How long does it take for a fish to die of ich

[Plecolover18]

Yesterday I brought home a coral beauty (Fiji) from my lfs and when I woke up today he had ick same with my sailfin tang. My angel spends his time at the corner of the 75 with picking at algae and sometimes moves around the tank as with the sailfin he spend most of his time hiding. My lfs recommends Probiotics Marine Formula not any of that copper crap. I can't go out to my lfs to Tuesday so will my fish be okay or will it be to late?

 

[melosu58]

Read these

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

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

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

 

[TheTodd]

That "copper crap" or Hyposalinity are the only two things that work to get rid of Ich and fish should be treated in QT while the DT is left fallow for 6-8 weeks. I would question any LFS that is not aware of that.

How long a fish can last depends on how bad it is, initial health when it got it, water parameters, etched. They can usually go days though.

 

[tonedogz]

Todd giving you the true stuff hypo or copper thats it tank fallow 6 to 8 wks. that stuff their trying to sell you won't work. Treat them right away or their not going to make it and once they die you'll still have to leave the tank without fish anyway or the new fish will catch it and you'll be back to square one.Do not treat in display.

 

[Plecolover18]

That "copper crap" or Hyposalinity are the only two things that work to get rid of Ich and fish should be treated in QT while the DT is left fallow for 6-8 weeks. I would question any LFS that is not aware of that.

How long a fish can last depends on how bad it is, initial health when it got it, water parameters, etched. They can usually go days though.

Oh I thought it never worked that's what my lfs said so I followed them

 

[tonedogz]

If they actually told you that I would'nt go back there again

 

[Fishman007]

Your tank is a FOWLR right? If you want to just treat the fish in there if you dont care about killing the live rock.

 

[tonedogz]

absolutely not do not treat your main tank.

 

[huma-huma]

Your tank is a FOWLR right? If you want to just treat the fish in there if you dont care about killing the live rock.

Absolutely, without any extra thought, do NOT do this. Killing your live rock is possibly the worse thing that you want to do at this point. Stick with what Todd has advised. Try to get your fish into a quarantine tank, treat with copper or hypo, then let the main tank sit empty for 6-8 weeks.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Don't kill the rock. Fish mostly die of ICH from their gills getting covered and suffocation. If the fish isn't breathing hard, it may be okay. QT the fish for about 8 weeks with copper and the ICH should die out in the DT without chemicals. Look into your livestock selection as ICH can also be set off by stress.

 

[brewski]

Ich - possibly the most annoying detractor to saltwater fish hobby.

GET A UV FILTER!

It is a must.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I have run without Ich or UV for 20 years now. UV is fine for fish only systems, but in a reef it nukes everything in the water. They are also difficult to maintain. Proper environment and good feeding habits along with QT will reduce your risks of Ich.

 

[TheTodd]

Ich - possibly the most annoying detractor to saltwater fish hobby.

GET A UV FILTER!

It is a must.

I disagree that it is a must. UV's do not get everything. Ich is more either on/in the fish, or dropping off into sand/rock. UV can't kill what does not pass through it and in the case of Ich, that is a relatively small amount.

They also need proper water flow, changing bulbs on schedule and cleaning, etc. I had one years ago and sold it. Helped with algae a little, but still got stuff like Ich (back in my non-QT days).

Proper diet and pristine water goes a long way, but it only takes adding a fish with something like MV to wipe out a tank in a matter of days. Everyone tends to focus on Ich, but there are nastier things out there.

 

[brewski]

I disagree that it is a must. UV's do not get everything. Ich is more either on/in the fish, or dropping off into sand/rock. UV can't kill what does not pass through it and in the case of Ich, that is a relatively small amount.

They also need proper water flow, changing bulbs on schedule and cleaning, etc. I had one years ago and sold it. Helped with algae a little, but still got stuff like Ich (back in my non-QT days).

Proper diet and pristine water goes a long way, but it only takes adding a fish with something like MV to wipe out a tank in a matter of days. Everyone tends to focus on Ich, but there are nastier things out there.

Actually ich is a parasite with a30-60 day gestation period that when hatched gets into the water column and attaches to the fish. The UV filter causes the parasite to mutate and fail to reproduce which means your tank after some time will no longer be a breeding ground for ich due to the mutations.

You are right the fish today with ich need treatment, i meant ( and didn't say it correctly) that everyone should have a UV filter on the system to mitigate ic return and minimize the breakout when a new arrival brings it into the tank

 

[brewski]

I have run without Ich or UV for 20 years now. UV is fine for fish only systems, but in a reef it nukes everything in the water. They are also difficult to maintain. Proper environment and good feeding habits along with QT will reduce your risks of Ich.

I was unaware of any impacts, please enlighten me as im trying to build a reef/fish system

Thanks

 

[TheTodd]

Actually ich is a parasite with a30-60 day gestation period...The UV filter causes the parasite to mutate...after some time will no longer be a breeding ground for ich due to the mutations.

It still only gets what is in the water column and passes through it. It does not all go through the life cycle at the same time, so even with a UV, there is a good chance that some will survive. I'm not opposed to UV, I just don't think that they provide nearly as much as the manufacturers/LFS say they do.

 

[brewski]

It still only gets what is in the water column and passes through it. It does not all go through the life cycle at the same time, so even with a UV, there is a good chance that some will survive. I'm not opposed to UV, I just don't think that they provide nearly as much as the manufacturers/LFS say they do.

Point taken and i do not disagree. My experience has been excellent since i installed a UV filter with fish even from petco

 

[Gregcoyote]

Nobody is putting them down, public aquariums use them all the time. They are high maintenance and a bit tweety to get the flow/irradiation time right. I try to stay natural and let the water bear whatever is circulating, bacteria, spores and other tidbits that corals filter out. In my system, I am wall to wall coral which I believe is a natural filtration system for organisms, perhaps even Ich.

 

[aquandrew]

am i the only one who noticed sailfin tang in 75 gallon?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I'm trying hard to not always go tang police. Yes, the sailfin is not a good candidate but nobody wants to hear that anymore and as long as he's small its no issue. I'm tired of fighting about tangs. The tank size will probably stunt his eventual full size, but that's not for a while yet.