Curse of the clowns

[c0mf0rt]

I've killed a number of percs over the last few months and decided on a nice sized tomato about two weeks ago..... he was doing great... but....... last week one ich spot..... this week 4 ich spots.... I don't have a QT and I know I'm going to hear about that but... I gave him a quick FW dip tonight hoping it will take care of it.... I hate to kill a clown just to help the rest of my fish.... none of the other fish show signs.... I had this problem once before with a flame angel and got rid of it before it could infect the others...... we'll see................ I hate this..... I know I should have a QT... but it's always like......... well........ next time........

[quarryshark]

Killing the clown will not help (please don't). If the fish has been there for 2 weeks, then its in your system sorry to say.
I'm not one to lecture, made the same mistake myself a while back but....a qt tank is the answer. :|

[c0mf0rt]

Gotcha.... I just don't get it.... he's probably one of the most aggressive fish in the tank... yet he's the only one with ich..... I wouldn't think he's "nervous"......

[c0mf0rt]

The only reason I'm thinking of getting rid of the clown is because the longer it stays in there the more and more ich my healthy fish will have to deal with...... maybe I can see if the LFS would take it back for free........

[MACATUA]

If you don't set up a qt, I would suggest giving him some garlic in his diet. If the ick is not progressing fast, the garlic could help his immune system enough to kick the ick by himself.

[JamesR]

I do not use a QT (yet) and here is what i have done. when adding my auriga, my coral beauty and the auriga both began showing a few white spots. I added a garlic product to their food and bought some cleaner shrimp. Within 1 hour of adding the shrimp, the fish were lined up to get cleaned. The shrimp did their job and the spots were gone in a day. I know QT is the best, but if you can't and the fish are healthy and eating, you might try the garlic and cleaners.

Good luck,
Jim

[c0mf0rt]

I'll pick up some garlic today.... I was thinking of making my own food.... so maybe I'll just add it into the cocktail....... I have two cleaners.... we'll see.... he doesn't ever seem to have the spots for very long... I think he's either scratching them off or getting the cleaners to hook him up.... fingers crossed....... he's looking good this morning after the fresh dip... we'll see......

[revhtree]

Unfortuanatly your in a cycle that will only be broken by full tank and stock treatment of ich. Although the other fish do not show signs, it is very present in your tank. Any futher additions, and eventually, probably your other live stock will get ich. Get out to Wally world and pick up as big a tank as you can afford, heater, filter, and pvc fittings and get ALL your fish in qt. Treat them with hypo or cupramine, a copper based medicine. Trust me it works! With all the money you have spent on deceased clowns, you could have a qt. Please do yourself a favor, and do this. You will battle this from here on, until it makes you give up the hobby. Godd Luck my friend.

[c0mf0rt]

Thanks.

[c0mf0rt]

If I setup a new tank it's going to have to cycle.... any advice on cycling the tank quickly.... otherwise the fish might all die by the time I get them in there???????

[jaiden]

fully cured live rock will be mostly pre-cycled. anything else and you'll have to wait. be sure you DO wait though.

you can cycle with food or something instead of a poor damsel.

[revhtree]

Don't worry about the cycle of the qt. Just take out as much water as you can, and use new mixed sw for the rest. You are not going to have much of a biological filtration in your qt anyway when treating for a desiese or parasite. When you are introducing new fish to your tank and you qt it is good to have a cycled qt. But using meds like cupramine will hinder the growth of beneficial bacteria. You will have to do like us all, water changes very often, and constant monitoring of water parimeters. There is no easy way around it. We all have done it, are doing it, and will do it. If you have a seeded sponge in the main, it can help.

After you are done treating the fish with the med, then you can work towards your qt being cycled. The cupramine treatmet last about 14 days, then the fish will need to remain in the qt for at least 4 more weeks if there are no signs of the parasite.

It is work, but it is worth it, and you can do it!

PS. LR would be ok if you were not going to treat for ich, but the only thing
you need in your qt is pvc fittings for the fish to hide, and eventually some bacteria will build on them.