right now. Ive had a reef tank set up since december, and ich just appeared in march. All of my fish (2 perc's, royal gramma, golden head goby, and my skunk cleaner all died). I have 3 anenomes, a bunch of mushrooms, and a bunch of hermits, shrimp, and a cucumber. I thought it would die off by itself with no fish in the tank to host off of (as i had experienced in FW), but i added a damsel and he was looking great for about 4 days and then contracted it over nite. I have dealt with FW ich before, but have no previous experience with saltwater ich. How can i treat my tank without damaging my inverts. I dont really want to buy a UV (strapped for cash$), but if there is somewhere where i can find one cheap...?
specs - 38 G
running 2 HOB's (one biowheel)
running one rio powerhead
---What is the best solution for me and solving my problem? Any advice would be great.
Thanks!:confused:
 
E

exile415

Guest
you'll need a QT.
filter.
heater.
cup of sand (Too keep your fish from looking DOWN.)
mayeb some rocks too feel more comfortable.
COPPER.
Others - i've TRIED using organic medication that will not hurt inverts but it takes about 2 weeks and its about 14.99 for 16oz. So its kind of expensive.If you have extra tanks,filters,heaters and stuff like that COPPER would be the best way.
 
zach

zach

Member
ok, i think i understand. I would put the fish in the QT, then treat them for ich there. But how would I get rid of the parasites in my tank?
 
E

exile415

Guest
Not you main. just your QT. copper kills inverts so dont put any live rock in QT.
 
zanoshano

zanoshano

Member
i defiently understand where your going with this. but i dont understand how this is going to destroy ich in the main tank...?
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
It is very possible that the fish already had the ich before you introduced him/her into your tank. How long did you leave the tank fallow?
-lefty
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member

Originally posted by zanoshano
i defiently understand where your going with this. but i dont understand how this is going to destroy ich in the main tank...?
Saltwater ich has a part of its lifecycle which requires fish. If your tank is fishless for ~30 days (at least 28) the ich will die off without treatment.
Treatment of only the fish is necessary. You should also consider hyposalinity. It is less stressful for the fish, particularly more sensitive species like tangs.
 
zanoshano

zanoshano

Member
ok, this is what i did...
I transported the sick fish from my fathers house to my mothers house where i have a 20 G with QT. I put the only 2 fish left in the QT. Now im going to treat them and leave nothing in my tank for 30 days right? Is it ok to keep things like my crabs and anenomes in there?
BTW, thanks for all the quick answers.
 
fishybiz

fishybiz

Member
just my 02. I have heard that S/W ich takes 6 weeks to cycle and that the best tried and true method to get rid of the ich is with hyposalinity in the QT.
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member
The life cycle of ich varies between 23-38 days (depending on temperature). Thirty days of being completely fishless is sufficient to ensure the ich is gone from your display tank. Some people raise their tank's temperature a degree or so to increase the odds the ich is gone. 6 weeks is used for a few other diseases.
Hyposalinity IS the preferred treatment. Copper can be toxic to fish and is difficult to dose. You should check copper levels and not every type of copper medication can be detected with every copper test.
 
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