Ich Problem

[eatbeef]

On my 2nd cycle of kick ich & just lost 2 more fish. All I have left are 2 maroon clowns. Will these guys get it, & what should I do now. Medication did not work. Some say shut skimmer off some dont. Any have good expierience with this??

 

[NateHanson]

Can you tell us more about your tank, inhabitants, water params, and how long its been set up?

 

[eatbeef]

My tank has been up & running for 3 months. Reef Tank with some soft corals.

 

[Triggerfish]

best option is to remove remaining inhabitants and quarantine with either hypo or copper. leave main system fallow for 8 weeks.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=595224

 

[eatbeef]

really. Ouch. Can you get rid of it without cleaning out the tank for 8 weeks?
Will the clowns get it? Someone said to run the kick ich & shut the skimmer off.

 

[stevenp]

Welcome to the BRS!

Steve

 

[eatbeef]

Your not kidding...

 

[MarkO]

Quarantine them and use copper (DO NOT PUT COPPER IN YOUR REEF TANK). You could also drop salinity gradually to 1.010 in the quarantine. A 20g shoudl be ok for maroon clowns (10 gal if they are still small). Keep an eye on your ammonia, trites and trates. Also, I'd prolly increase your tank temp to low 80's and keep fish out for at least 6 weeks.

 

[eatbeef]

so pretty much the kick ich approach is junk?

 

[Triggerfish]

Can you get rid of it without cleaning out the tank for 8 weeks?
Will the clowns get it? Someone said to run the kick ich & shut the skimmer off.

if the infection is low level -(not killing your fish) then you can wait it out to see if the ich strain will die off within 10-11 months, as long as you do not add another strain to the system.

most all fish are susceptible to contacting the parasite if it is present in the tank.

if you choose hypo for any infected fish - run it at 1.008 for 6 weeks after the last spot has been noticed. there is a low salinity strain from Taiwan that has been reported, so copper may end up being the only proven remedy in that case.
Do not treat with copper and hypo simultaneously.

 

[JohnK]

hypo for six weeks, or hypo for 2 weeks and display fishless for 6 weeks (at least)? Were you saying to run hypo for the whole time, I thought 2 weeks was usually the reccomended length of hypo treatment???

 

[JohnK]

Ok I guess 6 weeks is reccomended, (skimmed around a bit on RC). I'm glad this came up as I'm doing a treatment starting this week.

 

[eatbeef]

I dont have a qt tank set up. What do I need? I have a 20gal tank with nothing in it so that is a start.

 

[Jill & Brian]

For a QT tank for Fish only, you can use a hang on filter or a sponge filter. Just watch the nitrates and do lots of water changes. If you can run the filter on tour displat tank for a day or to to start up the bacteria colonies in the filter media. Then transfer the filter and the fish and you are good to go.

Also, once you start restocking the display tank, it is a good idea to QT all incoming fish to avoid this problem in the future.

Good luck

 

[Jill & Brian]

also, in the QT tank, you probably want to throw in some PVC elbows and plastic plants to give the fish places to hide. this will minimize stress on them

 

[Triggerfish]

I dont have a qt tank set up. What do I need? I have a 20gal tank with nothing in it so that is a start.

tank size is fine. NO3 shouldn't be your problem but rather NH3/NO2.
it may be best to have some extra bio filter media from main tank that will get the QT tank cycle started quicker.
in doing this, you will however, most likely be directly importing the parasite into the QT tank. you will be treating the QT so it may not matter much anyway.
you could also use a product that will remove/detoxify the NH3,NO2. 'Prime' has been reported to work well.
as suggested PVC is the best option for hiding places.

 

[mano1192]

yea I agree with the QT tank, you gotta use it for incoming fish, I just had a outbreak and it killed about 5 of my fish now i only have 1 eft my see bass... hes invincible!!!

 

[SherryQ]

I recommend investing in a UV sterilizer. I got one for my 72 up at AA for around $100, I believe. I really find it helps with ich outbreaks. Some people also recommend soaking fish food in garlic extract - it is supposed to help boost the immune system of the fish.