Fighting ICH in a reef tank

[rbatta]

My Naso Tang is showing signs of Ich. There are three other fish, Koran Angel, Yellow Tang and Tomato Clown, not showing any signs. I have a several corals and two (use to one) large anenomes.

Looking for advice on the best way to treat this problem. The Naso has many small white spots on his body. He also zooms around the tank, scratting himself.

90 gal tank, 20 gallon sump
PH 8.2, NO3 2.5, NO2 .1

Thanks in advance.

Rob

[Isaac]

Hello, I had a small case of ich on my stupid blue tang spread to a couple other fish raised the temp a little and just waited it out seemed to be the best cure.

[rbatta]

Thanks Isaac. I was worried about how the higher temps would effect the amenome? I've read 86 degrees F is the magic number - but I was concerned. The the other invertebrates handle the temp?

[Isaac]

Well I can't personally speak for the Amenome, but everything did just fine in my tank corals and all.

[melosu58]

OK, Welcome to AA both of you. Read these

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

ATJ's Marine Aquarium Site - Reference - Hyposalinity Treatment

BTW I`m moving this to the SW sick fish forum.

[Zer0]

Anemones are way more sensitive than coral, and a serious water temp change such as the ones your planning may stress the nem way more than normal. And nems shouldn't be stressed at all. I'm no expert on ich, but what your planning to do may not be the greatest plan of action. I would wait until more experienced people could give better advice. JMO.

*EDIT: There you go, melosu posted some great links. I suggest reading those before starting any treatments.

[melosu58]

BTW raising the temp in saltwater is ineffective. All it does is raise the count of the parasite. Read and follow those links.

[Isaac]

Yeah I was just going off of what I was instructed to do by a guy at my local fish store. For me it worked out just fine.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Isaac... please read the links. Raising temps in saltwater tanks does NOT cure ich. It did not work out "just fine" for you. If you truly had ich, you still have it.

[Aquarium1]

Very informative links. Although, there doesn't seem to be many "reef-safe" forms of treatment. That's one of the reasons why quarantining, especially with saltwater, is really important.

[Mitchell0605]

Aye. To quote; 'A gram of prevention is worth a kilo of cure'.

(Maybe I tweaked it a little. )

[ryshark]

How big is the Naso? He is probably stressed out being in a 90-gallon which makes the ich worse. I really wanted a Naso Tang but then decided my 180-gallon was too small. They get huge fast.

[cmor1701d]

IMO the only way to treat Ich is in a QT tank using Hyposalinty. Either that or use copper in a QT tank and make sure everthing nn that tank is only used in that tank.

Read the the linked articles but follow Hyposalinity

[Aquarium1]

although, if the fish was in the display, then wouldn't the whole dt be infected with ich? Like, can it remain on surfaces that aren't alive or on corals and inverts?

[cmor1701d]

Yes, the DT tank is infested with the parasite. The parasite needs a host (fish) to complete its lifecycle. Remove all fish from the DT for 6-8 weeks and the lifecyle is broken. During that time you maintain/treat the fish in a QT tank using hyposalnity (SG of 1.009) at which the parasite cannot survive. So you kill it in the DT because there are no fish, yet the corals and inverts are maintained at normal conditions, and at the same time you kill it on the fish by breaking it's lifecycle using reduced salinity. It's a win/win (though it takes a bit of work).

[Aquarium1]

Ok, I understand now, thanks

[rbatta]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - the links are VERY informative. The Naso is still pretty small, but stupid me trusted the LFS guy, he said a 90 was the minimum size.

Looks like I'll be setting up a Q-Tank in the near future.

Thanks again.

Rob

[ryshark]

Originally Posted by rbatta

Thanks everyone for the feedback - the links are VERY informative. The Naso is still pretty small, but stupid me trusted the LFS guy, he said a 90 was the minimum size.

Looks like I'll be setting up a Q-Tank in the near future.

Thanks again.

Rob

Yes, a lot of the LFS owners will say anything to sell a fish. I have seen them sell Hippo Tangs to people with 30-gallon tanks...makes me cringe. A good place to look to get an idea of minimum tank sizes is from here http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...357&pcatid=357 and even their recommendations seem a little small sometimes.

[brian242pa]

Hey I had ich too i think 86 degrees is way over doing it 82 is my opinion because anything about 78 degrees will sart to kill ich and 86 is puting way more stess that isn't needed.

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by brian242pa

Hey I had ich too i think 86 degrees is way over doing it 82 is my opinion because anything about 78 degrees will sart to kill ich and 86 is puting way more stess that isn't needed.

Dont want to be argumentitive but temps has nothing to do with ich in a SW enviornment. I dont care where the temp. I`ve heard that in FW it can help but not in Sw. Read the links above. That`s why I post links to verify what`s being said.