pico clown ich

[lilpico]

i am new to the forum and new to the hobby. i have had a 5 gal tank cycling for about a month and a half. so everything has been looking good since i added a couple snails and a hermit about 2 weeks ago. this past sunday i added a 6" carpet anemone and a cleaner shrimp and they are doing well. on monday a buddy gave me a small clown. it didnt look that great but he had got it from another buddy and i thought that maybe it was just getting picked on in his tank and thats why it looked kind of dirty looking. as of yesterday i noticed a white dot on one of his sides, but he was hosting the enemone and eating well. so this morning i get up for work and he is covered in ich. so i guess my question is if i take my snails and crab out, would the enemone and the shrimp live in the tank if i did the hypo treatment? i dont have a qt tank set up. i fear the fish will be dead before i can get one settup and cycled.

thanks for any help or recomendations

 

[lmforbis]

No. You need to remove the fish and treat it then leave the tank fish less for 72 days to clear the tank of ich. This is why we always quarantine new fish no matter where they come from.

 

[lilpico]

Ok so the rest of the tanks inhabitants cannot get ich?
Also what does a freshwater bath do to ich? I have read some on people doing this but whasnt sure what it does exactly

 

[bang guy]

Adding a Carpet Anemone to a 5 gallon tank will have a 100% failure rate. Sorry for being harsh but what you are trying to do is impossible.

 

[lilpico]

Can you elaborate

 

[lmforbis]

Only fish are affected by ich
A freshwater dip can give some relief by dislodging some of the parasites from the gills. It is not a cure.
Carpet anemones get huge. They grow very fast, need great water quality, a large established tank, and they are known to eat everything else in the tank including inverts.

 

[lilpico]

great. Would the bta be a better choice?

 

[lmforbis]

Not until your tank has been up for a year or so. Then maybe.

 

[bang guy]

No. There are no hosting Anemone appropriate for a 5 gallon tank.

 

[bang guy]

Can you elaborate

Sure.

A 5 gallon tank will have rapid parameter fluctuations. This includes temperature, salinity, PH, etc. This means the only appropriate animals for a 5 gallon system need to be very tough and adaptable. The Shrimp you have is not adaptable enough to thrive in a 5 gallon system in my opinion.

In addition, the sever size limitation means only the smallest animals can be housed. An animal like a Carpet Anemone that can grow to three feet across is just not going to survive very long. When it dies it will wipe out most of the other animals in the system. The Clownfish you have will be constantly stressed in such a small system. It will be prone to disease and injuries will not heal normally if the fish is always stressed.

 

[lilpico]

So basically what your telling me is that the 2 lfs I went to are both liars and I should not return to these places. I'm working on a 29g biocube right now so hopefully it will work out and I can move them to that tank soon. I check my parameters every other day and do water changes accordingly or at lease once a week.

 

[bang guy]

If someone told you a Carpet Anemone will be fine in a 5 gallon aquarium then yes, they are either completely ignorant or are lying to you. I cannot tell you which. For me, personally, I tend to disregard the advice of liars and stupid people. Your decision though.

For good advice, I would recommend you find people on this site that have verifiable positive results with the animals you wish to keep. By verifiable, a picture is worth a thousand words.

I have no experience with a Carpet Anemone so my advice there is, admittedly, suspect. However; I have successfully kept, bred, and sold thousands of Clownfish. I do feel I have some valid opinions on the keep and care of these fish.

Measure the length of your 29 gallon you hope to acquire soon. It's obviously your decision but I don't see how a three foot animal is going to do well in a tank that size.

The Clownfish and Shrimp can do great in that size aquarium.

 

[lilpico]

ok I will try and find someone to take it and stay away from the anemones untill I get a bigger one. Thanks for the help.