Ich Issues

Diazcm · Feb 8, 2018

Josh Kraft said:
You'll want to start with this chart to choose the kind of coper you will use.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-and-treatment-guidelines-with-chart.283450/

The Mandarin won't survive copper, you may want to re-home him, or treat him or all the fish with CP instead of copper (this requires a prescription).

This link has the info on the copper treatments and the test kits required and the level of copper you need to treat. I personally use coppersafe with the API test kit.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-test-kits.257924/

Good luck.

Thank you, so i can just use copper alone for the whole qt treatment? I read somewhere that folks use copper as a second treatment.
sadly i will have to re-home the mandarin.

Diazcm · Feb 8, 2018

so is this copper treatment a 14 day process? then back to freshly made saltwater and observe?
repeat if necessary?

JoshKReef · Feb 8, 2018

Basically follow Option A of Humblefish's quarantine guide. Depending how bad the ich is, I would adjust the recuperating stage / how you ramp up your copper to the right level.

I'd probably do copper first, rather than prazi.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

Option A - Fish is floated in the bag for 20-30 minutes (to temp acclimate) and then released into QT with matching SG. I give the fish a few days to recuperate and try to get him eating. Once he’s eaten for two consecutive days, I begin Prazipro treatment - dose once, wait 5-7 days, do a 20-25% water change and then repeat dosage. Five days later I do another 20-25% water change and run activated carbon for 24 hours. After removing the carbon, I begin either Chloroquine phosphate or copper treatment for 30 days. After that, the fish should be ready for the DT - so long as he’s eating, looks healthy and isn’t displaying symptoms of any disease.

Don’t freak if the fish stops eating when you first begin any chemical treatment. Prazi only remains active for 72 hours anyway, but prolonged appetite suppression (3-4 days) from other medications should result in discontinuing treatment.

JoshKReef · Feb 8, 2018

Also, you don't need fresh saltwater, you can run carbon / partial water change to clear out the copper.

Humblefish · Feb 8, 2018

^^ Excellent advice provided by @Josh Kraft

Big G · Feb 8, 2018

Josh Kraft said:
Also, you don't need fresh saltwater, you can run carbon / partial water change to clear out the copper.

An alternative is to use Cuprisorb pads. They change color as they pull out the copper. You can reuse them over and over again. Use muriatic acid to recharge the pad. Your local hardware store sells the acid. Easy to do. Hope this helps. https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-116020503-Cuprisorb-100ml/dp/B0002A5VWK

Diazcm · Feb 10, 2018

Alright here’s my QT tank; fish going in tomorrow, salt and temp match the DT. Anything you guys can see that I may be missing? PVC hiding places are in the orange bucket. Im gonna follow option A from @Humblefish article but begin with copper as @Josh Kraft recommened. Gonna leave the DT fallow for 76 days.

JoshKReef · Feb 10, 2018

Diazcm said:
Alright here’s my QT tank; fish going in tomorrow, salt and temp match the DT. Anything you guys can see that I may be missing? PVC hiding places are in the orange bucket. Im gonna follow option A from @Humblefish article but begin with copper as @Josh Kraft recommened. Gonna leave the DT fallow for 76 days.

Looks good, may want to get egg crate or a cover if you don't have one

Diazcm · Feb 10, 2018

Josh Kraft said:
Looks good, may want to get egg crate or a cover if you don't have one

way ahead of you @Josh Kraft its there standing behind the tank stand.

Humblefish · Feb 10, 2018

@Diazcm

I would pickup an ammonia alert badge for active monitoring: http://www.seachem.com/ammonia-alert.php
I would point the PH up towards the surface so it is creating ripples (better gas exchange).
The powerfilter you are using looks a bit undersized for that QT, so expect ammonia to creep up.

Not trying to be overcritical; just want you to be prepared and know what to expect.

Diazcm · Feb 10, 2018

Humblefish said:
@Diazcm

I would pickup an ammonia alert badge for active monitoring: http://www.seachem.com/ammonia-alert.php

I would point the PH up towards the surface so it is creating ripples (better gas exchange).

The powerfilter you are using looks a bit undersized for that QT, so expect ammonia to creep up.

Not trying to be overcritical; just want you to be prepared and know what to expect.

@Humblefish
I really appreciate the advice and you all can tell me anything. Its the first time i ever QT and i still feel like i'm kinda running blind here, so anything that i'am doing wrong please let me know.
The ammonia badge is coming in monday via amazon and the power filter states its up to a 40 gal tank but i'll keep my eye on the ammonia during the whole process of course.
Should i be running some sort of filter during the whole treatment? I know carbon,gfo,etc. is out of the question until treatment is over but can i toss in a regular clean filter floss on the power filter to pick up floating junk?

Humblefish · Feb 10, 2018

Diazcm said:
Should i be running some sort of filter during the whole treatment? I know carbon,gfo,etc. is out of the question until treatment is over but can i toss in a regular clean filter floss on the power filter to pick up floating junk?

What is inside that HOB power filter?

You need some kind of biomedia (like a sponge) that can be used to colonize bacteria (for breaking down ammonia), BUT one which also won't absorb medications.

Diazcm · Feb 11, 2018

Humblefish said:
What is inside that HOB power filter?

You need some kind of biomedia (like a sponge) that can be used to colonize bacteria (for breaking down ammonia), BUT one which also won't absorb medications.

The power filter came with a carbon media filter which i'll use to help remove the copper when this is all over. Right now inside the HOB filter there is nothing inside it just empty space, I'll swing by the LFS today and pick up one of these filters.
Can i soak this filter in Brightwell aquatics MB7 for 24 hrs to get that bacteria in the sponge?

Humblefish · Feb 11, 2018

Diazcm said:
Can i soak this filter in Brightwell aquatics MB7 for 24 hrs to get that bacteria in the sponge?

Yes; put the sponge in a bucket of SW with a small heater and air stone (or small powerhead for circulation.) Dose MB7 in that for 4-7 days before using the sponge in your QT. The point is to seed the sponge in a small concentration of water, so the bacteria can find and become entrenched inside the sponge quicker. Once that sponge hits copper water, some of the bacteria will die off, BUT if populations are strong some will adapt to the presence of copper and propagate themselves. Bacteria are some of the hardest things to kill 100%; they always find a way to adapt & survive in almost any conditions.

4FordFamily · Feb 11, 2018

I also HIGHLY recommend Dr Tims or Biospira (bacteria in a bottle) to kick start cycling process. I’m a believer that these products are near magical.

I’ve tried others and was less than impressed, (Stability by Seachem, to name one)

Diazcm · Feb 13, 2018

Thanks everyone for the input. I went ahead and used MB7 and I'm currently seeding a small sponge.
I also currently have ALL my fish in a 40 Gal QT tank, they are not very happy being in a QT tank but at least they are eating I will begin my first copper treatment tomorrow following @Humblefish option A. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress and hopefully these 76 days fly by.
I want to thank @Humblefish, @Josh Kraft , @4FordFamily , and anyone else who has chimed in to this thread and given their opinion. I'am very new to the QT process and this has certainty helped out ALOT!!

4FordFamily · Feb 13, 2018

Diazcm said:
Thanks everyone for the input. I went ahead and used MB7 and I'm currently seeding a small sponge.
I also currently have ALL my fish in a 40 Gal QT tank, they are not very happy being in a QT tank but at least they are eating I will begin my first copper treatment tomorrow following @Humblefish option A. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress and hopefully these 76 days fly by.
I want to thank @Humblefish, @Josh Kraft , @4FordFamily , and anyone else who has chimed in to this thread and given their opinion. I'am very new to the QT process and this has certainty helped out ALOT!!

No problem! That’s what we are here for. Let us know if we can answer any other questions. You can tag me directly if you like.

Diazcm · Feb 19, 2018

hello everyone! so i started my copper treatment on wednesday and i'm starting to notice that the ammonia is slowly starting to creep up on me and was wondering what to do in this situation? i do have a "seeded" sponge of bacteria in my HOB filter but doesn't seem to have a strong population number yet. i'm sure water changes isn't an option since it'll remove copper and i'll have to start all over again. what would you all do?

JoshKReef · Feb 19, 2018

You do water changes.

You dose the new water with copper before replacing the water you remove.

So (these numbers are theoretical), if you dosed 20ml of copper to get 20 gallons of water up to therapeutic, that's 1ml per gallon. If you change 5 gallons of water on that 20 gallon tank, you dose that 5 gallons with 5ml of copper. Also retest the water before replacing it, and constantly monitor your tanks copper level to be sure nothing is absorbing the copper.

JoshKReef · Feb 19, 2018

Oh, I forgot to mention, how do you know the ammonia is creeping up? Ammonia test kits are invalid, you need to be using a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge (you may know this already).