Ick in reef tank

[katz]

Okay, My sailfin has ich from all of the stress of having almost every fish die from stray voltage.
I can not catch the little bugger. How long will the ich take to die off?
On the good note the chromis that I had thought died along with all the other fish has surface out of hiding.

He is very healthy and eating like a pig.
I am feeding with garlic extreme.
Katz

 

[beth]

Ich won't did off unless these remaining fish are successfully treated.
Not likely that any of your fish died from stray voltage.

 

[katz]

Beth,
How can I treat the fish in the DT? I refuse to put any chemicals in the tank other than calc, ph, mag.
We rule on stray voltage because after adding a ground probe the remaining fish stayed alive.
I would like to catch the sailfin and chromis. But after trying for one hour all I had is a headache and two fish that would not come out from behind all of my rock.
Katz

 

[al mc]

Katz,
I am not Beth, but I know that she will suggest that you read her thread on treating ich in the archive files and indicate that the only proven methods of eliminating Ich are hyposalinity and copper. I would never do copper in a DT tank as basically you will probably never be able to have inverts survive in the tank in the future. Hyposalinity can be done in a DT but all the inverts have to be moved out and you will have some die off on your live rock.
Many people put the live rock and inverts out and put them in a rubbermade tub with a heater and powerhead, then hypo the fish in the DT.
I have never hypoed a DT. I have always tried to move the fish to a QT for treament and leave the DT intact and fishless for 6 weeks.

 

[sepulatian]

I think your best bet is to set up a quarantine tank, if you do not have one, and treat the fish in there. I would not recommend doing hyposalinity in a reef tank unless there is no other choice. It will probably take a lot longer than an hour to catch them. Be patient. Try moving some of the rocks to make a clear space and adding food to that area. If the fish swim out into the open then drop the divider. You may end up having to remove some of your rocks and corals to get them.

 

[dav9175]

use ruby reef it is reef safe and has no copper google it it really workjs thats what cured my sailfin

 

[al mc]

While our avatars are the same, I have a different approach to treating Ich than Dav. Bottled medications may reduce the number of Ich on the fish/in the tank, but will not eliminate Ich. So, if you want to eliminate Ich instead of just controlling it then use hyposalinity or copper based medications.

 

[dav9175]

yea they sure are but ruby reef exellerates the ich process there by elliminating the ich you just have to use it right away so you dont lose any livestock

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by dav9175
http:///forum/post/2476543
yea they sure are but ruby reef exellerates the ich process there by elliminating the ich you just have to use it right away so you dont lose any livestock
While we respect your opinion, there is no "reef safe" med that can kill ich. Ich is an invert, you cannot kill one invert (ich) and not kill the other inverts in the tank. Hyposalinity and copper are the only two treatments that actually kill ich.

 

[katz]

Thanks for the replys everyone. My LFS let me borrow a fish trap, so I am going to try that to catch my two fish.
Katz

 

[katz]

Okay,
I had no luck catching the fish. Both have no signs of ich on them and have quit scrathing on the rocks.
I plan on leaving just those two fish in the tank for six weeks. Do you think that it would be safe to start adding fish slowly after that or would any fish that is added come down with ich.
Actually it would be more like 12 weeks because I QT for six weeks.
Any help would be appreciated.
Katz

 

[al mc]

Katz....I wish I could tell you your strategy would work. However, IMO, you still have Ich in the tank. You may not see it in a day, week or month, but it is there. The only sure way you can eliminate it is QT the fish and use hyposalinity or copper while leaving the DT fish free for 6 weeks. Alternative which I would be more reluctant to do...Move the LR and inverts into a rubbermade tub with heater, powerhead and lighting for 6 weeks while you use hyposalinity (not copper) on your DT with the fish in it.

 

[sepulatian]

It is a reef. Katz, you can quarantine all of your fish and still lose fish to ich because it is in your tank. You only have two fish. Move your rocks, set up a tub with tank water and pull out your rocks and coral. They will all go back in after you catch the fish. You can get the fish out and get rid of ich, or keep them all in and fight with ich for the life of your tank. This is a hard decision. If you don't get rid of the parasites then you are very likely to lose more fish though.

 

[katz]

I caught the chromis. Yeah! Now in QT.
Besides removing all 250 lbs of rock. Does anyone have an idea how to catch my sailfin?
Very fast and hides extremely well.
Katz

 

[al mc]

Best ways to catch a tang IMO. Lights off for the night..they usually settle into their favorite 'cave'..many times they are more docile and easier to catch. Or...catch him at morning feeding time..just put algae on a clip and wait for him. OR...use cut piece of eggcrate as a tank divider and try to isolate him with the eggcrate into a smaller section of the tank, then if you must move live rock at least there will be less to move.

 

[katz]

Thanks for the help Al Mc. And everyone else who replied.

My brother caught him. He waited until the whole house was pitch black and then used a flashlight to get him to come out of his sleeping cave.
Worked like a charm.
Katz

 

[al mc]

happy for you. Now you can get down to treatment.

 

[florida joe]

Good for your fish and you im curious about your statement that you tang got ick from all the stress did you have ick at an earlier time in your DT or is your tang a new fish

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Katz
http:///forum/post/2490203
Thanks for the help Al Mc. And everyone else who replied.

My brother caught him. He waited until the whole house was pitch black and then used a flashlight to get him to come out of his sleeping cave.
Worked like a charm.
Katz
Excellent

Let us know if you need help with the treatment.

 

[katz]

Florida Joe,
I have never had ich in my system before this. I have always QT my fish for six weeks. All of my fish except the two mention died over a period on four days due to stray voltage.
I think all the stress of losing all of his tank mates caused him to get ich along with the chromis.
I had the blue green chromis for almost two years and the Sailfin for almost four months..
Sepulatian,
I will be starting the hypo process tomorrow after I give them a day to get use to going from a 125 to a 20g tank.
I fresh water dipped both of them before putting them in the QT, so hopefuly that got some germs off of them.
I am sure that I will have a lot of questions as I start this process.
Katz