Need Help!!!

[Kevin Polap]

I have a sick panther grouper and I was just wondering if getting a cleaner shrimp is possible with groupers? I have a panther grouper, miniatus grouper, golden stripe grouper(sixline soapfish) and a zebra moray. I have noticed the panther hanging around one of my hermit crabs for him to clean him but the crab isn't having any of it he has ich btw, any input will be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[thominil]

You need to do hypo salinity to get rid of the ich, a cleaner will rarely pick off parasites in captivity from what I have seen. Research hypo salinity.

 

[Kevin Polap]

Thank you Thom, I will look that up, never even heard of that before, thanks for the tip

 

[Henry405]

I think cleaner shrimps dont clean off ich. saw it on another post somewhere, but not too sure. I would quarantine your fish if it has ich though...

 

[Kevin Polap]

Thanks for the input, unfortunately I do not have a quarantine set up nor do I have the money to do so at the moment any othersuggestions? I more just want a cleaner shrimp to help prevent it from happening again but I'm not too sure if they are compatible with all of my fish. Does anyone know? Thanks

 

[austinsdad]

Moved the post to Sick fish forum.

The cleaner will not cure ick. And I do believe the groupers and an eel will make a snack of a shrimp.

 

[Jarrett]

i agree with austins dad about they might make a snack out of him but i disagree about curing ick i had a cleaner shrimp with a niger trigger who was really sick with ich and this fungus on his mouth i put the shrimp in not even a week later the trigger was back to perfect condition never flashed a rock again i might be one of the few that has gotten lucky with it but saying it doesnt work is wrong. but for you i would think theyd eat him

 

[Kevin Polap]

Yeah I thought they'd might :/ any other suggestions on how I can cure him, I don't have a quarantine and I am using an organic ich medicine but if there are any better ways please let me know, unfortunately I am limited to what I can do as I have hermit crabs and an anemone and LR.

 

[austinsdad]

Didja consider and research hyposalinity?

 

[Kevin Polap]

I did but I don't have a quarantine, if i did hyposalinity than all my rock, crabs, anemone would die

 

[austinsdad]

No QT tank for meds. No hyposalinity option. Guess you'll need to spend the $20 or so bucks on a cleaner shrimp and see what happens. Best of luck to you.

In the meantime, I'd suggest considering purchasing a QT/hospitol tank for any future problems.

 

[Kevin Polap]

Okay, thanks for the help, I def will get a QT ser up soon, I'll give the shrimp a try and see what happens, thanks again

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Perhaps you're missing the point of austinsdad's post, or maybe I'm giving him more credit than he deserves, but...

You say you don't have the money to set up a QT. But yet you have the money to buy a cleaner shrimp or "reef-safe" medication.

A hospital tank doesn't have to be expensive. It can be a Rubbermaid tub, a heater, and something to serve as a biological filter. Granted, that probably adds up to more than the $20 for a cleaner shrimp, but it shouldn't be more than $50. And doing hypo really doesn't cost much of anything - you're just treating the fish with very low salinity saltwater... the same saltwater you already have.

Seems like there are a lot of recent posts from folks that don't have the time/money to do what needs to be done to truly cure their fish. You might want to glance over some of those threads and see how things have worked out for them, if they've updated them at all. I realize that if the money isn't there, the money isn't there. But throwing money away on things are just plain don't work isn't helping you out in the long run. You'd be better off just saving the money and continue hoping it gets better.

 

[Kevin Polap]

I didn't ask for criticism, I asked for help, your right I DONT have money to start a QT at the present time but I was asking for advice on what I should do in the meantime, I've had my tank running for 3+ years and I've only had one thing go wrong up until now, so please if you don't have anything to say that helps me don't say it.

 

[Maya]

Kevin, I don't think he was being overly critical. There has been some good advice given to you. The best option for your fish is to set up a QT tank of some kind and use the methods they've suggested. There are lots of "meds" out there. Generally they don't work. The ones that do work will
Kill your rock and coral. Period. A cleaner shrimp will cost you 25 or 30 bucks and it's not going to cure your tank of ich. I think Kurt was suggesting that since money is apparently an issue, don't waste it by trying easier sounding methods that will, in the end, be expensive and still cost you fish. There are lots of posts on this forum (especially lately) of people
Looking for the magic fix. They don't want to set up QT tanks for whatever reason. There isn't one. Their fish are dead. Kurt gave you some very reasonable (relatively inexpensive and non judgmental) options.

 

[Kevin Polap]

Okay, yeah you guys are right, I'm sorry, I over reacted, I do plan on setting up a QT as soon as pay day rolls around, I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do in the meantime to help him out? I heard chopped garlicis supposed to be beneficial for fish, again sorry i over reacted kurt.

 

[Kevin Polap]

What could I use as a biological filter in the QT when I set it up?

 

[Maya]

Just a cheap filter and a sponge. We keep a sponge in the sump with our protein skimmer to be able to put it in our QT tank filter at a moments notice. If you have a brand new sponge it won't have the bacteria needed and your tank may have problems with ammonia and nitrates. The biological refers to the fact that it is using live bacteria to filter. The sponges cost a couple dollars and the filters are cheap. You should check craigslist as well. A 10 or 20 gallon tank with a filter can be found dirt cheap sometimes.

 

[Kevin Polap]

Sounds good, I already have a little 10 gallon running with damsels and clownfish in it, I was thinking to give those to my gf anyway so that would be a perfect QT

 

[Maya]

Also you asked about garlic. From what I hear from "the experts" it can't hurt. It boosts appetite and may help the immune system? Our love it. We just press garlic and add the juice to their food to avoid adding chemicals from jars, but then we also make our own fish food. (hubby is a little overprotective of his fish) lol