Help need or getting out the hobby

[Hail_Kat_Reef]

Tank: 72x30x20 187 gallons
Sump: 30.5x14x16 29.5 gallons
Refugium: 36x18x17 47.6 gallons

I really need your help you guys I've been battling with the ich monster for sometime now in the matter of 3 months I have lost a total of 19 fish due to ich. If my calculations are right lost over a grand worth of fish which isn't to my liking, I only have a total 7 fish in my tank at the moment that are doing fine and survived every ich out break I have had. On top of losing the battle to ich I am now fighting with a serious hair algea and cyano takeover. My nitrates are at 2.5ppm and phosphates are at 0.1ppm as we speak, I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to reinstall my zeovit reactor and run zeovit again which I had success with in the past or either trying out the aquaforest uln system to deal with the algea problem but I just don't know what to do about this ich situation as I only have 7 fish left which my once beautiful blueface angel doesn't look like he's going to make. Could you guys please help me out with this.

 

[WV Reefer]

Tank: 72x30x20 187 gallons
Sump: 30.5x14x16 29.5 gallons
Refugium: 36x18x17 47.6 gallons

I really need your help you guys I've been battling with the ich monster for sometime now in the matter of 3 months I have lost a total of 19 fish due to ich. If my calculations are right lost over a grand worth of fish which isn't to my liking, I only have a total 7 fish in my tank at the moment that are doing fine and survived every ich out break I have had. On top of losing the battle to ich I am now fighting with a serious hair algea and cyano takeover. My nitrates are at 2.5ppm and phosphates are at 0.1ppm as we speak, I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to reinstall my zeovit reactor and run zeovit again which I had success with in the past or either trying out the aquaforest uln system to deal with the algea problem but I just don't know what to do about this ich situation as I only have 7 fish left which my once beautiful blueface angel doesn't look like he's going to make. Could you guys please help me out with this.

Do you have the means to set up a hospital for the remaining fish? The ich needs to be dealt with once and for all in the display. Then you can address your algae issues.

***I know it’s not an easy thing to do with large fish.

 

[Maritimer]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, Hail_Kat_Reef. Let's see if we can get you some relief.

WV Reefer's absolutely right about setting up a QT / Hospital tank. As long as there are fish in your display, you're going to have problems with ich, and as long as there are corals and inverts in your fish tank, you won't be able to treat the fish with anything that'll eliminate the parasite.

There's good news, though - if you can remove all of your fish to a separate tank - how big that needs to be will depend on the fish; you might be able to do it with something like a 40-breeder - and keep them out for 76 days, any ich organisms in your display tank will die of starvation.

With your corals and inverts safely over in the display, the fish in your quarantine tank can be successfully treated with either ionic (Cupramine) or chelated (Coppersafe, Copper Power) copper or Chloroquine Phosphate to eliminate the parasite from the fish. There's no reef-safe ich treatment that _works_, so you'll need both tanks to make it happen - but you _can_ make it happen.

Here's a link to an article by our own @Humblefish regarding ich, its lifecycle and its treatments: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/#post-2192627

Other than reducing nutrients or perhaps shortening your daily lighting schedule, I haven't got much to offer in the battle against GHA - but perhaps a member of the #reefsquad will.

~Bruce

 

[Toofattofish]

Can you post a pic of affected fish? It's possible you are facing velvet and not ich, based on the number of casualties. Regardless all surviving fish need to be moved to a QT tank ASAP or buckets if you don't have one. There are plenty of threads regarding treatment. For GHA I find that vibrant works but another option after your fallow period is to use a zebrasoma tang, particularly Sailfin, as they MIGHT eat GHA, but certainly not a guarantee.

 

[Big G]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, Hail_Kat_Reef. Let's see if we can get you some relief.

WV Reefer's absolutely right about setting up a QT / Hospital tank. As long as there are fish in your display, you're going to have problems with ich, and as long as there are corals and inverts in your fish tank, you won't be able to treat the fish with anything that'll eliminate the parasite.

There's good news, though - if you can remove all of your fish to a separate tank - how big that needs to be will depend on the fish; you might be able to do it with something like a 40-breeder - and keep them out for 76 days, any ich organisms in your display tank will die of starvation.

With your corals and inverts safely over in the display, the fish in your quarantine tank can be successfully treated with either ionic (Cupramine) or chelated (Coppersafe, Copper Power) copper or Chloroquine Phosphate to eliminate the parasite from the fish. There's no reef-safe ich treatment that _works_, so you'll need both tanks to make it happen - but you _can_ make it happen.

Here's a link to an article by our own @Humblefish regarding ich, its lifecycle and its treatments: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/#post-2192627

Other than reducing nutrients or perhaps shortening your daily lighting schedule, I haven't got much to offer in the battle against GHA - but perhaps a member of the #reefsquad will.

~Bruce

Bruce is giving you some very good advice. If you could setup a 40 breeder for your fish, you could treat your tank with an infusion of clean up crew to deal with your GHA outbreak for the 76 days needed to starve out the Ich. I know it seems like a long time but I and others have done this many times. Very rewarding in the end when you reintroduce your fish to the DT. Hang in there. The learning curve in this hobby is rather sharp and seems to never end. Best of luck with your fish.

 

[Kyl]

Tuxedo urchins will eat GHA, though it won't be an instant fix. They'll also eat coralline algae too, if that matters to you.

 

[Ranjib]

Once the fishes are out you can employ a host of GHA/Cyano specific measures. From natural predators to chemical treatments (like fluconazole for GHA and chemiclean for cyano) you can step up your attacks to the problem as time passes (and some elbow grease for the last mile). I think the cyano is more of a side effect of things going bad, not a direct issue.

if possible share photos of the issues (cyano of GHA), it will be easier to identify the pests/nuisance algae specifically,

 

[reefwiser]

Would not any new fish to your tank for several months till you have everything under control. What fish are left in the tank?

 

[Sorcha2]

Check your temperature. If it's too low or having wild swings that can cause ick also increase the oxygen level in your tank. Both of these are things that can/should be done in quarantine and in main tank along with other methods.

 

[Trickman2]

Tank: 72x30x20 187 gallons
Sump: 30.5x14x16 29.5 gallons
Refugium: 36x18x17 47.6 gallons

I really need your help you guys I've been battling with the ich monster for sometime now in the matter of 3 months I have lost a total of 19 fish due to ich. If my calculations are right lost over a grand worth of fish which isn't to my liking, I only have a total 7 fish in my tank at the moment that are doing fine and survived every ich out break I have had. On top of losing the battle to ich I am now fighting with a serious hair algea and cyano takeover. My nitrates are at 2.5ppm and phosphates are at 0.1ppm as we speak, I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to reinstall my zeovit reactor and run zeovit again which I had success with in the past or either trying out the aquaforest uln system to deal with the algea problem but I just don't know what to do about this ich situation as I only have 7 fish left which my once beautiful blueface angel doesn't look like he's going to make. Could you guys please help me out with this.

It's a simple answer.....Seachem MetroPlex, Garlic Guard and Focus. They have a big bottle of Seachem MetroPlex - 100 g. I don't add fish without Metroplex.

Ultimate Seachem Aquarium Treatment Bundle Pack -Bundle

Don't stress the algae, just keep hitting the water changes.

 

[Maritimer]

Metroplex and Focus should probably be on every reefer's shelf - they're tremendously useful against bacterial infections and internal parasites - and Garlic can be useful as an appetite stimulant, but none of those will help with either ich or velvet.

~Bruce

 

[Trickman2]

Metroplex and Focus should probably be on every reefer's shelf - they're tremendously useful against bacterial infections and internal parasites - and Garlic can be useful as an appetite stimulant, but none of those will help with either ich or velvet.

~Bruce

Metroplex works fine on ich.
https://www.seachem.com/metroplex.php

 

[Sashaka]

I am very sorry for your loss. I also experienced massive losses due to evil pathogens-even after quarantining my sick fish. IMHO, the best thing to do is quarantine before you add fish to your main display (MD). If you decide to go fallow in the MD for the 76 days (highly recommended) as suggested by Bruce to rid your tank of ich, most algae and even some bacteria will all but disappear if you don't run lights during this time. If you have corals, you won't want to turn the lights off completely, but you can try lessening the amount of time you run them during the day by several hours for a few weeks. More sensitive corals might become quite unhappy, so just watch the corals carefully and adjust lighting as needed. Keep up with the weekly water changes until things are in balance again. Good luck!

 

[Maritimer]

"Advertised for" and "actually works on" are two different things.

In my experience, and that of many others, Metroplex has not worked on Cryptocaryon.

~Bruce

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

"Advertised for" and "actually works on" are two different things.

In my experience, and that of many others, Metroplex has not worked on Cryptocaryon.

~Bruce

I agree.

Metroplex is a great medication but regardless of what seachem claims it is not effective against ich.

 

[Trickman2]

I agree.

Metroplex is a great medication but regardless of what seachem claims it is not effective against ich.

Always worked for me, but maybe it is a different story if things get out of hand. Can only speak from my experiences...Knocking on wood.