Powder Blue with ich

[jason78]

Guys I have always had good luck with powder blues and Achilles tangs. I set up a new tank and of course wanted to add my fish. But the powder blue 23 Jan and put in QT tank. Noticed 3 days ago he had ich. I added the two doses of copper per the directions. The copper is at the recommended dose.

I know two weeks in the copper then remove it if no more signs of ich.

My question is when should I start seeing the first signs of improvement?

[Deinonych]

You should start seeing a reduction in the number of visible spots after a couple days at therapeutic dosage. If therapeutic dosage is maintained, all spots should be gone after about a week or so. Two weeks is not long enough for effective treatment - four is recommended (despite the instructions on the label).

[sbreefer]

and in a reef where you cannot catch him or dose copper?

[Mishri]

Then you'll have to live with ich in your reef. A lot of people do. I'm sure pulling everything out of your 300g tank isn't an option :)


There are trap methods too... put it's favorite food in a glass box that closes. If you have a lot of fish might need to pull a lot out before you get him.

Oh.. also.. whole tank is now contaminated.. so like pinnatus said below, needs to go fallow(8-12 weeks is recommended depending on source) if you want to be rid of ich.

[pinnatus]

and in a reef where you cannot catch him or dose copper?

I am guessing you already know the answer to this. If you had quarantined properly, then this would not be an issue. Since it is, the only way to erradicate ich from your tank is remove all fish and let it go fallow for a while. The fish need to be treated separately in a hospital tank, using copper, hydroquinone, TTM, or hypo. There are tons of threads on these subjects.

[ca1ore]

and in a reef where you cannot catch him or dose copper?

If you are fortunate to have a milder strain of ich, you may well be able to simply live with it and not lose any fish. If you are not so fortunate, and it's a potent strain, then you're fluffed and will have to fallow the tank. My suggestion would be to monitor the condition of your fish to see what's winning; and act from there.

I have mild ich in my 265; have had for 18 months, and no losses or, frankly, unhappy fish. I still QT all fish for fear of a more potent strain, or something worse.

[jbvdhp]

If you are fortunate to have a milder strain of ich, you may well be able to simply live with it and not lose any fish. If you are not so fortunate, and it's a potent strain, then you're fluffed and will have to fallow the tank. My suggestion would be to monitor the condition of your fish to see what's winning; and act from there.



I have mild ich in my 265; have had for 18 months, and no losses or, frankly, unhappy fish. I still QT all fish for fear of a more potent strain, or something worse.


Wait, so if you're sure you have mild ich in your DT, what happens with the new intros when they're added? Do they display signs or have symptoms?