Got the Ich PLEASE HELP

[fit101]

Ok let me make sure this is correct. I have a hippo tang, it has Ick. If I move it to a qt tank with the other fish, I'm sure they are also infected. Pajama cardinal, Blue Damsel, domino damsel and tomato clown. I can leave my cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, brittle starfish, hermit crabs, emerald crabs, and snails in the DT tank (because they are invertebrates and I have read they are not susceptible to ich) and leave it fallow for 8 to 12 weeks. that should eradicate the parasite because of its lifecycle? in my DT? Then I can treat my fish in my QT tank to kill the parasite?

[fit101]

I was stupid and didn't have a QT tank. LESSON LEARNED! I now have a QT tank.

[billdogg]

Yup. Sounds like you are on the right track.

[Scubaken]

Long haul, but that's the only real way, fallow is very boring though, your lucky you have a big enough QT to put all them into. What is your QT ? Filtration etc ?

[fit101]

QT is 20 gallon all fish are very smalle, including Tang he's about 1.5". Marineland emperor 280B no carbon, Power head, no sand, just pvc pipe for hiding and heater. That's it.

[JoelA7]

72 days fallow period. The last few are endless.

[oakengineer]

Unless its a microscopic hippo tang that 20 gal will be too small.

[Sapelo]

We're into week three on our QT and hating it! Good luck!

[shesacharmer]

Use your 72 days to study your inverts and corals. You will come to appreciate them in a whole new way. It does feel very long as I had to do the exact same thing. Just keep your QT water super clean and you'll be okay. I had a little bit of aggression in my QT so I added a tall plastic plant to break up the sight lines and all the fish settled right down since they weren't staring at one another all the time or hiding inside pvc. You have a choice of medicating your QT or using TTM to eradicate the ich in fish. I chose the latter using a tote for my second setup. If you use copper make sure your fish can tolerate it as not all species can.

[Spar]

i also recommend doing TTM for your current fish. easy and fool-proof.

now that you are going through the effort to ich-cure QT your current fish and the dreaded fallow DT process, you will want to QT (TTM or Copper or CP) all new fish going forward, observe them for a while afterward (4 weeks+). And the thing that many people fail to do is to fallow QT all new 'anything wet' for 72 days. this means coral, snails, hermits, macro algae, live rock, nems, shrimp, etc, etc, etc. although they aren't harmed by Ich, they ARE carriers of ich while the parasite is in the cyst stage. the parasite hardens onto the shell or hard surface and 'hatches' 5 to 72 days later, then impacting the fish.

good luck and keep up with any questions!

[Vilas]

Many many years ago, I had to do the 72 day thing when I had velvet. The first weeks were hard, but by the end, so much cool life was in my tank that I lost interest in fish. I only got around to more fish well after the period was over.
The "fallow" DT comes alive in such cool ways without fish to eat the creatures or distract you from seeing it. It is a very cool thing, if you have to do it then try to enjoy that side of it!!

[fit101]

You all are so great! THANK YOU so much for all the help. This is my first saltwater tank and 3 months. Ill go to a 120gal.

I haven't braved the corals yet, but as time goes by and I become more familiar with the "saltwater" process, I may venture there, The tanks I see here are all so beautiful.

[fit101]

Unless its a microscopic hippo tang that 20 gal will be too small.
Thanks for the "support", you're awesome!

[fit101]

72 days fallow period. The last few are endless.
72 days it is!

[fit101]

i also recommend doing TTM for your current fish. easy and fool-proof.

now that you are going through the effort to ich-cure QT your current fish and the dreaded fallow DT process, you will want to QT (TTM or Copper or CP) all new fish going forward, observe them for a while afterward (4 weeks+). And the thing that many people fail to do is to fallow QT all new 'anything wet' for 72 days. this means coral, snails, hermits, macro algae, live rock, nems, shrimp, etc, etc, etc. although they aren't harmed by Ich, they ARE carriers of ich while the parasite is in the cyst stage. the parasite hardens onto the shell or hard surface and 'hatches' 5 to 72 days later, then impacting the fish.

good luck and keep up with any questions!
Can I keep my Skimmer and filtration as is in my fallow tank, since all the Ich will die in that 72 day period? Ill do water changes as normal to keep the water condition excellent for the inverts.

[fit101]

We're into week three on our QT and hating it! Good luck!
Thank you! Nervous about this process, as I've never done this before.

[fit101]

Can someone point me in the direction of the best Ich medication I can use in my QT tank?

[Amn.mohamed3]

Have you ever considered using API medications? They worked for my 42 Community

[gone fishin]

Can someone point me in the direction of the best Ich medication I can use in my QT tank?

if you are going the copper route then try seachem cupramine and the copper test kit. good luck

[gone fishin]

I forgot I would also suggest going over to the fish disease forum. There are some great stickies on diagnosis and treatments

[Freemason1970]

I had a fish that I was told had ich and I used 10 drops of garlic every day for a week straight. Within that week it was gone.

[gone fishin]

Sorry to hear about your fish being gone. Garlic, ginger or anything that claims to be reef safe will not eradicate ich. Proven treatments are tank transfer method, copper, chloroquin phosphate, and hypo salinity. The last one being difficult to execute properly and some strains of ich have become resistant to hypo.

[jason78]

Ich, is the worst. I have had to do QT many times. I have found my best method to be a QT with copper and observe for 4 weeks before going into the display. I have had great success with fish very prone to ich. Achillies and Powder blue tangs.

Good luck.

[Spar]

Can I keep my Skimmer and filtration as is in my fallow tank, since all the Ich will die in that 72 day period? Ill do water changes as normal to keep the water condition excellent for the inverts.

yes, everything else can stay as-if fish were present. just take out all your finned friends, easy enough :)

make sure to feed your DT a little fish food to keep your bacteria thriving throughout the fallow period.

[ddhonwyn]

I got ick in my 1 clownfish.. I did freshwater bath for 10mins and put it in the DT again, It's been 2 weeks no white spots... :) I think ich is caused by stress.. find out the reason why they are stress..

[Spar]

I got ick in my 1 clownfish.. I did freshwater bath for 10mins and put it in the DT again, It's been 2 weeks no white spots... :) I think ich is caused by stress.. find out the reason why they are stress..

Ich isn't 'caused' by stress, it just opens the fish to be more susceptible to swarms of attacking parasites. the cause of Ich is by allowing the parasite into your tank to begin with. Even a non-stressed fish is completely susceptible to getting hit hard by Ich though.

however, i do agree that reduction of stress in the fish is always a great thing to work on. properly sized tank/fish combo, hiding places, consistent parameters, etc.

[fit101]

My hippo tang was new. Stressed from adding to a new tank.

[fit101]

this is actually what I just bought.

[Vilas]

Stress doesn't cause ich any more than being cold causes the flu. Stressing the body makes it harder to fight off a parasite or virus. But if the bug isn't present, no amount of stress or cold will make it appear.
Reducing stress sure as anything will help the body fight off anything - ich or anything else - but as good fishkeepers, reducing stress should be a priority for it's own sake. Don't we want happy fish living natural (ish) lives in good conditions?

[fit101]

yes, everything else can stay as-if fish were present. just take out all your finned friends, easy enough :)

make sure to feed your DT a little fish food to keep your bacteria thriving throughout the fallow period.

Can I use a filter with ceramic bio rings while I treat with Copper? I'm concerned they will hold or release too much copper in the QT tank and kill the fish.

[gone fishin]

Freshwater dip will not get rid of ich.

[fit101]

Ich, is the worst. I have had to do QT many times. I have found my best method to be a QT with copper and observe for 4 weeks before going into the display. I have had great success with fish very prone to ich. Achillies and Powder blue tangs.

Good luck.
Jason, did you treat with copper the full 4 weeks? Then remove the copper from the QT tank?

[snorvich]

Freshwater dip will not get rid of ich.

It will have no effect on ich. For brook and velvet, it will temporarily make the symptoms better but not eradicate it.

[fit101]

treating with Cupermine and it seemed to be working great! levels .05 ammonia is 0 and hippo tang was cleared. its been 8 days the other fish are clear but whe3h I came home last night the tang was covered with ich again. wth?? I know ich cycles but with the cupermine in the tank I would think it would kill the little... Any comments, help?

[Spar]

.05 or .5? .5 is what is necessary and holding there for 4 weeks. what testkit are you using for the testing?

did you treat all the other fish before going in the DT as well? and run your DT fallow for 10 weeks if you ever had an untreated fish in your DT before?

...sorry if this is repeating from posts above as I haven't gone back and read it all again.

[fit101]

all the fish are in a QT tank. sorry yes .5 is where I am. (althought the test is kind of difficult to read) its the seachem test I am using because Its the seachem cupermine I am using. no sorry needed. I appreciate the help!

My DT is running fallow.

[fit101]

.05 or .5? .5 is what is necessary and holding there for 4 weeks. what testkit are you using for the testing?

did you treat all the other fish before going in the DT as well? and run your DT fallow for 10 weeks if you ever had an untreated fish in your DT before?

...sorry if this is repeating from posts above as I haven't gone back and read it all again.

all the fish are in a QT tank. sorry yes .5 is where I am. (althought the test is kind of difficult to read) its the seachem test I am using because Its the seachem cupermine I am using. no sorry needed. I appreciate the help!

My DT is running fallow.

[fifthtoe]

Just a reminder, if you're treating with cupramine and see an ammonia spike. Don't treat with Prime or any other ammonia treatment. This could be lethal to your fish.

[fit101]

Just a reminder, if you're treating with cupramine and see an ammonia spike. Don't treat with Prime or any other ammonia treatment. This could be lethal to your fish.

My ammonia levels are good. im using seachem ammonia test to make sure levels are good. so back to my question. they seem worse. will they get worse before getting better? they were all doing well now the tang is covered with ick worse than ever. yes my copper leves are at .5 where they should be its been 10 days with treatment.

[Spar]

Something would have to be wrong with the copper level for you to continue to see spots after 10 days even. Any after that means they had been reinfected during the copper levels at the said .5 level which wouldn't be possible.

I would get an independent test if you can. Have you compared to the .5 sample that comes with the testkit?

[fit101]

Something would have to be wrong with the copper level for you to continue to see spots after 10 days even. Any after that means they had been reinfected during the copper levels at the said .5 level which wouldn't be possible.

I would get an independent test if you can. Have you compared to the .5 sample that comes with the testkit?

not even close to the reference. wth?? no I don't know how I should does my tank?? HELP?

[Spar]

by "not even close" do you mean your tank level is much lighter in color than the reference? if so, this likely means that you are well under the .35ppm minimum level required to eliminate the parasite.

it is really tough, IMO/E, to see the slight variations in colors which was one reason I stopped doing copper for my new fish QT'ing. I found that I had to dose 2x what the label says requires to get to .5ppm. never understood how that was possible.

you just need to get used to the shade of blue that represents .5ppm and dose until you get to that level. you can call Seachem and they will/should send you extra free reference samples to go off of until you get the hang of it. they did this for me.

[fit101]

by "not even close" do you mean your tank level is much lighter in color than the reference? if so, this likely means that you are well under the .35ppm minimum level required to eliminate the parasite.

it is really tough, IMO/E, to see the slight variations in colors which was one reason I stopped doing copper for my new fish QT'ing. I found that I had to dose 2x what the label says requires to get to .5ppm. never understood how that was possible.

you just need to get used to the shade of blue that represents .5ppm and dose until you get to that level. you can call Seachem and they will/should send you extra free reference samples to go off of until you get the hang of it. they did this for me.

Cliff,
Yes, my tank is much lighter than the sample untested against. I tried to call seachem closed on weekend. This sucks.y fish look terrible. I did the Rec dosage, but I added more ill retest the water in a few hours and see what the reading is. I'm thinkingaybe I should use cuprisorb and take out all the copper and start over? Hell, I dont know.

[Spar]

the only reason to start it over (e.g. absorb what you currently have first) would be to give the fish a break from the copper for a while before starting again. but it looks like you need to move quickly, so I'd recommend just getting it up to .5ppm over the next couple days. it will give the fish a little immediate relief and they will be ich-free within 7 days (while the rest of the parasites jump off) getting more and more relief each day as they jump off.

[fit101]

the only reason to start it over (e.g. absorb what you currently have first) would be to give the fish a break from the copper for a while before starting again. but it looks like you need to move quickly, so I'd recommend just getting it up to .5ppm over the next couple days. it will give the fish a little immediate relief and they will be ich-free within 7 days (while the rest of the parasites jump off) getting more and more relief each day as they jump off.

Lost my tang this morming. I'm more than a little ****ed off. the dosing directions on the cupermine bottle are nowhere near what I needed to bring it up to where is should have been. I don't think I would have lost my
Tang if I would have had the correct amount of
Cupermine in for the last 10 days! Geez!!! Other fish seem ok eating and swimming around as normal. NEVER EVER put anything in your tank without QT first. I had the guy at the LFS tell me ick is always present. It doesn't matter if you quarantine or not. He also said "you'd have to QT everything you put into your tank! Rock inverts etc.. And that's a hassle." SERIOUSLY??!! Doubt I'll purchase anything from him again...

[Spar]

LFS's (99% rule) lose money if people fully treat and QT their livestock. Not only does it slow down purchases it also makes for less purchases due to your livestock surviving longer. So I would not expect anything different from a LFS unfortunately.

But at least he has it right that you would have to QT everything; rock, etc. Not many people seem to realize that you could bring in a cyst on the shell of an invert or surface of rock, among other possibilities.

The other misconception is 'treating' vs. 'QT'ing'. QT'ing is just the process of isolating the fish or livestock from your DT for a period of time. Treating is actively attempting to eliminate something like Ich. If someone isn't going to treat their livestock, QT'ing is at least better than just throwing in the DT without observing first.

[fit101]

LFS's (99% rule) lose money if people fully treat and QT their livestock. Not only does it slow down purchases it also makes for less purchases due to your livestock surviving longer. So I would not expect anything different from a LFS unfortunately.

But at least he has it right that you would have to QT everything; rock, etc. Not many people seem to realize that you could bring in a cyst on the shell of an invert or surface of rock, among other possibilities.

The other misconception is 'treating' vs. 'QT'ing'. QT'ing is just the process of isolating the fish or livestock from your DT for a period of time. Treating is actively attempting to eliminate something like Ich. If someone isn't going to treat their livestock, QT'ing is at least better than just throwing in the DT without observing first.

Cliff,

You're my new best friend!

[fit101]

can starfish and eel carry/support ick. I just had a seachem support line tell me they could? Any feedback? I thought I could leave them in my fowler tank and the ick would starve. Can they host ick?

[JoelA7]

Seachem support line is CORRECT.

Anything wet can carry Ick and any fish present means that the Ick life cycle can be completed, thus remaining in your tank.

[fit101]

but a starfish and eel are not a "fish". correct?

[JoelA7]

fit101 - an Eel is a fish.

[fit101]

While that is true, there's also many threads on here stating that eels cannot get ick. there also many threads stating that eels can get ick, so there you go. there's more contradictory information on the site tjan there really is helpful. one person says one thing, one person says another. who's right who's wrong?

[Sk8r]

No, ich is not caused by stress. It is not cured by garlic. It has an off-again on-again life cycle which is partly in a sandbed, partly on a fish.

[reeferstace]

but a starfish and eel are not a "fish". correct?


:facepalm:
No. Incorrect. It is true that starfish are not fish. They are echinoderms.

Eels ARE fish. They belong to the super class Osteichthyes.