ick

[brat213]

Hi all!
This is a great site!!
I have a 55gal SW tank, containing southdown sand, 45-50 lbs. LR, sand sifting star, several crabs, many snails, 1 horse shoe crab(I think he stays buried), some polyps, a leather(toadstool) coral, some blue mushrooms, 3 feather dusters, 3 damsels, 2 clowns, purple? fish, 1 coral beauty, 2 camel back shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 coral banded, 1 cleaner shrimp, and a Condy anemone. I'll try to post pictures soon.
I have a few questions, I've been searching thru the forum but not really finding my answers,, or getting lost on another subject, since there is so much great stuff here.
1. I've been told that the Condy anemone are the easiest to keep, then I hear that is is about impossible to keep anemones, and they can crash a tank fast. I think they are so neat, I really want to keep one safely!! I fed mine krill today and it was so neat to watch it and to watch it reach for things. I would love to hear opinions on anemones, and do I need to watch for anything particular with a condy? I'd hate for it to eat any of my other critters.

2. I've been fighting ick for a couple weeks now. Just the clowns and the coral beauty have it. I've been using kick-ick, but not thru the whole treatment yet. I also went and bought a cleaner shrimp, he has been very busy, and I think has really helped the CB. It is sure neat to watch the CB and the shrimp, she would let the CS clean out her mouth and pick at her everywhere, looked like she enjoyed it, maybe like a massage for people,,lol. I also tried feeding the fish garlic soaked food, they didn't like it! The garlic won't hurt anything else in the tank will it? even though i think I'm going to give up on it the fish just spit it back out. BUt they do eat Tetra anti-parasite medicated flake food. I also lowered my SG the other day but only from 1.022 to1.021. I'm afraid to mess with it too much, I don't want to kill anything. I'm wondering what has worked for some of you? Anyone have success stories with kick - ick?

Oh btw. all test are fine! will do one again in the a.m. I keep a ammonia alert tab from SEachem in the tank(cool conveinent item) and I use seachem test kits. except for calcium I have a hagen test.
Thanks for having such a great site where we can try to learn from experienced people! LFS know a lot less than I do, at least about fw, I'm still rather new to SW (about 6 months).
Thanks!

 

[fishfreek]

Check out the following three links

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=626&highlight=condy

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=627&highlight=condy

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=595&highlight=condy

I personally would never suggest keeping an anenome for many of the reasons outlined in the above threads. With that said now that you already have one lets put forth all our energies in keeping it alive. I have not kept them nor do i plan on keeping one but there is alot of good info in the above links on feeding and other requirments.

Have you ever had the cleaner shrimp crawl on your hand or arm. Its a very cool feeling. I would try the garlic food again. Use fresh garlic cloves and squeeze the garlic oil out onto the flakes and let it sit for 15 min or so. Or get "garlic juice" at your grocery store and pour a little on the flakes before you feed. They should dive into this stuff. No the garlic oil will do no harm to your tank other than maybe increase your skimmer output some. Make sure if you use fresh garlic cloves and you press them that you dont get garlic bits in the food as they wil decompose and could cause ammonia.

Given you have corals I would not change the SG. What temp are you running at? If your not running at 82-84 then I would bump the temp up to 84F over the course of two days or so.

When did this ich start? Did you introduce a new fish recenetly? Its just as important to find the cause of the ICH as it is to cure the ICH.

What occured just prior to the ICH starting.

 

[brat213]

I was told that if I raised the tempature above 80 the corals would suffer. I have it running at about 79-80. the ick started a couple weeks ago. Really not sure why, all was fine. The newest fish was a coral beauty which seemed fine at the store, then my clowns came down with ick and a few days later the CB had it too.
I tried to get some juice from a galic clove I Had in the frig. but didn't get really any juice maybe it was old and dry? I did use alittle of the juice from the jar of minced garlic (label says:garlic, water,posporic acid), I tried feedin it 3 times and they would get it then spit it back out. I'm determinned to bet tis ick though so I will try to use cloves again.
They are lookin better but ick is still present. I tink te cleaner srimp ad eally been workin for the cb, but the clowns dont go to it.
Thanks for the links, and your info. I love this club. THere is alot of info. here, I spend hours just surfin the forums.

 

[brat213]

Well, I lost my clowns to ick this morning. They both were eating good up until last night. I had been treating them with kick ick for about 2 weeks. The tank looks fine it didn't hurt anything but didn't help the clowns either. Now I just have a coral beauty that still has some ick spots, but she likes the cleaner shrimp and lets it pick them off alot but she still has some spots, not as bad as the clowns did.
I went out and bought Seacure copper treatment, but when I got home with it the clowns were dead. Now I'm trying to decide if I should put the CB through the stress of removing her to a bucket for a copper dip.
The LFS reccommends I come in tonight when they get there cleaner wrasse's in and get 1 of them, but I don't want to buy something I know can't live in a home aquarium. My CB still acts healthy other than the tiny white spots I can see, so I'm trying to decide what will be best for her. She won't eat garlic food tried it several times, but I have been feeding her tetra medicated food, and she eats that, but I've been feeding it for about 3 weeks. Should I risk the copper dip, or get a wrasse and continue the kick ick?
I sure wish I could've saved the clowns, I feel terrible they died they were doing great till late last night, the 1 was even trying to make the new condy anemone its home.
Thanks for help and opinions!

 

[fishfreek]

I went out and bought Seacure copper treatment, but when I got home with it the clowns were dead. Now I'm trying to decide if I should put the CB through the stress of removing her to a bucket for a copper dip.
The LFS reccommends I come in tonight when they get there cleaner wrasse's in and get 1 of them, but I don't want to buy something I know can't live in a home aquarium. My CB still acts healthy other than the tiny white spots I can see, so I'm trying to decide what will be best for her. She won't eat garlic food tried it several times, but I have been feeding her tetra medicated food, and she eats that, but I've been feeding it for about 3 weeks. Should I risk the copper dip, or get a wrasse and continue the kick ick?
Thanks for help and opinions!

What ever yo do PLEASE do NOT add a single drop of that copper to the tank itself. Basicly anything that comes ionto contact with that copper needs to be ear marked for a fish only tank from that point forward.

I cant advise you on the copper dip vs cleaner wrass vs kick ich.

 

[brat213]

I know not to add copper to the tank,but thanks, I've read about how deadly it is to other creatures. I was told to do a dip on the fish, by putting it into a bucket and treating it with the copper as a dip, ( putting fish into the bucKet (with tank water)for 20 min. to several hours.
If I do do the dip, I would think I should atleast add a bubble stone to the bucket also. Right? Any opinions on doing the dip are appreciated, if the spots are bad tonight I may try the dip, as long as I can catch her, I've put a net in the tank for the day incase, So hopefully she won't be as hard to catch.
thanks

 

[fishfreek]

Of course the stress of netting the fish to do the dip might do more harm than the dip does good.

If your tanks are like mine its next to imposible to catch a fish.

There are some fish traps you could use.

 

[reefrunner69]

A copper dip, will be totally ineffective. Copper is only deadly to the parasite in the parasite's free swimming stage, since you will be adding the fish to the dip, rather than the free swimming parasites, it will do nothing. If you can not set up a quarantine tank, and medicate in there, consider one of the reef safe treatments, a hyposalinity treatment, F/W baths, or formalin baths. Check out this thread for more info on ick....
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=7