Gave up battling ich in main w/ reef safe meds

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Snoopybdb

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Messages
72
Location
Central Florida
well i've given up battling ich in my main tank with reef safe meds. I finally broke down and bought a tank that i will set up as a qt tomorrow and move my fish and start treating them. Does anybody think that if i do a 50% change(15 gal.) on my main tank putting that water into the qt tank(20 gal) and adding 5 gal of fresh made saltwater to the tank it will be ok to move the fish with out cycling the qt tank? Is it ok not to put substrate or anything in the qt tank, my lfs said it was ok? Do i need to leave the main tank fallow for 4 or 6 weeks? Aslo i have these little "bugs" in my tank now that i've only noticed in the last 2 weeks that look kinda like human lice bugs. Are these pods? If not any ideas what they might be? TIA
 
I don't think it matters how cycled your QT tank is... once you start treatments you're going to be changing water every day. Moving them in the water they've been in is great but once treatment starts no water should go between your QT and your main. No substrate, no rock. Just PVC elbows and fish.

Little buggies sound like pods to me. Main should be fallow for at least 6w but you'll probably be treating for almost that long anyway.

What are you using to treat them with? I'm treating my Purple tang with hypo. It is going well now. The first week was the toughest though I continue to have to do water changes regularly (and I only have one very small PT in a 15g QT setup).

Good luck!
 
First: No reef safe med will work. You gotta use copper, which will kill your reef. Hence the QT tank.

Second You shouldn't have any problem doing a water change like you stated. I would however keep pleanty of salt water mixing in case your amonia and such start to raise.

You do need to leave your tank fallow to ensure that the ich dies.

As for the bugs, they sound like Pods.
 
Ximat said:
You gotta use copper

I have to disagree here. I'm using hyposalinity (salinity reduced down to 1.009) and it is working like a charm. You still can't do it in the main, but it isn't copper. I wanted something that would be easy on the fish and me.

As for copper I've seen QuarryShark recommend Cupramine if you're going to go copper but you also have to have the appropriately matched copper test kit to go that route. Be sure to post in the sick fish forum if you have any questions about how to run the treatment course of your choice. Doing it wrong would lead to disaster.
 
You can use 100% of the water from you main for the qt tank, your going to treat the qt for ich anyway.
If your using copper, the biological filter will be damaged in your qt anyway. Good water quality will be maintained with 20-25% daily water changes. This will help keep the inevitable ammonia and nitrite down.
How many and what size fish are you putting in the qt? What type of treatment do you plan? Its important not to overload the qt too much.
Do i need to leave the main tank fallow for 4 or 6 weeks?
I would say at least 6 weeks. I had an reinfestation after a 5 week fallow period. The longer the better IMO.
 
I have to disagree here. I'm using hyposalinity (salinity reduced down to 1.009) and it is working like a charm. You still can't do it in the main, but it isn't copper. I wanted something that would be easy on the fish and me.

As for copper I've seen QuarryShark recommend Cupramine if you're going to go copper but you also have to have the appropriately matched copper test kit to go that route.
Both treatment work well. I have used both with the same good result.
Be sure to post in the sick fish forum if you have any questions about how to run the treatment course of your choice. Doing it wrong would lead to disaster
I'm moving this to the sick fish forum, it would disappear too fast here. :wink:
 
i realized how i worded that after i posted. I stand corrected on my "You gotta use copper"

I should have said you have to use a method of QT.
 
i have 3 fish. a very small yellow tang, a clown fish and a firefish. i can't use 100% of the water for the qt tank out of my main cause it's only 30 gal and that would take more than 50% of it. I'm going to treat with a product called coppersafe made by mardel. it says that no water changes, ph or temperature adjustments are necessary if readings are in ideal range. also says 4 teaspoons per gal treat for one month does this mean that i only have to put it in once unless the copper level drops? i'm having a hard time finding a test kit for copper, i do know that i need to find one though.
 
also after reading the instructions in the med, it has a disease guide in it, my boyfriend thinks they have something called Chilodonella. but the med treats ich as well as this disease.
 
Snoopybdb said:
I'm going to treat with a product called coppersafe made by mardel. it says that no water changes, ph or temperature adjustments are necessary if readings are in ideal range. also says 4 teaspoons per gal treat for one month does this mean that i only have to put it in once unless the copper level drops?
First and foremost, the proper dosage is 1 teaspoon per 4 gallons of water volume. When looking for a test kit, you need to find one that properly measures chelated forms of copper. Without the proper kit, you will nevver know if the proper treatment level (1.5-2.0 ppm) is being maintained. If the dosage is too low it will be ineffective against the targeted parasite and if too high you risk killing the fish.

Water changes are most often inevitable and unavoidable. Most types of copper affect the bilogical filter even if marginally. Ammonia will need to be monitored as will nitrite and nitrate levels. If they become a concern, water changes will be necessary. Medicating the change water to the correct concentration as the QT would be easiest in maintaining the treatment level.

i'm having a hard time finding a test kit for copper, i do know that i need to find one though.
Chelated... what brands are available to you?

also after reading the instructions in the med, it has a disease guide in it, my boyfriend thinks they have something called Chilodonella. but the med treats ich as well as this disease
Chilodonella is a FW protozoan. It's symptoms are much like that of Brooklynella in SW fish. Please describe the condition/appearance of the fish?

Cheers
Steve
 
They have very small white spots on them. The amount of the white spots vary from day to day. One day they might have 5 the next day they seem covered. They are sometimes swimming "crazily" around the tank, somtimes the just sstay in one spot most of the day. the fire fish sometimes seems like it's gasping for air, haven't noticed the other 2 fish doing this. The yellow tang i've seem using his side fins(right behind his gills) to "itch" himself. Somtimes they will eat their flake food, sometimes they don't seem at all interested in it. They do however show great interest in brine shrimp.
 
Given the description, C. irritans seems the most likely. The Coppersafe should work fine as long as the treatment is done correctly and monitored daily. Be sure to use a QT as the others have mentioned.

Cheers
Steve
 
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