How do I get my hippo tanks into a QT?

[ScotJ]

I have two hippo tangs that have ich, and I'm worried they are going to die. ITs getting worse and worse, but I can't seem to catch them. I have a 150g reef, with LOTS of hiding places.

They are very skittish though, so there is 0 change of getting them with a net.

Should I tear the rocks apart until I can get them? I have 28 other fish in their and I don't want to stress them too.

IS there any chance that with good wather conditions alone the fish might fight it off? They each have about 10 white spots on either side (roughly)

 

[sgc0286]

Hi! I know that it is best to get the fish out of there becuase the ich will more than likely effect the other fishes. But I really dont know a whole lot about it from personal experience. I found this link that should help though.
Ich: An Old Cure for an Old Disease

 

[melosu58]

That link is more for a FW approach. Raising the temp is not ideal for Sw. Read these

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php


Also moving this to the sick fish forum.

 

[CaptainAhab]

What else is in the tank?

 

[cmor1701d]

30 fish in a 150? Sounds like stress induced ICH.
The only way I know to kick ICH is to get ALL the fish into a tank where you can do a 6 - 8 week hypsalinity treatment while leaving the main tank fallow.

That's going to be tough in your case. You may need to go the opposite way and remove all inverts and coral to another system while you bring the main tank down to 1.009 SG for 4 weeks.

Hence the question: What else is in the tank?

 

[austinsdad]

Ditto - What else is in the tank? Name the fish and corals. How long have you had the tangs BTW too?

 

[sgc0286]

Sorry about that, didint mean to stear you in the wrong direction.

 

[Innovator]

Depending on the type of fish, 30 may not be all that bad. More information about the system would be nice, but ultimately you don't have many options. The easiest solution would be to soak food in garlic or minced pieces of garlic and hope their immune systems can overcome parasites (not likely, but just my opinion). The other option would be to use fish traps overnight and/or use feeding time for a surprise net capture. The most drastic option would be a full fish removal from the system, i.e. system disassemble. If you decide to treat all the fish and depending on the type/size of fish, you will need at least two 40g tanks, possibly more/larger. Depending on the amount of corals in the system you would have to remove them into a holding tote until your display is gutted. Fill the QT tanks with "clean" water from your 150g and drain the main display until there is less than 10" of water for fish to swim in. Carefully remove all rocks and make sure there are no fish hiding in crevices/holes after removal. Once the fish are caught and placed into the QT tanks, securely replace the rocks and fill the tank. I would re-acclimate the corals to the tank once the temps. have stabilized. Good luck with this and hopefully you can find an easier way via net-capture.

 

[ScotJ]

Contents of the tank:
Small clown tigger (3")
Niger Trigger
2 hippo tangs (together since they were tiny, never fight)
1 yellow tang (introduced with the hippos)\
1 Sailfin tang
9 Damsels
3 Chromies
5 starfish
2 urchines
1 snowflake eel
2 lemon wrasses (very small, 3/4")
2 Panther Groupers (1" long)
1 Goby

 

[austinsdad]

That's 21 fish, not 30. And evrybody gets along? Any recent (w/in 2 weeks before the ick) additions?

Also, I believe your groupers wil eat your chromis, goby, wrasses,and the damsels someday. Oh....they're cute now I know at 1", but things will change. They grow quick too.

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Panther Grouper

 

[cmor1701d]

I had to remove all my rock a couple of years ago to get all the fish out. I placed it in some BRUTE 20 gallon containers. Thought I had lost my bi-color blenny as it was nowhere to be found. When I started putting the rock back in the tank it jumped out of a rock crevice back into the Brute container. I too the opportunity to re-aquascape the tank.

I only had 10 fish (all under 3" at the time) and they made it through hypo in a 30 gallon tank.

 

[ScotJ]

Yes, everyone gets along well. No new additions, the hippos were the newest fish (along with the yellow tang) but that was over a month + ago.

As for the Groupers, I'm planning to move them out with the clown when they get a bit bigger.

 

[cmor1701d]

The only problemis that now you Ich in yor main tank. The only way to remove it is to remove ALL fish for at least 30 days. The removed fish should all be treated with hyposalinity for the same period. That's the lifecycle of the parasite, and it can't live in hyposalinty, so in 30 days you know it's gone.

 

[ScotJ]

The only problemis that now you Ich in yor main tank. The only way to remove it is to remove ALL fish for at least 30 days. The removed fish should all be treated with hyposalinity for the same period. That's the lifecycle of the parasite, and it can't live in hyposalinty, so in 30 days you know it's gone.

Why not just take my corals out and take the whole tank to hypo? Something like 1.09?

 

[melosu58]

Not just the corals but inverts living in your LR will be affected also.