toughguy1
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
It all started after I came back from a weekend vacation. Ich had taken a strong foothold while I was gone. I have a 55 with 2 large HOB's and a protein skimmer. The fish were a smaller V. Lion, a volintine Puffer, a damsel, and a tomato clown. In addition I have a spiny star fish, an atlantic anemonie, and a number of snails and crabs. It had been at least a week before my last water change. I think the problem was a faulty thermostat on my heater. I had noticed the temperature swinging, and had made a mental note to get a new heater.
Well, I went into emergency mode, reading and planning as soon as I saw the spots. I had read that scaleless fish like the lion and the puffer don't take well to copper, but could take a half a dose of quick cure. Before quarantine, I gave all the fish a fresh water dip, and it appeared to improve the very visual signs of the ich. Then I put them in the QT and started with a half dose of quick cure. I had planned to reduce the salinity over the next few days at the same time. Well, long story short, they all died within 2 days, and I had had these fish for over a year.
My question is what happens after ich? Please verify that my plan is OK and add advice where necessary. I plan to leave the tank fallow for 6 weeks at a higher temperature (82-83). Note that I still have all my inverts, and I undertand that they cannot be hosts or get the disease. I just did another water change, and plan to add fish at the end of 6 weeks. Also, I have noticed that the green algae is growing since the incident happened 2 weeks ago. I am continuing to feed my starfish and crabs a small amount so the bacteria won't die. What are my concerns about staying cycled, getting totally rid of ich, my inverts, the temperature, the algae? Please advise.
Well, I went into emergency mode, reading and planning as soon as I saw the spots. I had read that scaleless fish like the lion and the puffer don't take well to copper, but could take a half a dose of quick cure. Before quarantine, I gave all the fish a fresh water dip, and it appeared to improve the very visual signs of the ich. Then I put them in the QT and started with a half dose of quick cure. I had planned to reduce the salinity over the next few days at the same time. Well, long story short, they all died within 2 days, and I had had these fish for over a year.
My question is what happens after ich? Please verify that my plan is OK and add advice where necessary. I plan to leave the tank fallow for 6 weeks at a higher temperature (82-83). Note that I still have all my inverts, and I undertand that they cannot be hosts or get the disease. I just did another water change, and plan to add fish at the end of 6 weeks. Also, I have noticed that the green algae is growing since the incident happened 2 weeks ago. I am continuing to feed my starfish and crabs a small amount so the bacteria won't die. What are my concerns about staying cycled, getting totally rid of ich, my inverts, the temperature, the algae? Please advise.