The Dreaded Ich

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
Update:
Purple Tang still has ick, although I only got the water at 1.009 today. My new Flame Angel died

, he wasn't looking too well when I got him, but he is still guaranteed. All other fish are doing well though my Red Sea species, the Purple and Sailfin, are looking a little paler then what they normally are, I'm guessing from the salinity as the other fish are fine.
Where are you performing hypo and do you have a refractometer? How quickly did you drop the SG?

 

[reefeel]

Yes refractometer I dropped the salinity over a week. The flame angel looked like it had problems when I got it, it was sort of skitish. Its hard to tell if the fish aren't just more grab in the dull lighting. Otherwise they are their normal pig selve with food.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
Yes refractometer I dropped the salinity over a week. The flame angel looked like it had problems when I got it, it was sort of skitish. Its hard to tell if the fish aren't just more grab in the dull lighting. Otherwise they are their normal pig selve with food.
Are you doing hypo in the DT or a QT?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
Yes refractometer I dropped the salinity over a week. The flame angel looked like it had problems when I got it, it was sort of skitish. Its hard to tell if the fish aren't just more grab in the dull lighting. Otherwise they are their normal pig selve with food.
What is your salinity now? If the flame was messed up when you got him then don't beat yourself up over it. Take care of the situation at hand.

 

[reefeel]

1.009

 

[sepulatian]

If you just got the water to 1.009 today, then do not be concerned. Are you treating in a QT or a DT (this makes huge difference on what is to come)

 

[reefeel]

37 gallon quarantine that used to be my sfe's tank until he got moved to his bigger tank. There is a small amount of NH4 from the flame angel but before I found him there was 0 nitrites, and 0 NH4. There are 7 9 tangs(5 being zebramosas(sp)) and 2 blennys.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
37 gallon quarantine that used to be my sfe's tank until he got moved to his bigger tank. There is a small amount of NH4 from the flame angel but before I found him there was 0 nitrites, and 0 NH4. There are 7 9 tangs(5 being zebramosas(sp)) and 2 blennys.
The presence of nitrites is causing stress. What exactly is your nitrite reading??

 

[reefeel]

Somewhere between 0 and .25. It should probably started to diminish when I took the flame out six hours ago.

 

[reefeel]

My purple tang still has a good amount of ick on him even after almost a week of 1.009 hypo and a two weeks of quarantine all together. I even had the temp turned up to 83 to help speed the ick life cycle so they could die once they dropped off. Is there something wrong or am I just impatient?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
My purple tang still has a good amount of ick on him even after almost a week of 1.009 hypo and a two weeks of quarantine all together. I even had the temp turned up to 83 to help speed the ick life cycle so they could die once they dropped off. Is there something wrong or am I just impatient?
You are impatient right now. Don't turn up the heat. It is more stressful on the fish than on the ich. You dropped the salinity over a week. You had a very rocky start to hypo. It will take longer. You allowed the ich to be "acclimated" to the hypo water. The whole point is to bring it down in 48hrs. Not over a week. Your hypo process will be longer than normal. Hang in there.

 

[reefeel]

Okay I turned the temp down to eighty. I tried to do it 48 hours but I ran out of RO water from filling my 37gallon tank with display water and putting new water in and then collecting more for dropping the salinity too.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
Okay I turned the temp down to eighty. I tried to do it 48 hours but I ran out of RO water from filling my 37gallon tank with display water and putting new water in and then collecting more for dropping the salinity too.
Did you use display water (adding fresh to it) for dropping the salinity? Durring drop I mean.

 

[reefeel]

No I used fresh RO that I had added buffer too and airated for 24 hours

 

[reefeel]

The ick dropped off last night

. Now I have to deal with the eye problems, I think they keep running into the rock by accident when I come in their room.

 

[sepulatian]

Is that LR in the hypo tank?

 

[reefeel]

Yes I used that to help with cycling it to keep the ammonia from skyrocketing from adding 10 fish it's only around 15lbs max, which it kept the ammonia from rising at all. Normally I only have pvc pipe. Once I am done with it I will probably just trash it because it attacts hair algae like a magnet with all of its crevices.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by reefeel
Yes I used that to help with cycling it to keep the ammonia from skyrocketing from adding 10 fish it's only around 15lbs max, which it kept the ammonia from rising at all. Normally I only have pvc pipe. Once I am done with it I will probably just trash it because it attacts hair algae like a magnet with all of its crevices.
There is no reason to trash the rock after hypo. The bacteria will still be alive but everything else on it will be dead. Once it is back in your tank it will be reseeded from your other rock.