Marine ICH

[dannable]

My flame angel is showing signs of ich on his fins. How long does it take to progress? Is it possible to have a quarantine tank up and running before the disease progresses and he cannot be saved?

I have all of the tank\equip and I am starting it tonight. Do the bacteria additives really work?

My tank was up and running for almost 8 weeks with only a cleaner shrimp and a few snails. Ich cannot survive that long without a fish as a host, correct? So that means the ich probably came with the fish or the water from the LFS?? I did not put the water in the tank.

I am going to be one of those guys who push quarantine tanks!!

[kau_cinta_ku]

if you start the qt now you'll be fine. the best thing to get it going when you need to is to always have a spounge filter in the main tank/sump and use the bacteria off that to start the qt tank. i am not sure about those bacteria additives.

ich can't surrvive that long in the main tank without a host correct so my guess was it came on the angel also

[serpentman]

I would get that QT up and running ASAP. From the sounds of it, I think you have enough time to treat you fish. However, Ich reproduces exponentially so the sooner you start treating the better off you will be.

I can't really speak to the bacterial additives but be sure to watch water quality in the QT as it will progress through the cycle just like your display. PWC's will definitely help you get through it.

I agree that if you tank was fallow for 8 weeks, the parasites most likely came with the fish. They were probably just too small to see.

[dannable]

Thanks for the advice. Is the fact that a cleaner shrimp has lived almost 3 weeks in my aquarium a sign that my water quality is ok? Ich will not effect the cleaner shrimp and snails, correct? It has also successfully molted.

[serpentman]

Although its a good sign, its really not a definitive statement on your water quality. Its a good idea to test the various water parameters on a new system to make sure everything is in line.

The good news is Ich will not effect your inverts.

[dannable]

I tested,

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 5ppm
SG 1.024
Phosphate 0.5 and dropping slowly.

should that be ok? Do I need to test anything else in a fowlr?? I am using RO water for changes and top offs.

I am sorry for all of the questions. I just want to get this right.

[bureau13]

Alkalinity and pH are also important. The parameters you listed look fine, some people will tell you 1.024 is a tad low on for specific gravity. I consider that the low side of acceptable.

jds

[dannable]

PH is holding steady around 8.4-8.5. It is hard to tell with my kit but it is definetely in that range.

[serpentman]

Everything looks good. For fish only, you can go lower on your SG. I think a good range is 1.022-1.024. For a reef setup, you will want to run 1.025-1.026