Help with Ich

[charlie7073]

I recently bought two full size clowns and did not realize they had Ich, one of them had one spot of Ich and the other did not show any spots, I saw it a bit after adding them to my tank and decided to go for a freshwater dip, I did a 5 minute dip and they seemed fine however the Ich was still on the one fish after a while I couldn’t spot it anymore. Is there a chance it dropped off and is reproducing or dropped off due to dying from the freshwater dip? I don’t have a quarantine tank set up yet and would need a filter but I don’t have one nor time to cycle. Could I use a sponge filter that doesn’t have any bacteria? I have copper as well

 

[SifuMemphis]

Chances are, your main tank has ich now, and most likely dropped off and reproducing. I would try to grab some filter media from your main tank and put it in your QT to jump start the bacteria.

Yes you can use a sponge filter that doesnt have any bacteria, but I would monitor ammonia in the QT tank

 

[charlie7073]

Chances are, your main tank has ich now, and most likely dropped off and reproducing. I would try to grab some filter media from your main tank and put it in your QT to jump start the bacteria.

Yes you can use a sponge filter that doesnt have any bacteria, but I would monitor ammonia in the QT tank

I thought the Ich would have died during the freshwater dip and fallen off because it died is this false or a possibility?

 

[Squidward]

You need to read up on the life cycle of ich and how to treat and prevent it in the Fish disease forum of this site.

 

[charlie7073]

I’ve dealt with a more extreme case before and know ich drops off the fish, lays in sand or rocks and re attaches to a fish I was just wondering if it was possible the only reason the Ich spot dropped off the fish was because it died due to the 5 minute freshwater dip

 

[SifuMemphis]

I thought the Ich would have died during the freshwater dip and fallen off because it died is this false or a possibility?

No, it's not as easy as just doing a dip. Once ich is introduced to your main tank, it has ich. There are a lot of articles you should read up on that are in the fish disease section:

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

Medications to keep on hand

These are the bare essentials I recommend for quarantining: Anti-parasitic: Copper Power with a Hanna High Range Copper Colorimeter (HI702) for testing. Treats Ich & velvet. Anti-parasitic: Metronidazole (e.g. Seachem Metroplex); treats brook & uronema. Dewormer: Prazipro or API General Cure...

www.reef2reef.com

Fallow periods: Going Fishless

Please see this updated information on fallow periods: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/45-day-fallow-periods.805213/ Jay Hemdal 7/13/2023 The reason to go fallow (fishless) is to eliminate a fish disease from your DT (display tank). Going fallow works because you are denying the disease a...

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Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart)

Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart) The following chart is a quick reference guide on what QT protocol should be used according to which type of fish you are running through QT. It will give you an idea of which methods are generally safest with certain species but is not meant to be...

www.reef2reef.com

These are all great reads, and will give you a lot of context on ich and how to proceed moving forward

 

[Algaewarrior]

I would say your tank still has ich. When there is one there is many. There probably is ich in your sand bed now reproducing. I would try to get a qt started as soon as possible. When I had my break out I did hyposalinity. 1.016 ppm. 50% water changes every other day. Had them in that for a little over a month before I put them back into the display. I tried copper but my test kit was so hard to read between the different shades of yellow I just took it out with cuprasorb.

 

[charlie7073]

I would say your tank still has ich. When there is one there is many. There probably is ich in your sand bed now reproducing. I would try to get a qt started as soon as possible. When I had my break out I did hyposalinity. 1.016 ppm. 50% water changes every other day. Had them in that for a little over a month before I put them back into the display. I tried copper but my test kit was so hard to read between the different shades of yellow I just took it out with cuprasorb.

What did you do for filtration? Did you have a cycled filter or tank you used for quarantine?

 

[Algaewarrior]

What did you do for filtration? Did you have a cycled filter or tank you used for quarantine?

Hang on back filter that came with it. I put a small piece of my cycled tank filter in there for a jump start. Then after every water change I added seachem stability for bacteria population.

 

[Algaewarrior]

I only had about 4 fish and used a 5.5 gallon. Definitely too small but it's what I could afford and it got the job done. How many fish do you have?

 

[charlie7073]

Hang on back filter that came with it. I put a small piece of my cycled tank filter in there for a jump start. Then after every water change I added seachem stability for bacteria population.

Thanks also how bad was your outbreak? Do you think if the Ich spot is still on the fish and I see it has fallen off in the quarantine it is safe to put back into my main tank? Because it might not have fallen off and my light might have made it hard for me too spot

 

[charlie7073]

I only had about 4 fish and used a 5.5 gallon. Definitely too small but it's what I could afford and it got the job done. How many fish do you have?

I have two full grown about 4.5 inch clown fish and two blue chromis (they started killing eachother but these two like eachother)

 

[Algaewarrior]

Thanks also how bad was your outbreak? Do you think if the Ich spot is still on the fish and I see it has fallen off in the quarantine it is safe to put back into my main tank? Because it might not have fallen off and my light might have made it hard for me too spot

It was pretty bad. Ich takes about 2 weeks to actually starve. Eventhough it has fallen off of your fish in QT, it is still in there. Best practice is to wait at least 2 weeks after you see the fish ich free.

 

[Algaewarrior]

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[charlie7073]

It was pretty bad. Ich takes about 2 weeks to actually starve. Eventhough it has fallen off of your fish in QT, it is still in there. Best practice is to wait at least 2 weeks after you see the fish ich free.

Ok I ordered bacteria in a bottle should come Tuesday I’ll quarantine with copper since my friend said that worked for him and wait 2 weeks. Sucks This is the second time my lfs gives me ich ‍ Im done buying from them

 

[charlie7073]

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I see you added rocks I have a bunch of Little Rock’s in my current tank I’ll put them in the quarantine tank to help the cycle

 

[Algaewarrior]

Yeah i was pretty lucky with my LFS. They do a good job treating with copper so i don't have to. Just make sure you take the copper out of the qt before you introduce your fish back to your display. You definitely don't want any of that getting into your diplay. My wrasse was pretty sensitive to the copper which is another reason i stopped using it. Clownfish and chromis should be fine.

 

[SifuMemphis]

Your best bet is to remove all your fish from DT, and go fallow for 76 days (QT the fish you have).

 

[charlie7073]

Yeah i was pretty lucky with my LFS. They do a good job treating with copper so i don't have to. Just make sure you take the copper out of the qt before you introduce your fish back to your display. You definitely don't want any of that getting into your diplay. My wrasse was pretty sensitive to the copper which is another reason i stopped using it. Clownfish and chromis should be fine.

Thanks for the help man appreciate it

 

[Algaewarrior]

I see you added rocks I have a bunch of Little Rock’s in my current tank I’ll put them in the quarantine tank to help the cycle

That will help the cycle for sure. Just don't put the rocks back into your display. They absorb copper and even if you get the free floating copper out of QT it will still be bound to the rock.