Is it ich? QT question.

[thejdshow]

My clown today had white dots all over his body. I was gone for the weekend, and as I left my light timer broke so my fish were without light for 3 days. When I returned I found my clarkii in the sand and he was covered with what looked like ich. I have read many articles, and I have now set up a QT tank, which I am going to do the salinity thing. I set up the tank today and have both of my fish in there. My clowns ich seemed to have disapeared within 5 hours of me spotting it... could it have just been sand? Also my cleaner shrimp was all over him, so I suppose if it was ich, the cleaner could have picked a lot of it off. I have several questions though
Since I have just set up my QT I am going to want to keep it from cycling. (im sure this is not the best way to do it, but after my ich is cured I will cycle my QT, and use it for introducing new fish from now on) What is the best way to keep my tank from cycling? Lots and lots of water changes? I am keeping a clarkii and a damsel in there right now. they get along fine, no harrassing eachother. I dont have any LS or LR in there, and I used water from my display tank to fill the QT. I guess I'm looking for things im doing wrong / right, things i should be doing etc. these are my first 2 fish, and I really want them to survive. I have all the info from the FAQ, so I dont need to know how to decrease the salt level, and what not. My main worry is that I am going to try to do this without cycling the tank. Also, am I going to need a skimmer... since I am going to do such freaquent water changes? Also I do not have any substrate, should I get any?
Also, should I not add any fish to the display tank, untill my ich is gone from my clown? All that is left in my display tank is a cleaner shrimp, some turbo snails, and two skarlet crabs.
I Appreciate any feedback, as I am sure these ich questions get really old. I tried reading as much as I could before I posted, but some questions were left un-answered.
Thanks again!!!!!!!!
~JD

 

[lefty]

It could definitely still be ich. Keep a close eye on your fish for now--ich is notorious for disappearing then reappearing later after it has multiplied some more.
Yep, lots and lots of water changes are the best way to keep it from cycling. If you can't keep up with the ammonia levels, I would use Amquel+ to make them go down (I would never recommend something like this except for an emergency, and I believe this qualifies as one).
You don't need a skimmer. Some sort of mechanical filtration should be in there. I have a cheap Whisper filter that does the job fine. You also don't need substrate. Theoretically, having a small amount of established sand from your display would help break down the ammonia and whatnot. Adding about a cup of sand to the tank may help some. Also, if you have extra filter pads for your mechanical filtration device, you could put it in your main tank for a couple days so it will collect bacteria. Then when you transfer it over to the filter in the QT, it'll have established bacteria on it that will also assist in keeping the levels down.
Don't add fish to your display for a month. Ich requires a fish host and will die without one. Keeping your tank fishless for a month will ensure that no ich will be left when you add your fish back to the tank.
Hope this helps, and good luck! I was in the exact situation you're in about a month ago. The water changes are tedious but the fish are well worth the hassle.
-lefty

 

[thejdshow]

Wow, thank you so much for the in depth response. You m ake it easier on new hobbiests like me. I actualy got the whisper filter i beleive you were talking about for this quick set up =). it was cheap, and I figured with all the water changes I would have to be doing anyways, I might as well get something cheap. Would it be wise to throw a peice of my LR in there? would this help the bio filter? Just a thought... I know my clown would like it.
No fish for a month!!! actualy... this is what i read, and expected to do. It just sucks cuz I wait a month for my tank to cycle... now another month cuz of this problem. jeesh, just when things started rollin this happens. Better safe than sorry though i guess. So 30 days from today I can get new fish! I just spent a bunch of money on a lighitng setup too =/. Guess my shrimp will get to enjoy it for a while. What about adding coral or anemone? Ich would have no effect on them correct?
Thanks again for the reply!
-JD
p.s. I work with a girl named lefty... (lori, but she is left handed, just thought it was an odd coincidance) THANKS AGAIN! :yes:

 

[lefty]

The problem with adding LR to a QT is that the conditions of the QT will kill it. LR isn't cheap so I myself wouldn't put any LR in it (I didn't figure you would miss a cup of sand as much as a piece of LR). If you want to give your clown something to hide in, I'd suggest a few pieces of PVC pipe.
Correct, ich doesn't affect corals or inverts. However, if your tank has only been up for a month, I would advise waiting a few more because anemones and corals are quite sensitive to slight changes in the water. New tanks tend to undergo such changes until it is completely stable and established, which takes a few months. The extra time is also helpful to the hobbyist because it gives them more time to research which ones they want and how to take the best possible care of them. =)
Hehe, left handed people are definitely a minority. If my name were Lori as well, that'd REALLY be something. :joy:
-lefty

 

[thejdshow]

Yes, I had figured on waiting that long before coral, or anemone. Waiting sucks, but I understand the importance of it. Here is my schedule as of right now, please let me know what you think of it.
6 weeks from now -
Add clown and damsel back to display tank
Turn 20 gal tank into sump/fuge
buy another tank (still debating the size) and turn that into a QT (letting it cycle properly)
After the tank cycles I'll start to add new fish. I badly want a purple firefish!
introduce all future fish to QT for 3 weeks prior to adding them into display tank.
If you can think of anything else that might aid my success with this tank please let me know. Thank you so much for all of your help lefty. I truely appreciate it.
THANKS!!!
~JD