Ick-HOW DID THIS HAPPEN ???

[427HISS]

I have several tanks and always,....quarantine new fish for 4-6 weeks in a small 20g tank.

Then they go to a 55g transition tank for several weeks, which has been set up for 3 months
with 100 lbs. of old 10 year great quality live rock, with NO fish.

We've had a Purple Tang for 3 months, a young Emperor Angel for 1 month,
a Perc Clown, a Ribbon Ell for 2 months, two ‎Anemone and a few corals in the 55g

Came home today and both are covered in white ick.

WHAT THE CRAP NOW, tear down the tank to catch them and into a hospital tank ?

That will be a huge undertaking for me at this time.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN IN THE SYSTEM'S WE UTILIZE ???

 

[sc50964]

Do you make your own water? Did you ever have ich in your non DTs? If so, any chance you use a common tool that's contaminated?

 

[Lazys Coral House]

QUarntine alone this can happen. In future once you have resolved the issue consider treating every fish as if it has ich. Using either copper or hypo. As far as getting rid of it there is a ton of info out there on the subject. In summary remove all fish from tank for 6-8 weeks and treat them with one of the aforementioned remides. That is the only real option. Some folks are going to chime in and say if fish is healthy they will fight it and to feed with garlic etc.... If you don't mind only having some fish survive and never really being clear of it then go for it. Otherwise catch the fish and treat. Good luck, hope you take care of it with no casualties

 

[redfishbluefish]

Pull the rock out and let it sit fallow with a heater and some flow for eight weeks. Now run the 55 with hyposalinity to cure the fish of ich. Might wish to put some pipes in there to give the fish places to hide.

 

[427HISS]

I agree with all.

It's just hard to imagine that with the times aloud, that it is prevalent.
In the past, one tank did have ick, but none of these tanks, rock, sand or fish,... have ever had ick.

I'm having some very bad health issues, so a tear down is almost impossible,
but I may ask some friends on Saturday to help, if the fish haven't succumb to the parasites.

Two of my favorite fish,... to boot.

 

[Humblefish]

Were any corals/inverts (even snails) added to the 20g QT or 55g transition tank recently? Was anything wet transferred to those tanks from another tank?

The tricky thing about ich is it can harbor inside a fish's gills, out of sight. Usually however, subtle behavioral symptoms will still be present - scratching, flashing, head twitching, etc. But if you don't spend enough time observing your fish in QT, these can be missed.

 

[427HISS]

That's the only thing we feel that could have happened, that the Angel had harbored some parasite's when we
bought him, but nothing showed up in the length of time he was in the quarantine tank and the last
weeks in the 55g.

We keep two small fish in the quarantine tank at all times, and both of them are just fine, so how
this happened in the 55g,..........?

 

[KoleTang]

Ich Tomonts can take longer than 4-6 weeks to hatch. Read this: Fallow period for cryptocaryon irritans (ich) - Reef Central Online Community

Tomonts can also come in on any hard surface (Snails, crustaceans, equipment, coral skeleton/frag plug, etc.).

 

[427HISS]

We did buy a coral and a clean-up crew, and my wife thinks they may have come in on the coral. ???

I've never used any of the coral dip products to get rid of harmful snails etc.
Do these make the ick parasites, drop off as well ?

 

[Humblefish]

We did buy a coral and a clean-up crew, and my wife thinks they may have come in on the coral. ???

I've never used any of the coral dip products to get rid of harmful snails etc.
Do these make the ick parasites, drop off as well ?

Ich tomonts can encyst upon surfaces such as snail/hermit shells, SPS corals, coral plugs, etc. Within 72 days these tomonts will release theronts aka “free swimmers” which seek out fish to infect/feed upon. The affects of coral dips on the various life stages of ich are unknown; but I wouldn't bet on it. Even if it did work, you can't dip snails/hermits/starfish without killing them.