ICH>>!!! I NEED HELP

[AK47]

HI IM NEW TO THE FORUMS.. I HAVE A PROB. INMY 55 GAL I HAVE TWO CLOWN , YELLOW TAIL DAMSEL, VELVET DAMSEL( I THINK) TWO TURBO SNAILS, 4 BLU LEGED CRABS (SMALL SIZED), AND A PURPLE TANG. AND A CONDY. MY TEMP IS 80 F. AND SALT IS AT 1.022
MY PURPLE TANG HAS ICK NOW FOR 2 WEEKS. I DONT HAVE A QT . AND DONT HAVE FUNDS TO GET ONE SOON. I HAVE A SMALL TANK I CAN USE BUT I THINK IT WILL BE OVERCROWDED. DO I HAVETO QT ALL THE FISH OR JUST THE TANG.. IF I DO HAVE A TANK TO QUARINTINE. DO I HAVE TO LET THE WATER CYCLE FIRST? WHAT ABOUT MY LIVE ROCK WILL IT BE FULL OF THE PARISITE .? I HAVE 60 # OF ROCK.

 

[melosu58]

The parasite has to host a fish to survive so no they wont survive in your LR. The best way is to QT your fish and do hyposalinity with them while leaving your main fishless for 8 weeks to break the cycle of the parasites. Also the reason the purple tang has ick is that your tank is too small for it. They need to be in a 100 + gallon tank. Stress caused by crowded living conditions is allowing the parasite to attack this fish. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[ccCapt]

While I agree with most of what melosu58 said, one part is simply not true.

Also the reason the purple tang has ick is that your tank is too small for it.

Ich MUST be present somewhere in the system for it to infect a fish. If you have a fish that is free of ich, you can keep it in a gold fish bowl (please don't try this at home) and it will not develop ich on it's own. Ich simply does not appear out of nowhere.

 

[AK47]

ICK

DO I KEEP ALL THE FISH INCLUDING THE ICK FREE FISH IN THE QT?
THE TREAT THEM ALL TOGETHER? CAN I LEAVE THE INVERTS IN THE MAIN TANK WHILE THE LIFE CYLE OF THE PARASITE DIES OFF?
DOES THE WATER HAVE TO CYCLE OR CAN I JUST PUT THEM IN THE TANK ONCE THE WATER HAS THE RIGHT SALTINITY ANDE TEMP?
THE TANG MUST HAVE HAD ICK BEFORE BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST FISH PUT IN THE TANK AND MY OTHER FISH WERE IN THE TANK FOR A MONTH WITH NO SIGNS OF ICK. I BOUGHT THE TANG 3 WEEKS AGO FROM A GUY AND THE FISH LOOKED FINE. IM WONDERING IF I SHOULD GET RID OF IT. WOULD A STORE BUY IT FROM ME ?

 

[ccCapt]

I suggest you take water from your main tank and use that to fill the qt. (assuming the qt is a small 10g or so tank). You will be doing a partial water change in the main and putting less stress on the fish by putting them in the same water they are used to. 2 good things.
You don't mention filtration, but if you have a sponge or floss media in your main tank filtration, use that in the filter for your qt. It has the bacteria growing in it that will help keep the qt tank stable and go thru less of a cycle.

Good Luck

Edit: forgot to mention, leave all inverts in the main and qt all fish. I personally wouldn't take a fish back to a store covered with ich 3 weeks after I bought it.

 

[seaham358]

Take things slow and can you type normal?? caps is yelling in the computer world.. thanks.
Your getting good advice on ich. What are your tank parameters? Nitrate, amm ect...
how long has the tank been running.
I don'g agree 100% with the part of the tank being too small for a PT. My friend has had a PT in his 55 years now and has not had issues. I have had a PT in a 55 for about 1.5 years and have had no issues. So its possible to keep these fish but you need to keep the tank stable. No big swings in temp, nitrates need to stay low.
Read up on ich and keep us posted..
Do the fish need larger tanks, yes... I am in the process of upgrading and so is my friend. I would not keep the PT in the tank if it was 5-6" long.. He is still a small fish.

 

[melosu58]

While I agree with most of what melosu58 said, one part is simply not true.

Also the reason the purple tang has ick is that your tank is too small for it.

Ich MUST be present somewhere in the system for it to infect a fish. If you have a fish that is free of ich, you can keep it in a gold fish bowl (please don't try this at home) and it will not develop ich on it's own. Ich simply does not appear out of nowhere.

If you read the article CCCapt then you would see that he did not have a QT so how do we know that ick was not in the tank. W do not know and probably was due to no QT. Yes you are right about ick dont just come from nowhere but you did not read why I was saying it had ick because of the practice of no QT which I understood his plight about not having enough funds. Please in the future in use IMO on your statements because that is all it is is an opinion. As they say, "opinions are like armpits we have two of them and they both stink.

 

[AK47]

ick

ok i have a 5.5 qt . is it too small? too late, i moved them already.
if it is too small i will look for a tank on craigslist tonight.
i moved some water from my main into the qt and checked my levels. its all good.i bought some coppersafe and added it to the tank. how often do i add it again? after i do a water change? i also moved my filter to the qt and removed the carbon filter from it. i put a small l.r. in there. before i read that the label said it might harm l.r. should i throw it away after the 4 weeks is done? do i have to filter my main tank since my condy is in there? i can move the filter from tank to tank throughout the day if i have to.
big thanks to everyones input i appreciate your help.

 

[ccCapt]

If you read the article CCCapt then you would see that he did not have a QT so how do we know that ick was not in the tank. W do not know and probably was due to no QT. Yes you are right about ick dont just come from nowhere but you did not read why I was saying it had ick because of the practice of no QT which I understood his plight about not having enough funds. Please in the future in use IMO on your statements because that is all it is is an opinion. As they say, "opinions are like armpits we have two of them and they both stink.

Easy there melosu Everyone is trying to help him out and I did agree with most of what you said. I read his post and I know he has no qt, but what does not having a qt tank have to do with you saying the fish got ich because the tank is too small. That is false. It's not my opinion, it's a fact.

 

[AK47]

ICK

MY TANK HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR 4.5 MONTHS NOW. I JUST LOST THE YELLOW TAIL. HE WAS STRESSED OUT BEFORE I MOVED HIM. I THINK THE ICK GOT TO HIM. THE PT LOOKS GOOD AND ALSO THE CLOWNS. HOPE THEY MAKE IT. I JUST ADDED A AMMONIA FILTER TO MY FILTER BECAUS THE TANK IS SO SMALL. SHOULD THAT HELP OUT ALOT?

 

[melosu58]

Anyway, AK47 yes I hope all goes well and I think the best thing you could do is do some frequent PWC`s . Hope all goes well

 

[AK47]

ick

ok guys , i just recieved a 20 gal tank. it was last used for fresh water. it has been empty for 1 month. i removed the gravel filter and gravel and rinsed it out good. ok. now do i put in the water from the 5.5 qt or remove 20 gallons from the main and add the proper dosage of coppersafe? if i use 20 gal from the main do throw away the 5.5 water?
the parameters are about the same in the qt and the main.
ok now after the life cycle of the parasite dies off will i have to clean my filter to remove any residue of the coppersafe and replace my filter and carbon?what about my live rock ? if i put it back to my main will it afect my inverts? shoud my qt have lights or should i leave the tank covered so it is dark? thanks

 

[melosu58]

You will not be able to use any live rock in your main once you treat with copper so dont put any LR in your QT. Alot of people use PVC sleeves as places for the fish to hide.

 

[AK47]

ICK

THE FALSE CLOWN JUST DIED...... R.I.P. BOZO
IM GUESSING FROM STRESS BECAUSE HE HAD NO SIGNS OF ICK...'
3 FISH LEFT . THEY ARE EATING AND SWIMMING. NO SIGNS OF STRESSING OUT

 

[tmkx3]

i just treated my fish with coppersafe. You only have to add it to the tank once but you have to have a copper test kit that measures chelated copper. If you do water chances you have to add the copper to the new water and test it for a copper reading before you add it to the tank( make sure the readings match) You also have to keep your tanks water at the same level all the time. I marked my tank with tape and added top off water as needed( don't add copper to top off water) You need to test your water 2 times a day. your reading for copper should be 1.5. The coppersafe bottle says to treat for 1 month but I found out the hard way that that is to long, 2 weeks is better.

 

[Fluff]

I had trouble reading this post so forgive me if this has already been covered..
For treating ich, you need to do one of two things. Hypo or copper. There are safe to use copper treatments but I only suggest that if treating the fish in a quarantine tank. Copper in your man is gonna kill of any inverts present and future. Hypo can be done in your main tank but this is only suggested if you have a refractometer. A hydrometer is just not accurate enough for the job. I'm glad to see you have a QT now and this is your best option. As stated, leave your tank free of fish for 8wks to kill off any ich that may be still in the system. The fish in QT can be treated with copper. I'd suggest cupramine. Also, keep water handy/mixed for water changes since they will be necessary often for the course of treatment to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down. The pvc elbows as suggested already are a good idea.

As for this...

While I agree with most of what melosu58 said, one part is simply not true.

Also the reason the purple tang has ick is that your tank is too small for it.

Ich MUST be present somewhere in the system for it to infect a fish. If you have a fish that is free of ich, you can keep it in a gold fish bowl (please don't try this at home) and it will not develop ich on it's own. Ich simply does not appear out of nowhere.

I'm not an ich guru but, in my opinion you both are right. Yes, ich has to be present but, as I understand it, a healthy stress free fish can carry the parasite without a problem. A fish that is in a tank to small can get stressed which compromises the immune system and this is when ich can become a danger to the fish as it takes over. A purple tang can work in a 55 for a while, if it is temporary. The fish is gonna need a larger tank to continue to be healthy.

 

[FishFrik]

I'm not an ich guru but, in my opinion you both are right. Yes, ich has to be present but, as I understand it, a healthy stress free fish can carry the parasite without a problem. A fish that is in a tank to small can get stressed which compromises the immune system and this is when ich can become a danger to the fish as it takes over. A purple tang can work in a 55 for a while, if it is temporary. The fish is gonna need a larger tank to continue to be healthy.

You nailed it Fluff!

 

[melosu58]

As for this...

While I agree with most of what melosu58 said, one part is simply not true.

Also the reason the purple tang has ick is that your tank is too small for it.

Ich MUST be present somewhere in the system for it to infect a fish. If you have a fish that is free of ich, you can keep it in a gold fish bowl (please don't try this at home) and it will not develop ich on it's own. Ich simply does not appear out of nowhere.

I'm not an ich guru but, in my opinion you both are right. Yes, ich has to be present but, as I understand it, a healthy stress free fish can carry the parasite without a problem. A fish that is in a tank to small can get stressed which compromises the immune system and this is when ich can become a danger to the fish as it takes over. A purple tang can work in a 55 for a while, if it is temporary. The fish is gonna need a larger tank to continue to be healthy.

Maybe he did not understand me or maybe I did not understand him, Whichever you are exactly right Fluff. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[ccCapt]

Ugghhhhhh

Bottom line is AK47 was looking for help and I think he got a ton of good advice.

To quote a well known marine aquaria author..."Ich is a parasite by the name of Cryptocaryon irritans. It must be present for a fish to become infested. You could keep a tang in a 1-gallon fish bowl and it won't get ich unless that parasite is present."

 

[Fluff]

Ugghhhhhh

Bottom line is AK47 was looking for help and I think he got a ton of good advice.

To quote a well known marine aquaria author..."Ich is a parasite by the name of Cryptocaryon irritans. It must be present for a fish to become infested. You could keep a tang in a 1-gallon fish bowl and it won't get ich unless that parasite is present."

The OP has been helped, unless he/she asks another question I think this post is done.