My Koran Angel has Ich

[zenn]

Yeah, pretty much right after i got him, he broke out in white spots on the very tips of his back fins and on the top of his body. It doesn't seem to be a massive breakout but it's bothering him for sure as he likes to stick his back fins in the powerheads and let the water rush over the white spots.

So, i set up my qt tank today (something i should have done a long time ago), and i'm going to try hyposaline treatment tomorrow. My qt tank is a 10 gallon with hang on the back filtration, heater, about 1.01 salinity and some rocks and a cup for him to hide in. I filled up the qt halfway with water from the display tank and the other half from treated tap water. I'm going to try hypo with him for a week or two and hopefully it cleans him up.

Is there anything else I'm missing since i'm a noob? stupid Ich.

 

[zenn]

updated profile

and, i haven't used any meds except a generic ich med. None of the other fish have acted agressively towards him, and i've only had him for about 1-2 weeks.

 

[lando]

Hypo is a good route to go. I suggest a SG of 1.008-1.009 and a duration of 4weeks. Keep in mind, you will need to bring down the SG slowly so you may be loking at 6wks in QT. Honestly, the ick may have come on due to a space issue. This fish require a minimum tank size of 135gal. Cramped quarters can cause stress which will lead to infections or parasitic infestations. May be time to consider a return trip to the LFS?

 

[zenn]

but it's ok to stick it in a 10 gallon aquarium for 6 weeks???

I know my tank isn't big enough. I guess i was hoping that since it's a small juvenile, i could keep him for a while until i ran into problems with him. I want to upgrade to a bigger tank but that's just not going to happen for a while. But in the meanwhile, i'm sick of buying a bunch of *edit* damsals and hawkfish just because my tank is too small. Live and learn i guess.

 

[lando]

but it's ok to stick it in a 10 gallon aquarium for 6 weeks???

Short-term while treating for the parasite, yes.

 

[oceandelight]

I feel your pain Zenn ... my fish are just getting over ich and my poor tang who loves to swim and is usually in 150 gallons is stuck in a small 30 for treatment but he seems to be doing ok he just looks like he is pacing whenever anyone in near the tank and he gets excited

 

[revhtree]

I currently have 2 clowns, a Powder Blue, and a Large Naso in a 30g qt for ich. This Saturday will be 6 weeks in qt. I treated them for ich using cupramine, and am leaving the main tank fallow for 8 weeks. They are doing great..

Long term health of your fish is the goal. A short term medicated/hypo qt will be very beneficial to the long term health of the fish. On the other hand as this fish grows larger it will need alot more swim room to keep it healthy. Consider maybe upgrading as soon as possible.

Please note that I suggest a bigger qt because you will need to qt ALL your fish for ich even though they may not show signs. The main tank will need to remain fallow/fishless for a period of 6 to 8 weeks.

As Lando noted, you will need to gradually bring the salinity down over a period of time. You will also need a refractometer if you do not have one...

You sound like a very responsible hobbiest! Kudos....

Hope all goes well!

PS. Qt all new arrivals before putting them in the main...

 

[zenn]

what if you don't bring the SG down slowly? What are the possible problems?

 

[revhtree]

Shock = Stress = Death

Basically you would have an acclimation death..

 

[Dr.Nate]

when you do a hypo treatment, also keep an eye on your hardness (Kh) because the first time I did hypo I didn't know this and I killed all my fish anyway! You can always buffer if you have to.

 

[zenn]

when you do a hypo treatment, also keep an eye on your hardness (Kh) because the first time I did hypo I didn't know this and I killed all my fish anyway! You can always buffer if you have to.

hardness? Like the water hardness? What is KH?

 

[lando]

"Hardness" is a measue of ALK. ALK is measured in either milliequivalents per liter (meq/L) or German degrees of carbonate hardness (dKH). Most ALK test kits meausre in meq/L so to find the dKH multiply it by 2.8. That being said, ALK is simply a measure of the water's resistance to change in Ph. The higher the ALK, the more resistance to change and vice-versa. An ALK of 3.2-4.5meq/L is desireable in most tanks. Frequent and regular PWC in a QT is about the best way to keep things stable. Because of the lower water volume in QT tanks, adding buffers can cause more trouble then good.

 

[steve-s]

In a hyposaline environemnt, PWC's are not really that effective in terms of chemistry although should still be performed for water quality purposes. Due to the diluted salinity, you also have diluted chemistry so buffers will typically be necessary. Do not use baking soda!

Use this calculator to figure out how much. Wouldn't hurt to err on the side of caution if your unsure and dose ½ and see what it does and then the other ½ when you know it's what's needed.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Cheers
Steve

 

[ashobson]

I had a real bad ich infestation in my 54 gal tank a while back I used kick ich it worked great. I do not have a qt tank or have any space for one. I just 2 weeks ago upgraded to a 75 gal tank. i added a coral beauty and a valiten puffer. I look for a store that I did not see any sign of ich in. I drove 75 miles south and found one that the fish looked good and on a local site got great reveiwes. But the other nite my yellow tang started rubbing up on the power head upon closer look saw a few white spots 2 on the puffer and one on my triger. i started kick ich right away. No signs of the ich but only on day 7 of a 14 day treatment and I know that this ich will disapare for a day or 2 then come back 10 fold. But I know kick ich will cure it and I wont have to crowed all my fish in a little tank and do tones of water changes. Thank god for the makers of kick ich. Thatpetplace .com

 

[zenn]

kick ich eh? hmmmm...sounds like the cheap way out of a bad situation. Sounds too good to be true. i don't suppose petsmart sells it?

I need a bigger tank. I have no idea where to get a pre-drilled tank at...this sucks.

 

[ashobson]

No pet smart don't have it but premune aquatics a sponsor of this site has it and is where I bought it at. It works great. The lazy way out.














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[zenn]

don't know if th hypo + meds is working yet. he's been in the qt for about 3 days now. The white spots seem to have grown some yet they seem like they're separating into smaller balls....almost liek they're breaking apart kind of. But the fish has lost some color...i've noticed that. I'm going to feed him brine tomorrow. Should he be losing his color at this point in the treatment?

 

[steve-s]

What other meds are you using with the hypo? What level is the salinity at/how are you measuring it?

Keep 2x daily testing of the alk/pH numbers and buffer as needed. The low salinity will mean diluted chemistry and can easily affect pH stressing the fish. Also if you have a light on the tank, keep if off. Only use it for checking the progress of the parasite. Ambient room light is much less stressful as will be placing PVC pipes/elbow pieces for the angel to hide in. Be sure to get a food type more geared towards and angels diet ie.. sponge/veggie/meat mixes. Your LFS should have several good varieties in the frozen section. Fortify with vitamin additives high in [acronym="Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid"]HUFA[/acronym] no matter what you feed.

So far you've gone in the right direction at eliminating this problem, I hope you don't get dissuaded to less effective methods

Cheers
Steve

 

[zenn]

i'm using only a generic ich med with the hypo....nothing else. I'm using a hydrometer to measure salinity. The salinity is at 1.010 right now. The ph level has consistently been at 8.6 and alk is high.

I will leave the light off from now on.

He's had a coffee cup to hide in since he's been in qt.

I've been feeding him a marine flake and brine shrimp....trying to offer him food 2-3 times a day and he's been eating well.

But he continues to loose color it seems and the white spots seem to be phasing out. The one on his gill seems to get larger and more transparent though. I don't know if this means it''s dieing off or what. He's active though.

 

[zenn]

well, he was getting better. The meds and hypo were working but then my heater went wacko and it got too hot in there and he died last night. Really pisses me off. It's a new heater and i'm going to have words with the LFS that sold it to me.