ICK OUTBREAK!!! HELP PLZ :(

[TheRealFF]

I've noticed today that both of my Clown fishes have like 10+ white spots on each of them. I am 100% sure it's ick. I have a cleaner shrimp so he could probly cure my clowns but how do i get my tank rid of ick?! What caused my tank to have ick? In case the shrimp doesnt cure my clowns, what should i do to save them? Any medicine?

Help me plz. I don't want my cute lil clowns to die

Thanks a whole alot in advance

 

[GinaD]

It's always best to have a QT tank set up so you can put the sick fish in there and add copper or other ick treatments to that tank, because the treatments I know of are toxic to inverts, and from what I've experienced, you don't want to medicate your main tank.

What else, besides the clowns and cleaner shrimp do you have in your tank? How big is it?

I haven't had fish with ick since my 55-gal many years ago, so I don't know if there are any safe treatments since - I'm only going by past experience.


Good luck.

 

[SoylentGrundy]

I agree with GinaD, use a QT to treat your fish. The parasites will die off in your main tank w/o any fish hosts present after 2-4 weeks. If you don't have a QT setup yet, I'd advise getting one. For what this advice is worth, I'd set the QT up with no live rock, little substrate, and no carbon. Get some medications from a LFS and do frequent water changes to keep the water quality up. There are a few schools of thought on how to medicate, so I'd check around and find the setup that will work best for you. The good news is once you remove fish hosts from your main tank, that part of the problem will take care of itself over time; getting the fish happy again is the tricky part. HTH

 

[TheRealFF]

So to set up a QT, im gonna have to go to the cycle and all that? That's gonna be too long for my fish to hold on

 

[i have crabs]

cleaner shrimp also will not help cure ich better get a qt tank tommorow and start the copper,hypo takes too long if the ich is already bad but copper will get to proper levels in about 3 days.

 

[SoylentGrundy]

There's not enough time for a proper cycle of a QT in your case, but that's where daily water tests and partial water changes are going to come in handy.

 

[melosu58]

Daily PWC will suffice to get them Quantined now in your QT. Your main tank will have to be fishless for 6-8 weeks. 2-4 is not long enough. Most remedies do not work on ick. The only two that I know of that have worked in past for others is hypo and copper treatments. Check this site for how to.

 

[lando]

All god info. Do NOT treat the main tank. Remove all fish to QT and treat them there. Let your main go fallow for at least 6-8 weeks. This is the life-cycle of the parasite. 2-4 weeks is just not enough.

 

[robertfah]

Take it from someone who is treaing Ich as we speak......I'm into week 5 of QT land for my tangs (4 of them in a 20g) and they are doing well. As many posts suggested, no LR, or anything pourus (sp?) in the tank. I feed them every 2-3 days and I change 5-7 gallons of water every other day. I also chucked my bio wheel and added a sponge that was in my main tank's sump for a couple of weeks. It seems to help with the Ammonia levels.

It seems like a lot at first, but my WC's take about 10 minutes and I've left my main tank fallow during this whole time. I do have inverts in there with 2 cleaner shrimp, so I'm hoping in 3 more weeks that I'll be able to add my fish back to the main tank.

I've treated the QT with copper for the first month and now I'm going to try Hypo for the next 3 weeks. Definately don't want to do both, as the PH will drop too low too quick. The Ich has removed itself from my tangs and they are very alive and looking well now.

I did a couple of FW dips in between my changes (3 dips total, 3 minutes each fish) and it has seemed to help, but take that with a grain of salt. Some say it works and others don't.

Good luck with the Ich and keep us posted as to how things are going with it.

 

[lando]

Very good info Robert, I am glad to hear it is working. I must caution against FW dips. This was the treatment of choice a number of years ago, however, it is frowned upon now-a-days. The stress of netting and dramatic change in water parameters likely only serves to stress an already immuno-supressed fish even more. Remeber that ick is a hard bodied parasite and three minutes in FW will really have no effect on it. Keep fighting the good fight and get those tangs back home.

 

[robertfah]

Lando,
Yeah I've heard that (about FW dips not being effective) and I stopped doing them once I caught wind of it. My fish were really sick at that point, so I figured if the FW dip didn't kill them, then nothing would =).

In my 8 years in htis hobby, I have been lucky enough to only encounter this disease once, and this was it. It's taken awhile to get used to QTing fish and all, but overall it's a great practice that I never did, but will from now on.

 

[GinaD]

I have also heard that from many experts about FW dips. No proven benefits, and they really stress out the already stressed fish.

 

[TheRealFF]

This is weird. Im planning to set up an 20G QT but this morning, the dots on my clowns seem to reduced. I don't know if this is normal. Im still planning to set up my QT but i don't know for sure if my fishes have Ich any more. A week ago, one of my clown had a few dots and the next morning they disappeared.

Im gonna set up a 20G QT. What should i have it there? How much LS? Should i take my Corallife light, 2 MaxiJet 600 powerheads, protein skimmer from my main to the QT? (I have a few coral frags in my main)

Thanks for the golden advices

 

[melosu58]

Just remember that when you see the parasite on the fish and the next day it is gone that it falls off the fish to the bottom and over 200 tomites are released back into the water from one parasite. So just because it is gone does not mean you are safe.

 

[robertfah]

What should i have it there? How much LS?

Pretty much keep nothing in the tank except a piece or two of PVC for the fish to hide. Don't put ANY LS in there b/c if you treat with copper or any other medication, it will kill the LS.

Simply fill up your QT the first time with water from your main tank. Then, all other WC's should be made with fresh SW. The reason for filling it up the first time with water from the main tank is so that your fish will feel a little more at ease going into a small tank versus brand new water, new tank, new surroundings, etc. and stressing out the fish.

I would start off by doing a 30% WC every other day until the main water is gone from the tank (in a 20g, usually about 2 or 3 times) then you can back it down to the normal 15-20% every other day. Check those levels daily and keep low lighting (about 1 hour a day, if that), and feed only on the days that you're changing the water. You want to keep your fish as stress free as possible and keeping the light off is a good way. Feed in the AM or afternoon and change water at night. That way you can remove all uneaten food frin the tank and your levels won't go up.

I know it stinks, but keep your tank fallow for 6-8 weeks. The last thing you want to do is to put your fish back in the water and have them reinfected b/c you didn't wait long enough.

Keep us posted.

 

[cmor1701d]

Robert is giving you some good advice. I would check for ammonia 2x/day for the first week or so and be prepared for 2x/day PWC (10%-20% each time). I used a HOB filter system with biowheel for my QT tank and used Hyposalinity only - no meds. It takes time and persistence but it works.

You may want to read this article on Hyposalinity.

 

[TheRealFF]

20G QT is on the way. The LFS owner suggested me a copper-free Ick cure for 15 days. The name is Kick-Ich from Ruby Reef. He said he has used it before and it works. Anyone has any saying on this? It says that it's perfectly safe for any inverts. I bought it just for the heck of it and tried it on my main tank. No effects on my inverts. Not that much of differences on my fishes either, just abit less dots.

 

[cmor1701d]

A few less dots is normal. It just means they have dropped to the bottom of the tank to multiply .

From an ad for that product. . .

Reef Safe Kick-Ich is a water treatment for the control of ich (a.k.a. "whitespot disease") in marine and freshwater aquaria. It has been scientifically formulated to eliminate the free swimming, infectious stage of the ich life cycle while being safe for all freshwater and marine aquaria

The italics are mine! This stuff, even it works, will not rid your tank of Ich. The free swimming stage is only a few (3-7) days in the parasites life cycle. You would need to treat your main tank for a minimum of 30 days after seeing the last spot on a fish and that's only if that chemical is 100% effective in killing every single parasite.

Hyposalinity works by causing the tomont stage to rupture thereby killing the parasite. Did you read the article on Hyposalinity? Here's the lead-in article on the life cycle of marine ich.

 

[TheRealFF]

My dad and I decided to get a new 30G tank as our new main tank. We set it up with 1 Maxijet 600 powerhead, 45-50 pounds of LR, 40 pounds of LS, and a dead shrimp. We're planning to use the old 20G as our hospital tank as soon as the new tank is properly cycled. When my 30G is done cycling, I THINK i'll move all the invert into it then treat the fishes in my 20G. Good idea? Let me know ur opinion on my plan and my set up for the 30G please.

Thank you guys. You all have been amazing.

 

[robertfah]

The name is Kick-Ich from Ruby Reef. He said he has used it before and it works. Anyone has any saying on this?

Waste of Money! I bought it for the same reason and it messed up my tank. You'll have to shut off your Protien Skimmer to be able to use it and after the cycle is complete, your skimmer will be working OT for weeks trying to clear up all the chemicals in the tank.

I used it for the 15 days recommended cycle and saw NO results. Hyposalinity is prob. the best and safest way to go.