Reef Tank Crash

[salt55]

Well, since before i can remember i have wanted a hippo tang for my tank. I finally got one, one day on an impulse. He was the best addition i had made to my tank yet. A few days later he developed ick. Then it went away...great!! No signs of it. Well....that was just the beginning. He has since gotten it again and i have lost 3 out of my 6 fish so far not including him, and the other 3 are on there way out. All that time and money gone...totally crashed. Luckily my corals are ok so i think i might concentrate more on them for a while. Maybe it was an omin that he got it again since he knocked over one of my xenias and 3/4 of it died.
What do you guys think i should get as far as more corals? I have a bubble, 2 xenias, and a piece of live rock covered in button polyps. They are all fairly small. I want to fill up the tank some. Whats the best way to go here.

 

[buzz]

Before adding anything, I would figure out the source of the problem.
What size tank did you have all of this in? That also will help determine what else you can put in.
What are your water parameters?

 

[surfnturf]

Take the fish out and put them in a hospital tank where you can treat them for the ich without damaging your 55. Give the ich a month or so to starve and die in the main tank, then when your fish are healed up you can add them back to the main tank.

 

[salt55]

Well, i just got done curing a terrible red slime problem. I ended up having to change about 50% of the water and treat the tank. I then refilled it with RO water, PH 8.2, SG 1.024, everything else low. Then i worked on raising my alkalinity and calcium with Sea Chem Reef Builder and Calcium (Not at the same time). Got that up and i thought everything was fine, but apparently not. What could have caused the ick problem, i was under the impression it was stress, maybe from the red slime situation.
how big of a hospital tank can a yellow tang and hippo tang and tomato clown stay in for a month? The hippo and yellow are each about 3-4 inches long and the tomato is about 2 inches long. i dont want to set up anything too big? Also how should i treat them once they are in the hospital, i read earlier abot hyposalinity. How low shoule i go with the salt and is this the only treatment i should perform? Thank you very much.

 

[surfnturf]

Red slime doesn't cause any stress to the fish, the only truly bad thing about it is how it looks. Doing a massive water change (50% is excessive unless it is a life saving measure) could have caused the outbreak on it's own. Another possible factor is that the water you put back in the tank was cooler than the water in the tank and it shocked the fish. Water should always be same temp or even a little warmer and no more than 20% or so at a time (unless things are dying). You will need to do regular water changes (like every day or two) on the hospital tank so size is somewhat less important, you could get by with a 20 gallon, a little bigger would be better, but it'll do. You can try the hyposalinity treatment, but you should ask the experts. Go to the Disease area of the board and post this question there.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Salt55
Too late - you cannot do anything to help your fish. I wouldn't put them into a hospital tank unless you plan on keeping them in there for about 3-4 months. Ichthyophthirius and to a lesser extent lymphocystis WILL survice in your tank as long as there is ONE fish forever and can live without a host in a dormant state for 3-4 months sometimes.
remove the fish and enjoy your reef tank for a while. Focus on new corals and plan on medicating any fish you want to add to the tank from now on.

 

[salt55]

Thats what i figured. I got home from work today and had lost my tomato and yellow tang. One left....the original hippo. Oh well. What kinds of corals do you suggest to help my tank fill in a little. My corals now are small. I want to get it looking fuller. What are some of the best fast growers. I have a xenia, bubble and button polyps as i mentioned before.
Also I am having trouble placing my corals. When i buy them they are on the little pieces of rock and stuff that they are on at the store. These are sometimes hard to get to sit places. What do you suggest. I am new to keeping corals, about a year in the saltwater hobby itself. Thank you for the help.
Also, i should wait what, like 4 months after the last fish dies till new fish?? Is that correct? I also have a snowflake eel but i have heard they are unaffected by ick. Can he contribute to being a host even though he doesnt get sick from it? Thank you for the help everyone.