Please help!!! Newbie with sick fish

[misterteejay]

Ok, I am new to the saltwater hobby, but have been reading on this site for a while and appreciate all the people in here. Here is my dilema....

I have a 120g that recently 2weeks ago finished cycling. I have friends who have tanks and sware by this guy at our lfs. He sold me a flame, a scopas, coral beauty and a yellow tank all with in about 3 days apart. Recently I lost my CB to ick and and eye problem. I was told to run Kick-Ick and the others should be fine. It has been 4 days now and the flame is now covered in ick and my scopas has it along with a cloudy eye. All my water tests check out and I have boosted the temp.

Am I dead in the water because I dont have a QT? What could have caused this? The guy at the LFS says it happens and that the kick ick will take care of it, but I do not feel comfotable with that answer. Thanks.

 

[steve-s]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com

Kick ick and the like (reef safe meds) are hit and miss at best. They simpley lack the potency to properly eliminate the parasite. Any med that would work properly would also kill all the inverts and fauna within your display tank. C. irritans as well as many other ailments are quite common in newly transported/aquired fish. The only way to be sure you do not introduce it to your main display is through the proper use of a <<quarantine tank>>. All new fish should be QT'd for at least 4 weeks first.

I realize you do not have one but I would definately suggest you get one as soon as possible. The fish you have now are quite large so a 20 gal long would be the minimum. When treating C. irritans <<hyposalinity>> is the easiest on the fish but unless you have a refractometer, I would opt for <<Cupramine>> but both must be done in a QT, not the display tank.

As far as this LFS, 4 fish in a span of less than 2 weeks suggest he's more of a twit than a saint. I'd be swearing at him, not about him. When introducing new fish, only one at a time and spaced about a month apart between additions with the exception of mated pairs or schooling species. This allows each fish time to improve it's health (isolated) before being introduced to the "community" and the biofilter in the main tank to catch up to each new addition.

Cheers
Steve

 

[misterteejay]

I appreciate it. I was a little weary of that many fish that soon, but the LFS said it would be fine. I was at a different LFS this morning and got a diiferent opinion than what he recmmended. This person told me to do a 25% change, run carbon then put in Attack Ick instead of Kick Ick and to run melafix for the cloudy eye. If all goes well, how long would you suggest before I can add another fish?

 

[steve-s]

This person told me to do a 25% change, run carbon then put in Attack Ick instead of Kick Ick and to run melafix for the cloudy eye.

Never heard of Attack ick, who is the manufacturer? As I said, most reef safe meds are useless.

If all goes well, how long would you suggest before I can add another fish?

Before you can begin to consider your next fish, you need to deal with the problem at hand. Once the current stock has been cured of the C. irritans, I would wait a few weeks at least before you aquire anything new. If not treated properly, C. irritans will often come back fairly quickly and a new addition is definately a strong catylist.


Be sure the next fish goes through proper quarantine though...

Cheers
Steve

 

[austinsdad]

I know it's easier said than done. A new tank needs new fish, but it's hard to take the time needed to do it right when that excitement kicks in. As you have this problem, you're still focused on when you can get another fish. I've been there too, but after wiping out 9 fish inside of 2 weeks, I understood clearly about how adding fish too fast and not allowing the tank's biofilters and nitrate and ammonia consuming organisms to keep pace.

You're gonna have to try to slow down on the additions. Those 4 fish you put in w/in less than 2 weeks surely added to your problem. A couple hundred bucks for an inexpensive 20g QT tank with flourescent lights and other hardware can save you a lot of grief and money down the road. Just think (and not to be a doomsday profit), if those fish you have currently go to fish heaven , you should know that a QT tank could've been purchased with what you paid for them.

I'd recommend you help yourself save moeny and grief in the longrun and;

1) get the QT setup
2) take Steve's advice and treat the fish you have first
3) space out the new additions as Steve also recommended.

Good luck, and welcome to AA!

 

[melosu58]

I used kick-ick once and had no good results at all with it. I came to the conclusion it was a waste of money. follow steve`s advice. It sounds pretty good to me

 

[misterteejay]

Thought I would give everyone an update:

I started with 4 fish and am now down to one, I lost the CB, FLAME, Yellow tang. Scopas is not looking to well. I have done everything that was recommended without having a QT.

Assuming the scopas passes, what can I do to clean up the tank and make sure it will be safe for the next fish? Also, I am forming this light brown stiff on the top layer of the sand and on the glass, I didnt notice this until the fish started getting sick. What could it be and is this what affected the fish? Thank you all.

 

[quarryshark]

Still would get that qt. Your going to need it when you start over again.
First thing I would do is fire that LFS. I did not see one bit of good advise reading through this thread that he gave you.
Second, if the Scopas is still alive, why not get a qt set up real fast and try and save him? I would suggest a cupramine treatment (in qt) because this sounds a lot like velvet.
Other than that leave the main tank fishless for 8 weeks, this will allow the parasite (whichever one it is) to go through its lifecycle and die off. Then you could start over again, slowly this time. Qt all new fish for 4 weeks from now on and you could be golden.
As for the brown stuff, that is another story. Sounds like diatoms to me, which is normal for a young tank.
Start another thread in the general forum and we can tackle that problem, right now it isn't a big deal. I would worry more about getting that qt tank set up real fast and saving that Tang.