Ick outbreak

[epaz]

Before I begin I have scoured the forums and read as many threads on this as possible. Back to the problem I have had an outbreak of ick taking my powder brown, yellow and hippo tangs. I need to setup an emergency qt tank to treat the rest of my fish. I have a 20g with hob filter and a heater. Question is can I use some of the dt water and a few pieces of LR for it? I don't believe I have time for it to cycle at the rate my fish are dropping. Please help!

 

[carey]

The cycle isnt in the water unfortunately. It is in the hard surfaces in the tank. BUT I would not add any of the rock as you will make it unuseable in the future.
Just provide a hiding place for the fish in QT.
How many fish are you wanting to move over?

 

[epaz]

Carey I'm not worried about the rock I have plenty, I would like the fish to be as least stressed as possible. The fish are 2 small oc clowns, a goby (can't remember the name) a dottyback and a damsel

 

[carey]

Size wise the 20g should be good. I'm pretty sure adding any live rock and then treating the tank will kill the beneficial bacteria as well making it kinda useless. I def wouldnt move the water over though, you might just be bringing more ich into the qt. Granted, it will die during treatment anyways, but if your fish are that infected that extra ich may make a difference.
If it were me i would setup that qt and move the fish asap if they are showing any signs of the disease and do what you can. Those fish are kinda small so the water changes might not be too too bad to keep the ammonia under control while treating.
Hope things work out for you and you can save the fish you have left.

 

[epaz]

Thanks Carey I do have some plastic logs rocks and such in a cupboard from a FW tank I tore down could I use those in there? On a brighter note my hippo tang appeared out of nowhere I thought he was dead but he's covered in ich. Also at what level do I want the copper in the tank? Or just follow the directions on the bottle?

 

[melosu58]

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

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

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

 

[epaz]

Thank you melosu58 I have seen that post on other threads and read them all. Kicking myself in the you know what right now for not taking steps to prevent this

 

[carey]

If you are going with copper you need a copper test and some cupramine. Follow the directions exactly and keep the level steady and it will work.

 

[epaz]

Carey all I have is coppersafe and no lfs to get cupramine and like stated above I don't think I have time to order stuff in this whole thing has really caught me offguard

 

[carey]

If you are dosing with a copper medication you will without a doubt need a test for copper, no getting around that unfortunately.
You can try hyposalinity though, just have to monitor the salinity closely. You can drop it a few points each day and the ich should drop right off the fish.

 

[epaz]

Yes that's what doug (mr_x) recommend he said it's less stressful on the fish unfortunately yet again I'm not prepared all I have is a hydrometer and was told I need a refractometer. I think I can get a test kit for copper test around town somewhere hopefully.

 

[epaz]

Also what about the plastic decor would that be ok?

 

[Ingy]

Small pieces of PVC pipe and a couple elbow pieces is all you need. But yes, plastic is ok.

As for checking salinity, if you have a beer making store nearby, you can get dairy hydrometers cheap. They're actually better than Refractometers, but don't confuse a dairy hydrometer with a cheap plastic piece of junk hydrometer. Despite the same concept, they're completely different. Then you can easily check salinity range.

 

[carey]

Price of a refractometer shouldnt be a make it or break it thing, they are about $25 on ebay and amazon. Mine has worked perfectly for years and it was only I think $21