I got ich!

[stevesavan]

alright, so me being new to the saltwater world, didn't think i had to wait as long to cycle my new tank because i used water from an existing tank, waited for everything to settle then plopped my new fish in. everything went swell for about a week then BAM! then popped up the ich. so i took the fish out and put them into a hospital tank and have been treating them with coppersafe for a week. things seemed to clear up then today i noticed my yellow tang had the spots again! what is going on? in the tank are a yellow tang, two blue damsels, one azure damsel, a domino damsel, one oscilaris clown, and a starry blenny. I have been doing water changes in the QT in an effort to just make sure they have clean water and can be as healthy as can be. my two anemones are thriving back in the display tank (55g). the heat is set to 80 in both tanks and all parameters are reading normal. am i overreacting or is this copper safe not doing anything. and also when the time comes to put them back in the DT would it hurt to do a freshwater dip? i have been reading that that can kill off any parasites. i know i jumped the gun on this one and am paying the price for it now. any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[droog]

In general I think you need to slow way down and do more reading.

Water from an existing tank won't help you much. You need the nitrifying bacteria to handle ammonia and they grow on the LR and substrate rather than the water). The cycle is probably not yet complete. Check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in your DT. If there is any ammonia, you could try a ammonia locking additive like prime as an emergency measure.

You got ich because the fish were stressed. Copper treatment for the Tang was good, but the lifecycle for Ich parasite is about 10-12 weeks I think. Ideally you need your DT to be fallow (no fish) for at least that long. If you have a spare tank that is big enough for all your fish, hypo salinity (11-12 ppt salt) for a few weeks may be your best bet. If the tank is completely new, you might as well start over. That will be faster than waiting a few months to rid yourself of the ich parasites.

There is a ton of good info in the stickies here - check the one on ich. I just got it in my tank too :-(

-droog

[JackandJill]

The display tank is infected it sounds like and as such needs to be fallow for 6-10 weeks in order to rid it of ICH. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2041951

You will need to place all your fish in the quarantine tank because they are all, most likely, infected. I would suggest treating with copper as none of your fish are particularly sensitive to it and hypo salinity can be difficult without experience and a stable quarantine.

[stevesavan]

thank you guys. i have all of my fish in the quarantine tank being treated with copper. the one guy that knows his stuff (at least i think so) at the LFS said that was exactly the reason why they got ich. i rushed. so i guess what I'm asking all of you is am i doing the right thing by quarantining the fish and treating with copper as well as cranking up the heat a bit, because it seems the ich has come back. i'd rather take the advice of a bunch of you guys rather than that of one guy at the LFS. Thanks again and oh JackandJill thats funny, that's my twin aunt and uncle's names!

[shifty51008]

The heat isnt really gonna help alot. Ich has a life cycle where it drops off the fish to lay eggs then comes back, im guessing this is the part you saw. When doing your water changes are you making sure the copper levels stay where they need to be? Also dont worry about the freshwater dip for the ich it will do nothing.

Btw
[Welcome]

[snorvich]

Do not crank up the heat. It will do no good and will actually do harm. Fish infected with ich almost always have it in their gills which makes respiration difficult. Increasing temperature decreases dissolved oxygen in the water making respiration more difficult.

The LFS should know that ich is not caused by stress. It is caused by ich. Tanks have ich (the LFS tank has it) and fish contract it. Please read the ich stickies for a better understanding. They can be found in the fish diseases forum.

[julie180]

If your DT is 55, what is your QT? With that many fish, a 55 is questionable. I would bet that you are going to have a difficult time getting rid of ich because of stress and aggression. Taking the fish back to the LFS and starting over is probably going to be your best bet for now.

[snorvich]

Oh, and fresh water dips do not affect ich. Also, lower the heat to about 77F

[reeferstace]

Your DT is not of sufficient size to appropriately house your livestock.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946079