Ich?

rongy · May 31, 2023

Hi, I’m two months newbie here. I just got a baby blue tang (about 1.5 inch) from LFS a few days ago and noticed white spot on him. Can someone confirm if it’s Ich? Unfortunately, it’s on my DT, and I have the following in the tank: 2 clowns, 1 banggai Cardinal, 1 blue green chromis, 1 firefish, 1 diamond goby, the sick baby blue tang, and couple cleaner shrimps

Here’s my treatment plan:
1. Move all fish to quarantine tank (I have a 10g quarantine tank with HOB filter, only cycled for couple days)
2. Dosing copper until it reaches 2.5ppm within 48 hours
3. Perform 30% water change twice a week in QT tank (don’t know if it’s frequent enough)
4. Keep all fish in copper for 30 days after recovery

Does my plan above works? I have seen suggestions online to first observe the first or dip in fresh water, not sure if I should do that
Also, can I assume that the tank is free of Ich if I leave the tank fishless for 72 days? Can I leave invertebrates in it as usual?

fishguy242 · May 31, 2023

@Jay Hemdal ?

Adrian Em · May 31, 2023

I had a similar situation. First experience with Ich was after introduction of a Hippo. Did the quarantine and lost many fish only to have it return once I put the fish back into the DT. I'm not as experienced as many reefers on here but IMO after Ich gets into your display, you may not ever get rid of it.

The second episode cleared on its own. Just fed a bit more and ran UV 24/7. This has kept things in check for the most part except for a 3rd outbreak after a power surge killed my UV without me noticing for about a week. This time i treated with Poyplab Medic at double dose for 10 days. The last outbreak was the worse as spots appeared on more fishes than just the Hippo. The Poyplab Medic worked like a charm and have not seen Ich since. i also replaced the bulb on my UV and keep it running 24/7. based on my personal experience, I've decided that I wont ever setup 4 tanks for copper treatment, destroy my reef trying to catch all the fish and go fallow for 72 days only to have it return again. I'm sure someone will probably assume I did something wrong, but I found that for ME, it wasn't worth it. I lost so many of my favorite fish in the process and unless you abide by a strict quarantine protocol (for coral as well, I'm told) you my reintroduce Ich at some point.

All of that to say, I'm on the side of Ich management versus Ich eradication.

rongy · May 31, 2023

Adrian Em said:
I had a similar situation. First experience with Ich was after introduction of a Hippo. Did the quarantine and lost many fish only to have it return once I put the fish back into the DT. I'm not as experienced as many reefers on here but IMO after Ich gets into your display, you may not ever get rid of it.

The second episode cleared on its own. Just fed a bit more and ran UV 24/7. This has kept things in check for the most part except for a 3rd outbreak after a power surge killed my UV without me noticing for about a week. This time i treated with Poyplab Medic at double dose for 10 days. The last outbreak was the worse as spots appeared on more fishes than just the Hippo. The Poyplab Medic worked like a charm and have not seen Ich since. i also replaced the bulb on my UV and keep it running 24/7. based on my personal experience, I've decided that I wont ever setup 4 tanks for copper treatment, destroy my reef trying to catch all the fish and go fallow for 72 days only to have it return again. I'm sure someone will probably assume I did something wrong, but I found that for ME, it wasn't worth it. I lost so many of my favorite fish in the process and unless you abide by a strict quarantine protocol (for coral as well, I'm told) you my reintroduce Ich at some point.

All of that to say, I'm on the side of Ich management versus Ich eradication.

Thank you! I did not quarantine fishes at first because I only have a few of them. Just set up my quarantine tank couple days ago and this hits. The QT is not fully cycled yet. I do plan to follow the quarantine protocol for fish in the future, so I hope Ich can be eradicated in my DT.

I do not have a UV light for my DT, and setting one up is non-trivial for me. I don’t think I will get one anytime soon unless it’s mandatory

Jay Hemdal · Jun 1, 2023

Here is what I would do:

Add bottled bacteria to the new QT to help with cycling, while you observe the fish. You have some time to act since ich starts off rather slowly. Watch for spots spreading to other fish, and watch the spots on the tang closely. If the spots come and go, and change in number and location every few days, and if you see spots on the fins, then it is more likely ich. If the same spots are in the same location on the tang, and no spots show on the other fish, then it may be mucus plugs that these tangs are prone to developing.

Jay

rongy · Jun 1, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Here is what I would do:

Add bottled bacteria to the new QT to help with cycling, while you observe the fish. You have some time to act since ich starts off rather slowly. Watch for spots spreading to other fish, and watch the spots on the tang closely. If the spots come and go, and change in number and location every few days, and if you see spots on the fins, then it is more likely ich. If the same spots are in the same location on the tang, and no spots show on the other fish, then it may be mucus plugs that these tangs are prone to developing.

Jay

Should I start dosing copper and raise its level to 2.5ppm? Or observation is enough