Help me!

[LKemp712]

Dear All, there are not enough words in the alphabet to explain how frustrated I am.
A couple months ago I endured a never ending battle with ich. I sold all my fish to my LFS so they could get treated properly and I could start fresh. I got rid of my live rock, got rid of my sand cleaned my tank with vinegar and started over. I purchased brand new live sand, new live rock that had been cured already and transfered my fish and coral from my second tank (that did not have ich) into the tank I restarted. Everything had been going well but just last week I purchased a purple tang from my LFS that had just been through a cupramine QT treatment that lasted two weeks and now he is showing signs of ich. I'm not sure how new they are but I just noticed them today. I don't know how to tell if it is ich or just maybe stress. HELP, PLEASE!


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[snorvich]

You need to develop a background of understanding ich. Please read this. (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196)

[LKemp712]

You need to develop a background of understanding ich. Please read this. (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196)

Thank you for the good information but that didn't seem to answer the question I was hoping. I have read articles and articles about ich but I figured COMPLETELY restarting the tank - new sand, new rock would get rid of the ich from my previous system. Especially being that the purple tang had just finished a two week cupramine QT.

So the real question I'm asking is, is it still ich even though I restarted my system or could it be something else?

[lagatbezan]

its hard for me to tell from the pictures if its ich or not.
who did the qt on the fish? you or the lfs? I would never trust the lfs to do a proper qt but thats my personal opinion. Also 2 weeks is not enough time for qt to successfully eliminate ich. you need a min of 4 weeks and then couple of weeks of observation to make sure the fish is clean before you add it to your display tank.
Also there is no need for you to get rid of all your sand/rocks/inverts. You can leave your tank fallow without any fish in it for 8-9 weeks and that will kill the ich cycle.

[LKemp712]

its hard for me to tell from the pictures if its ich or not.
who did the qt on the fish? you or the lfs? I would never trust the lfs to do a proper qt but thats my personal opinion. Also 2 weeks is not enough time for qt to successfully eliminate ich. you need a min of 4 weeks and then couple of weeks of observation to make sure the fish is clean before you add it to your display tank.
Also there is no need for you to get rid of all your sand/rocks/inverts. You can leave your tank fallow without any fish in it for 8-9 weeks and that will kill the ich cycle.
Lagatbezan, my LFS store was the one that did the QT. When I put him into my tank he was spot free but hid for the first few days so I wasn't able to keep a constant eye on him. It wasn't until today that I saw him long enough to see the spots. My lfs store has way better luck with cupramine then I have in the past so I hoped he would be ich-free. I'm kind of at a stand-still of what to do now...

[lagatbezan]

I would not panic until you are certain that it is ich. if it is, then your best option would be to qt this and any other fish you have in the tank and leave the dt fallow for 8 weeks.
the problem with ich is that just because you don't see it on the fish, it doesn't mean that the fish is parasite free. depending on how many fish you have, I would look into the tank transfer method instead of copper.

[snorvich]

Thank you for the good information but that didn't seem to answer the question I was hoping. I have read articles and articles about ich but I figured COMPLETELY restarting the tank - new sand, new rock would get rid of the ich from my previous system. Especially being that the purple tang had just finished a two week cupramine QT.

So the real question I'm asking is, is it still ich even though I restarted my system or could it be something else?

Your LFS most likely has ich in their tank. Unless they maintained a therapeutic dose for 4 weeks, it is likely that they reintroduced ich into your tank. If they quarantined in a fish system, the odds that they were able to do this properly are slim and none.

[LKemp712]

Your LFS most likely has ich in their tank. Unless they maintained a therapeutic dose for 4 weeks, it is likely that they reintroduced ich into your tank. If they quarantined in a fish system, the odds that they were able to do this properly are slim and none.
So, leave the tank fallow for 8 weeks and treat all fish with cupramine?

[MrTuskfish]

Your LFS most likely has ich in their tank. Unless they maintained a therapeutic dose for 4 weeks, it is likely that they reintroduced ich into your tank. If they quarantined in a fish system, the odds that they were able to do this properly are slim and none.

^^^^Yes.^^^^^

Quarantining fish is your job; I've never known a LFS to properly quarantine, much less to cure ich infested fish. Most fish with contagious diseases or parasites are just flushed by the LFS. They don't have the space, time, and (in most cases) the knowledge to cure anything. Don't be frustrated; I doubt if there is a good book on or hobby or any serious threads on this forum that don't specifically say that you need a QT and the knowledge and will to use it religiously. Not doing so is the #1 reason behind the high turnover rate in our hobby---IMO & IME.

[snorvich]

Unfortunately, in order to come up with an intelligent plan of eliminating and preventing ich, it is essential to understand it. While reading the stickies is boring, I am sure, being able to properly evaluate what an LFS can do or not do, is important. If YOU don't quarantine, you put your tank and all fish at risk.