Ick - fish+invert +no quarentine tank

[mjmpinsky]

UHHHH...
My Heni Butterfly is getting Ick.
My tank has a mixture of fish and non-coral inverts.
I do not have a quarantine tank and have no place to put one.
What is the best medication to use in this instance to tx the ICK but not hurt the inverts?
I have set up a nice looking tank with branching coral (dead white coral now used as live rock) so trying to catch the fish would be nearly impossible.
All help would be appreciated. TNX.

 

[beth]

Mjmpinsky, there really are only two viable treatments for ich—copper and hyposalinity. If you are interested, ich and its treatment are detailed in the FAQ Thread at the top of this forum. If you only have a few inverts and no LR “yet” you may be able to isolate the inverts in a smaller aerated container such as a rubbermaid and treat your tank with the hyposalinity procedure. Aside from this, you can risk trying the so-called reef safe medications. These medications purport to be safe for reef tanks [inverts, corals, LR] and still treat ich effectively. I’m sure you can find one of these products at your LFS. However, these products, in my exp, is not without risk. I have seen discoloration of soft corals with use of this product and even die off. Although not mass die-off. Additionally, hobbyists here report mixed reviews with their use. Some saying they have worked, most others claiming that it was a waste of time to use it.
I can tell you that it will be a real challenge for you to stock your tank with fish without using quarantine first. Fish come in with parasites. There just is no debating that. In a closed system [aquaria] those parasites proliferate and literally have a captive audience upon which to prey upon. Fish have no escape from proliferating ich in a fish tank.
Its your choice, of course, but I would seriously think about finding a corner somewhere in your home and setting up hospital tank.
Whatever you decide, good luck!