Okay anybody I have serious trouble. I have two tanks, but the problem is with my 45 gallon bowfront. It is sort of a reef tank in that I do have anemones but that is it. I bought a fish yesterday and it has ick. I don't know how I didn't notice it. So the other fish have been exposed to it for this will be three days tomorrow. If I get the fish out of the tank quickly will the other fish be okay or will I have to treat the tank and if I have to treat what with?
HELP!!
- Thread starter taran01
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Most of the time if the fish already in your tank are happy and healthy they wont get ich from other fish. It is usually present to some degree in every tank already but the fish have built up there imune system to fight it and unless they get stressed in some way you shouldnt have to worry about them getting sick.
two11devan
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I would strongly suggest QTing any fish before you put it in your tank. That way, if the fish does get sick, you can treat in the QT tank and not have to worry about your other fish getting sick.
S
steve-s
Guest
That can happen but is rare and should not be relied upon. Treating the fish in a seperate QT is the best course of action for all the fish in the display tank. Once the parasite is in the tank and there are fish present, it's there to stay!possum said:
That is false. It is not "always" present and if fish are properly QT'd prior to placing in the main tank, C irritans will never occur if done properly.
Fish do not become immune to parasites. They can build up resistances to the parasite but is impossible to become immune. Stress is also not a catalyst for C irritans to suddenly appear in a tank, it must already be present. The stress will then reduce the fishs' immune response and allow the theront to attach itself with more ease as it takes advantage of the otherwise week condition.
Cheers
Steve
S
steve-s
Guest
You should be prepared to treat all the fish. After three days it is more than possible the parasite has gone through it stages of developement and reproduced, releasing more theronts into the water column.taran01 said:
If all the fish are placed in a proper QT environment, then leaving the main tank fallow for at least 4 weeks will kill off the problem naturally. You will then not need to worry about the possible problems that may arise if treating the main tank and you can focus your efforts on just the fish.
Cheers
Steve
By-Tor
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Here are two options that are a natural approach. Fist off, have you considered a natural predator of parasites. There are several species of shrimp and fish that will set up cleaning stations, and naturally remove the pests. Unfortunately, if you have ever dosed with anytype of copper or many other treatments, you will be unable to use thus method. If this is the case, then you can try plan B. You should be able to find Garlic Oil at most grocery stores(needs to be plain garlic oil). You can soak the fish food in the oil, and then feed your fish. The garlic is a natural reppelent. Krill works well for this method. Sometimes doing this method, you will get an "oil slick" on the surface. Don't worry....normal skiimmers will remove this at the surface. If your skimmer doesn't skim at the surface, then you might have to use a specimen container to skimm the oil yourself. Thanks, and good luck 
two11devan
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Shrimps will help but there is no guarrantee that the fish will even let the shrimp clean it. Garlic will help the fish eat and help to strengthen its immune system, but it should not be used as a cure-all. The best solution to treating a sick fish is to QT it and medicate it there. 
Gauge
Aquarium Advice FINatic
You will end up getting a zillion suggestions on how to treat an ich outbreak in your tank. The two schools of thought are these...
1) ich is always in your tank, and unhealthy conditions cause it to actually take hold on your fish. Otherwise their immune system fights it off naturally.
2) ich is not always in your tank, and should you have an infected fish in your tank you should remove all of your fish for at least one ich life cycle to remove it from your tank.
Neither theory has been totally proven. I tend to go with theory #1 here, but that's beside the point. This is what you should do regardless of what you believe:
Take your infected fish out of your main tank and put them into a QT tank. Treat the ich using either a copper treatment (make sure you're testing the copper levels to keep them where you want them), or treat it with the hyposalinity method.
Here is what you should do only if you believe theory #2:
Move all of your fish to the QT tank and treat them. Keep the fish out of your main tank for 4-6 weeks. After that you can return them to your main tank.
Could someone please link the appropriate articles for hyposalinity and QT tanks for him? 8)
1) ich is always in your tank, and unhealthy conditions cause it to actually take hold on your fish. Otherwise their immune system fights it off naturally.
2) ich is not always in your tank, and should you have an infected fish in your tank you should remove all of your fish for at least one ich life cycle to remove it from your tank.
Neither theory has been totally proven. I tend to go with theory #1 here, but that's beside the point. This is what you should do regardless of what you believe:
Take your infected fish out of your main tank and put them into a QT tank. Treat the ich using either a copper treatment (make sure you're testing the copper levels to keep them where you want them), or treat it with the hyposalinity method.
Here is what you should do only if you believe theory #2:
Move all of your fish to the QT tank and treat them. Keep the fish out of your main tank for 4-6 weeks. After that you can return them to your main tank.
Could someone please link the appropriate articles for hyposalinity and QT tanks for him? 8)
SaltwaterAussie
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I love these debates!! Is there any value in quarantining the very first fish you place in your tank?? Besides ease of treatment i mean... how does this help?
Good luck taran01....
Good luck taran01....
two11devan
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I would say it would be a good idea because if the fish does get sick, you will have to take it out and put it into a QT ay way to medicate it. So you might as well QT it in the first place. Its better to be safe than sorry
BillyZ
Aquarium Advice Addict
always QT new fish, wether it is your first fish or not.
The relevant artcles are here:
- Quarentine
- Acclimation
The relevant artcles are here:
- Quarentine
- Acclimation
Thanks for your advice guys or gals. I took the fish back to the fish store and they said they didn't think it was ick. They said it looked like a bacterial disease. I don't know but I wasn't comfortable keeping a sick fish. So I asked them to exchange it. I really liked that fish, but i'm not sure I could care for it correctly I'm still pretty new at this. As for having a QT that is why I bought the 265 gallon tank and plan to turn my 46 gallon into QT. i've taken chances and been lucky for a year and never used a QT so I figured my luck would be wearing out soon that is why the new tank. Figures the minute I try to be precautious I get a sick one. Well anyway so far so good my other fish look good no spots. KNOCK ON WOOD! Thanks again. 
By-Tor
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have never used a QT. Shame on me...but I've also been doing reef tanks for about 12 years. I dunno, I've always used the natural approach, and have never...let me repeat, never had an Ich breakout. Does this mean that I've never owned a fish that had Ich...nope....Does this mean that I've always had shrimp that would eat the parasites...not sure of that either. All I do know is...I can count my blessings, as I'm sure one day I'll have disaster. BTW, I have always used an abundance of livestock in my aquariums that would tend to different bad things that might occur in the tank. Cya
So far so good
Okay everyone so far so good. I took the sick fish out of the tank and took him back to the store I purchased him at. They claim it isn't ick but some bacteria disease. Anyway I replaced the fish with a different one and all is well so far no other fish are getting any spots. I may have just lucked out on this one. I will be cycling my 265 for probably the next 2 months then after that I plan to move all my fish over to that tank. I have no plans to buy any more new fish until I have a QT in place. Thanks for all your help. Taran
Okay everyone so far so good. I took the sick fish out of the tank and took him back to the store I purchased him at. They claim it isn't ick but some bacteria disease. Anyway I replaced the fish with a different one and all is well so far no other fish are getting any spots. I may have just lucked out on this one. I will be cycling my 265 for probably the next 2 months then after that I plan to move all my fish over to that tank. I have no plans to buy any more new fish until I have a QT in place. Thanks for all your help. Taran
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