Feeling a little frustrated and defeated.

[tdowning]

So back in March, I had an ich outbreak. I moved 12 fish to QT and treated with copper for 30 days and left my main DT fallow for almost 80 days. During QT, I lost 7 out of 12 fish; Clown Tang, Male Lyretail Angel, Magnificent Fox Face, Frostbite Clown, Powder Brown Tang, Fuzzy Dwarf Lion, and a sargassum trigger.

I move the remaning fish, Blue hippo, yellow tang, desjardini sailfin tang, frostbite clown, female lyretail angel back into the DT after the 80 fallow days and let them go in there for about 2 weeks.

I then buy 4 new fish and put them into my QT. Red flame angel, pair of furry clown fish, bluejaw trigger and keep them in QT for 6 weeks. They eat well, they are active, they show no signs of any disease and I move them into my QT about 2 weeks ago.

In that time I've now lost my female lyretail, yellow tang...the blue jawed trigger's fins are really cloudy, the red flame angel is showing signs of ich, the blue hippos is showing ich again and I'm just at a loss.

It really makes me question my ability to be in this hobby as I feel I'm doing things right but for some reason I just can't get it right. I probably need to move all my fish back into QT again, treat with copper again, keep the DT fallow for 76 days again, but at this point I don't even know if that will fix things....if I could sum up these last 5 months in one word, it would be UGH.

 

[Newstead]

Oh no .... That is disheartening. Hope the rest make it.

 

[Reefer Deez]

I'm very sorry to hear that I know at times this hobby can be really frustrating and really hard but believe me I've had my trials and tribulations also and I know a lot of other people have. I don't have the experience and the problem you're having I'm sure somebody here will be able to help you but you need to know you're not alone I've lost a lot of money in coral over the last year and it all started when I got a new torch from one of my local fish stores that have bacteria on it. I'm sure if you hang in there you'll be able to get the help you need and the answers that you're looking for to cure this problem. I wish you the best of luck

 

[jpcrash1]

So back in March, I had an ich outbreak. I moved 12 fish to QT and treated with copper for 30 days and left my main DT fallow for almost 80 days. During QT, I lost 7 out of 12 fish; Clown Tang, Male Lyretail Angel, Magnificent Fox Face, Frostbite Clown, Powder Brown Tang, Fuzzy Dwarf Lion, and a sargassum trigger.

I move the remaning fish, Blue hippo, yellow tang, desjardini sailfin tang, frostbite clown, female lyretail angel back into the DT after the 80 fallow days and let them go in there for about 2 weeks.

I then buy 4 new fish and put them into my QT. Red flame angel, pair of furry clown fish, bluejaw trigger and keep them in QT for 6 weeks. They eat well, they are active, they show no signs of any disease and I move them into my QT about 2 weeks ago.

In that time I've now lost my female lyretail, yellow tang...the blue jawed trigger's fins are really cloudy, the red flame angel is showing signs of ich, the blue hippos is showing ich again and I'm just at a loss.

It really makes me question my ability to be in this hobby as I feel I'm doing things right but for some reason I just can't get it right. I probably need to move all my fish back into QT again, treat with copper again, keep the DT fallow for 76 days again, but at this point I don't even know if that will fix things....if I could sum up these last 5 months in one word, it would be UGH.

I am sorry. You have some ich prone fish that might be causing you problems. Blue hippos are just ich magnets and great carriers of ich.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Sorry to hear that. While you have your fish in QT did you use cooper or other medication to treat Ich?

 

[SandJ]

Sorry you are dealing with all this. I have read through some of your previous posts and trying to get a complete picture of what you are dealing with.

It looks like you were dealing with ick and velvet before which would explain the fast and extensive deaths

Can you post pictures of the fish (under white lights)?

Does the QT have any sand, rock, etc?

Were the last 4 fish treated with copper in QT, or just observed?

If you treated with copper, it may be a good idea to ensure the copper test you are using is readings accurately (or even invest in a Hanna copper tester). If the levels drop below therapeutic even once, you have to start the process over.

If you just observed in QT, it is possible that the fish were kept in sub therapeutic levels of copper and it masked the symptoms. I think it can take up to 30 days for velvet to show up after the fish have been in low levels of copper (maybe @Humblefish can fact check that).

 

[tdowning]

Sorry to hear that. While you have your fish in QT did you use cooper or other medication to treat Ich?

I used Cupramine for 30 days.

 

[tdowning]

Sorry you are dealing with all this. I have read through some of your previous posts and trying to get a complete picture of what you are dealing with.

It looks like you were dealing with ick and velvet before which would explain the fast and extensive deaths

Can you post pictures of the fish (under white lights)?

Does the QT have any sand, rock, etc?

Were the last 4 fish treated with copper in QT, or just observed?

If you treated with copper, it may be a good idea to ensure the copper test you are using is readings accurately (or even invest in a Hanna copper tester). If the levels drop below therapeutic even once, you have to start the process over.

If you just observed in QT, it is possible that the fish were kept in sub therapeutic levels of copper and it masked the symptoms. I think it can take up to 30 days for velvet to show up after the fish have been in low levels of copper (maybe @Humblefish can fact check that).

I was dealing w/ ick before but never velvet. I can get some pictures of the flame angel and bluejaw trigger...the spots on my blue hippo seemingly come and go constantly. The QT didn't have any sand or rocks. I have some pvc pipe in it and it's 75G, so there should've been more than enough room.

For the new fish, I did just observe for 6 weeks, didn't treat with anything. I'll try to get some pics up of the fish in question a little later tonight.

 

[ZaneTer]

At this point I would move to a stance of accepting that the tank has ick........an unpopular opinion but many reefers knowingly have ick in their tanks that cause no problem.

Focus on feeding your fish quite heavily.

Personally I believe quarantine kills more fish than it saves due to stress.

 

[SandJ]

I was dealing w/ ick before but never velvet.

I thought the consensus was this was velvet (or ick and velvet)?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/qt-fail.374620/

Promise I’m not trying to argue, just figure out treatment.

 

[40B Knasty]

Well tdowning, I am going to suggest using Medic by Polyp Lab. I really don't need to be bashed on about this and how it doesn't work from anyone, because I have 4 fish that went through ich in my tank that are still alive to this day that will tell anyone otherwise that Medic worked. I mean my flame angel was covered with ich bad! It is a 20 day process, reef safe, and you don't have to QT. It has been over a year since I had ich and it hasn't reared it's ugly head since. Here is 2 videos I did. Not the most entertaining of my videos, but it is what is. Let's face it. Ryan from BRS in his first few videos was very monotone. So give me a brake with that too

 

[Jonathan Richards]

So back in March, I had an ich outbreak. I moved 12 fish to QT and treated with copper for 30 days and left my main DT fallow for almost 80 days. During QT, I lost 7 out of 12 fish; Clown Tang, Male Lyretail Angel, Magnificent Fox Face, Frostbite Clown, Powder Brown Tang, Fuzzy Dwarf Lion, and a sargassum trigger.

I move the remaning fish, Blue hippo, yellow tang, desjardini sailfin tang, frostbite clown, female lyretail angel back into the DT after the 80 fallow days and let them go in there for about 2 weeks.

I then buy 4 new fish and put them into my QT. Red flame angel, pair of furry clown fish, bluejaw trigger and keep them in QT for 6 weeks. They eat well, they are active, they show no signs of any disease and I move them into my QT about 2 weeks ago.

In that time I've now lost my female lyretail, yellow tang...the blue jawed trigger's fins are really cloudy, the red flame angel is showing signs of ich, the blue hippos is showing ich again and I'm just at a loss.

It really makes me question my ability to be in this hobby as I feel I'm doing things right but for some reason I just can't get it right. I probably need to move all my fish back into QT again, treat with copper again, keep the DT fallow for 76 days again, but at this point I don't even know if that will fix things....if I could sum up these last 5 months in one word, it would be UGH.

Try soking yr fish food in garlic feed them that works as a natural antibiotic and will boost there imune system. Worked for me

 

[tdowning]

I thought the consensus was this was velvet (or ick and velvet)?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/qt-fail.374620/

Promise I’m not trying to argue, just figure out treatment.

Thanks, I never thought it was velvet...just really bad ich. I know a couple others thought it was velvet.

 

[tdowning]

Well tdowning, I am going to suggest using Medic by Polyp Lab. I really don't need to be bashed on about this and how it doesn't work from anyone, because I have 4 fish that went through ich in my tank that are still alive to this day that will tell anyone otherwise that Medic worked. I mean my flame angel was covered with ich bad! It is a 20 day process, reef safe, and you don't have to QT. It has been over a year since I had ich and it hasn't reared it's ugly head since. Here is 2 videos I did. Not the most entertaining of my videos, but it is what is. Let's face it. Ryan from BRS in his first few videos was very monotone. So give me a brake with that too

I have Medic on hand and was talked out of it the first time I had ich...at this point I'm going to give it try for the full 20 days. I'll keep feeding 2-3x a day and see what happens.

 

[Tanggy]

I then buy 4 new fish and put them into my QT. Red flame angel, pair of furry clown fish, bluejaw trigger and keep them in QT for 6 weeks.

you probably answered this already, but did you quarantine the new fish. Any new CUC or coral?

 

[SandJ]

Thanks, I never thought it was velvet...just really bad ich. I know a couple others thought it was velvet.

What they had in that picture definitely looks like velvet. Pictures of the fishes’ spots now can help make a diagnosis

I know you are frustrated and tired of doctoring fish instead of enjoying them. The people on this site are an excellent wealth of knowledge and can get you on the right path to a healthy tank.

 

[Makers Marc]

Its always best to try and QT the best you can, when starting up a new tank.

At this point though, accept you have ick and feed alot. But mainly minimize other stressors, ick prone fish, and be cognizant of compatibility.

Your story of catching all your fish into a tub to go fallow for months and months, often seems to cause reefers just as much or sometimes more deaths vs. letting the remaining fish stay in the DT well fed. Plus, its also quicker to burn you out.

Of course. If you have a smaller tank with minimal rockwork and corals, then catching fish to go fallow is 100x easier.

 

[40B Knasty]

I have Medic on hand and was talked out of it the first time I had ich...at this point I'm going to give it try for the full 20 days. I'll keep feeding 2-3x a day and see what happens.

It's easy. Be very diligent about dosing every morning and night. Beef up the foods with vitamins. I used VitaChem. Let your food thaw out with the a vitamin of your choice. Don't put the food in tank water and thaw out with a couple drops of a vitamin of your choice. You need to let the ice crystals as they thaw out absorb the vitamins as much as possible into the food. Find foods high in Omega 3. LRS and Reef Nutrition Tigger Pods.

 

[Tanggy]

I saw you only observed the new fishes for 6 wks and didn't treat it. There is a good chance that's where the parasite came from. It's a frustrating hobby. Rewarding when it's on though...

 

[sghera64]

At this point I would move to a stance of accepting that the tank has ick........an unpopular opinion but many reefers knowingly have ick in their tanks that cause no problem.

Focus on feeding your fish quite heavily.

Personally I believe quarantine kills more fish than it saves due to stress.

I’m in this camp. I’ve had yellow tangs get ick. I chose to not use a hospital tank and try to fallow it out of my DT. I simply just assume my tank has ick. The way this has gone for me each time is a healthy yellow tang or powder blue tang - - no deaths.

I did feed heavy, meaty and a variety of foods until they were well. I also tried to keep everything (temp, pH) stable. I tried garlic sometimes and left it out others.

I think it less stressful to NOT net the fish, move them to a new smaller home, then hit them with medicines, then net them again and move them to different water.