Ich for months

Cyndie Culligan · Jan 11, 2019

hello, I have a question for you. I have a 300 gallon saltwater reef tank and they developed ich in September I've been treating it with kick ich and rally continually since September. It almost goes away but one fish still has a few spots and my engineer gobies have it. I turned the heat up to 82 degrees turned the lights off and lost all of my soft corals and removed my filter socks. Can you suggest anything else?

4FordFamily · Jan 11, 2019

Cyndie Culligan said:
hello, I have a question for you. I have a 300 gallon saltwater reef tank and they developed ich in September I've been treating it with kick ich and rally continually since September. It almost goes away but one fish still has a few spots and my engineer gobies have it. I turned the heat up to 82 degrees turned the lights off and lost all of my soft corals and removed my filter socks. Can you suggest anything else?

Well unfortunatley, heat doesn't do anything for marine ich. So you're further stressing your fish which isn't helping. Warmer water has lower oxygen saturation, adding to the stress.

In addition, those medications are likely not doing much, you're just watching the fish develop a resistance to ich.

What fish do you have?

HotRocks · Jan 11, 2019

Cyndie Culligan said:
hello, I have a question for you. I have a 300 gallon saltwater reef tank and they developed ich in September I've been treating it with kick ich and rally continually since September. It almost goes away but one fish still has a few spots and my engineer gobies have it. I turned the heat up to 82 degrees turned the lights off and lost all of my soft corals and removed my filter socks. Can you suggest anything else?

The best thing you can do, is remove all of your fish. Put them in Quarantine, depending on what type of fish you have treat them with copper or Chloroquine Phosphate.

Your Display will need to be fallow (fishless) for 76 days before reintroducing your fish post treatment.

ejpreefer · Jan 11, 2019

I could not keep a fish alive for more than a few weeks. Any fish I put in would get ick and die off over time even clownfish which should be on the easier side to keep.

I tried everything that people were saying and I put in a UV Sterilizer on my tank and the ick went away. I know some people say this doesn't work, but I have not had it since and I add fish all the time. It is not a very fancy one either, you don't need a huge one, I have a smaller one. Just my two cents since I feel your pain!

jsvand5 · Jan 11, 2019

Cyndie Culligan said:
hello, I have a question for you. I have a 300 gallon saltwater reef tank and they developed ich in September I've been treating it with kick ich and rally continually since September. It almost goes away but one fish still has a few spots and my engineer gobies have it. I turned the heat up to 82 degrees turned the lights off and lost all of my soft corals and removed my filter socks. Can you suggest anything else?

Best bet would be to read the stickies in the disease forum. You are throwing your money away with the products you’ve used. I’m not sure why you would turn the lights off, turn up the temp, or remove your filter socks? None of those things will do anything to help ich. Your fish may be able to tolerate it naturally if you don’t have any very ich prone fish.