Vloitan Lion Fish with Ick!!!

[mwita06]

I have a 50 gallon tall reef tank. The tank has been running fine for 8 months, with one damsel. I also have star fish, turbo snails, hermit crabs, mushrooms, and 4 anemones.

2 weeks ago I added the Lion Fish, and within 2 days he had ick spots. I treated the tank with reef-safe Ick cure, after 3-4 days the spots were gone. I put the carbon filters back in, and within 2 days the spots were back, and his eyes were now becoming cloudy.

For the past few days I have been taking him out of the tank and dipping him in some Ick cure (blue stuff) for a few minutes each time. It seems to work a little, but the ick keeps coming back.

What do I do?

 

[scubasteve]

First off,
did you QT the lion before adding him for the first time??

If not, that probably could have prevented a whole lot of problems.

Second,
It would be best to take the fish out of the tank and treat him in a QT tank for the ich with a copper based medicine available at LFS.
While you can treat the whole tank, its risky, and unless other fish start to get the disease i wouldn't reccomend it.

 

[Biggen]

2 weeks ago I added the Lion Fish, and within 2 days he had ick spots. I treated the tank with reef-safe Ick cure, after 3-4 days the spots were gone. I put the carbon filters back in, and within 2 days the spots were back, and his eyes were now becoming cloudy.

Unfortunately, just because ich isn't visible any longer, doesn't mean it is gone. Ich has three primary stages in its lifecycle. We can only see one stage, the trophont stage. This is the stage that appears as white or salt spots on the body of the fish. This stage lasts only for a week and then it drops off the fish to continue its lifecycle. So, just because you cant see it doesn't really mean anything.

For the past few days I have been taking him out of the tank and dipping him in some Ick cure (blue stuff) for a few minutes each time. It seems to work a little, but the ick keeps coming back.

This is useless for curing ich. The problem is that ich is also alive and well in the tank, not just on the fish. Also, in the trophont stage (stage where white spot is present) ich is extremely durable. It burrows into the skin so that it simply can't be "washed away".

There are only two proven ways to treat ich: Hypo-salinity and copper. Neither of which can be performed in the presence of inverts. You will have to quarantine the fish and then treat the fish in the QT tank for a minimum of 4 weeks.

We have two great articles on both ich and QT. The ich article was written for FW ich, but since FW and SW are so alike, a lot of good information for you is in there. These two articles are here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=17
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

Here is another good site on SW ich:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

This site will go into more depth on the little bugger and give instructions for carrying out hypo treatment.

I want to second scubasteve's response is telling you that QT'ing a fish is the most important first step in bring livestock home. That way you can avoid all kinds of problems... Also, you need to keep an eye on the other fish in your system. If they come down with ich, they too will have to be treated.

 

[mwita06]

Thanks. No body told me to QT him. Once he is cured, and I put him back in the tank. What is to keep him from being re-infected?

 

[Terry B]

You are getting some pretty good advice so far. Here is a link to a 5 part series on ich that started in the November 2003 issue and ends in the March 2004 issue.
www.advancedaquarist.com
Terry B

 

[Biggen]

What is to keep him from being re-infected?

Good question. I should have included this in the above info. If ich has infested the Damsel as well, then it will also have to be quarantined and treated as well. Actually, if it were me, I would QT him anyway just to be sure. Once your tank is left "fishless" ich cannot survive. If you leave an ich infested tank fishless for a minimum of 4 weeks, ich will die off own its own. Ich cannot infect inverts, only fish. So without fish, there is no ich.

 

[mwita06]

Thanks

 

[rrdodge1283]

I had to QT my Blue Regal/Hippo tang for 2 weeks in copper solution so a tank, heater, powerhead, and PVC or clay pot for it to hide in. and copper test kit! and many many water changes, just monitor the Ammonia level also. the larger the tank the better. I could not control the Ammonia and had to return him back to the display so far no spots. Copper to be @.25ppm constantly.