QT tanks for eradicating ich

[Shane]

So, we just picked up a Yellow eyed Kole Tang . Guess what, now we have ICH. I have done some research and think the Tank Transfer method would be the best way to go. We have a 4" Kole Tank, a 2.5" clown, a 2" Coral Beauty, a 3" Foxface lo, 1.5" Royal gramma, and a 1" bangai cardinal. I need to make some decisions and am on a budget

What to get for QT tanks? I have to consider keeping all fish together or splitting them up.. Is 10 gal tanks too small? Should I just use 5 gallon buckets? Obviously, I need to be able to keep up with water changes every couple of days so do not want to go bigger than I have to.

I also plan to QT 100% of the time in the future, so will be using the same equipment in the future.

 

[aresangel]

Sounds like torture for the fish. 5 gallons or 20 gallons are all too small for those fish. Issue with creating a set up is that ammonia spikes can kill the fish.

Personally when seeing ich... I do what Paul B does. Feed them a lot. Add garlic to their diet and vitamin C if you want. They will suppress the ich and it will only come back if the fish is sick from other things.

If you don’t have experience doing a QT system or tank to tank transfer, be aware you could kill the fish.


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[Shane]

Aresangel, so you think controlling is better for the fish than getting rid of it? What happens when I want to add a new fish.

Do you think these guys would be ok in a 29 for a bit or is that too small also.. they would need to be out of the dt for a few months. What would be the minimum size?

 

[aresangel]

I know when I was greener I tried copper. I didn’t kill them because of the cooper but I killed them because 50% water change daily was not enough to stop the ammonia from rising in a new system. I ended up killing 2 clowns, a wrasse and another fish, then tossed the sole survivor back In my tank with ich so I wouldn’t lose him too. He survived.

You have to bring live rock into the system for biological filtration and that rock then could have some lifecycle of the ich parasite in it. So then that rock is going to have to be killed off.

In the long run healthy fish don’t die from ich.

Fish that are stressed are more susceptible to ich.

So I had a stress outbreak from two tangs fighting and killing each other. One died due to harassment. The other was stressed and died due to ich. My coral beauty showed signs of ich so I fed heavy for a week and the signs went away.

That’s my two cents.


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[JohnK]

Part of the beauty of TTM is that you change water every few days so as long as you are careful and don't over feed the water never gets all that nasty in the first place. I know it's pushing it, but I bet you could get away with treating those fish with the TTM in a pair of 10 gal tanks. Just get an ammo alert badge and do extra/early water changes if they start to show ammonia. (this would mean an extra water change or two, don't cut the treatment short).

 

[Shane]

Part of the beauty of TTM is that you change water every few days so as long as you are careful and don't over feed the water never gets all that nasty in the first place. I know it's pushing it, but I bet you could get away with treating those fish with the TTM in a pair of 10 gal tanks. Just get an ammo alert badge and do extra/early water changes if they start to show ammonia. (this would mean an extra water change or two, don't cut the treatment short).

I was thinking a pair of 20L for the TTM. Which I think would be ok for the Couple of weeks to rid the ick. My biggest concern is the 3 Months to leave the display tank fallow...Would they be ok for that amount of time in a 20L?

 

[CrypticLifeStyle]

Get a cheap used 55g off CL or here. 20H or 20L is too small in my opinion. A store will do it, but they also plan on that fish leaving soon to. I wouldn't worry about the display being fish free.

 

[Shane]

Get a cheap used 55g off CL or here. 20H or 20L is too small in my opinion. A store will do it, but they also plan on that fish leaving soon to. I wouldn't worry about the display being fish free.

Why would you not worry about the dt being fish free? It does have to be for 72 days if I want the ich to be gone correct?

 

[JohnK]

I was thinking a pair of 20L for the TTM. Which I think would be ok for the Couple of weeks to rid the ick. My biggest concern is the 3 Months to leave the display tank fallow...Would they be ok for that amount of time in a 20L?

That's a very valid concern (unless you want to keep doing water changes every 3 days for all that time)

 

[Shane]

OK, have been reading alot and received a ton of info from the forums..

Here is my thinking...I could ttm fish in 2 20L tanks (perhaps in groups, so not all fish are being done at the same time). Once I finish this process with each fish I will then transfer them to a larger qt tank, and treat them as if I was just buying them and quarantine them as such. I think the biggest I could go would be a 40...

The dt will go fallow for 72 days after the last fish is removed which will mean the first fish out will be in the quarantine tank for approximately 90 days or longer..

How do I filter the final qt tank and medicate at the same time? I don't want to seed the qt tank with the dt media... Do I just buy bacteria and seed a sponge filter?

 

[Shane]

Or...Should I just get a 40 gallons qt, put all the fish in and medicate to erradicate everything while I go fallow?

 

[Terry Martin]

I have no experience with TTM, but if you want to do a copper treatment in QT, I've had good success with Cupramine and Seachem Copper test. Very easy to do and keep copper levels constant, just follow instructions. And easy to do water changes; if you do 25% water change, just add 25% of original copper dosage. good luck.

 

[jah-hoeva]

Copper Power and the copper Hannah checker are the way to go for copper treatments, IMO.

 

[CrypticLifeStyle]

Why would you not worry about the dt being fish free? It does have to be for 72 days if I want the ich to be gone correct?

If your concern is in reference to what I presumed was a concern on the bacteria then no I wouldn't worry much about it. You can always substitute for that, and reintroduce the fish on different schedules. That's all.

 

[Shane]

Gotcha, thanks

If your concern is in reference to what I presumed was a concern on the bacteria then no I wouldn't worry much about it. You can always substitute for that, and reintroduce the fish on different schedules. That's all.

 

[this is me]

Once your display tank has seen ich, good luck trying to completely rid of it. To me, every tank has ich. It just how healthy your other condition for the fish is.

 

[jah-hoeva]

It can be done.

 

[MarvinsReef]

I had ick in my 350 gallon display tank about 6 months into my setup. I installed a large uv sterilizer, feed a varied diet including garlic foods and the ich dissapeared over a 2 month period To this day all my fish have been happy with no ick. That includes my 6" Hippo that is ick prone.