Ick in Reef Tank - 1st time dosing copper

[35ppt]

In that case, you need to quarantine everything wet from another tank. Even snails.

Absolutely.

 

[ryshark]

Ha ha, how do you know 35 gallons is too small when I didn't tell you how many fish I have? I have only 4 small fish.

The powder blue was eating fine for two weeks after I first noticed spots and scratching. The spots seemed to be going away but I came down one morning to feed and it had just died (eyes were still clear). In the process of removing the fish for quarantine, I noticed I also lost 2 clown gobies.

I want to eradicate the ich from the entire tank now instead of worrying about managing it forever.

I missed that the PBT died. I thought you were treating it in a 35 with all your other fish.

 

[ryshark]

Both of these are my thoughts exactly.

It’s more likely that you’re actually dealing with velvet, and if that’s true I’d ramp it up over 24-48 hours but do so in several small doses spread out.

You’re probably right about the velvet. Now that is a big deal.

 

[Bethany Yates]

Both of these are my thoughts exactly.

It’s more likely that you’re actually dealing with velvet, and if that’s true I’d ramp it up over 24-48 hours but do so in several small doses spread out.

Ok, interesting. What would be some of the ways you can tell between ich and velvet?

 

[Bethany Yates]

I missed that the PBT died. I thought you were treating it in a 35 with all your other fish.

That's my bad, yeah I wasn't very clear at all. I just meant to be asking general quarantine advice, I didn't expect everyone to get so technical and in-depth. Thank you.

 

[35ppt]

Ok, interesting. What would be some of the ways you can tell between ich and velvet?

"If you can count the dots it's ich" is a good rule of thumb. You can always post a photo here and people will tell you.

 

[Bethany Yates]

"If you can count the dots it's ich" is a good rule of thumb. You can always post a photo here and people will tell you.

I will be sure to snap a pic next time and get a good scraping.

Question: I 'treated' ich at first with a low-stress environment, and some type of stress-zyme equivalent my lfs recommended and the initial spots disappeared, reappeared, and then disappeared. Is that because of the lifecycle of ich in my tank? Or because it was getting better and then worse?

 

[35ppt]

I will be sure to snap a pic next time and get a good scraping.

Question: I 'treated' ich at first with a low-stress environment, and some type of stress-zyme equivalent my lfs recommended and the initial spots disappeared, reappeared, and then disappeared. Is that because of the lifecycle of ich in my tank? Or because it was getting better and then worse?

Was it every 3-7 days?

 

[Bethany Yates]

Was it every 3-7 days?

I should have kept track, but I did not. It could have been three days, maybe less.

Hey 35 ppt, I really appreciate all your likes and comments. You seem really knowledgeable and are making me feel super welcome in this forum.

 

[35ppt]

I should have kept track, but I did not. It could have been three days, maybe less.

Hey 35 ppt, I really appreciate all your likes and comments. You seem really knowledgeable and are making me feel super welcome in this forum.

I had to go double check, I forget all these details. It's more like 15 days. The trophont feeds on the fish for about 3–7 days before dropping off, but it also then it takes like another day for the protomont to encyst and then another week or so before the theronts release from the tomonts.


But that would be an initial exposure. Once introduced I would assume there would be crypto at various stages in the tank.

And thank you, that's very nice of you to say!

 

[Bethany Yates]

I had to go double check, I forget all these details. It's more like 15 days. The trophont feeds on the fish for about 3–7 days before dropping off, but it also then it takes like another day for the protomont to encyst and then another week or so before the theronts release from the tomonts.


But that would be an initial exposure. Once introduced I would assume there would be crypto at various stages in the tank.

And thank you, that's very nice of you to say!

This looks super useful, I can't wait to read it -- and relevant because I have a clown goby that is sick.

 

[4FordFamily]

I should have kept track, but I did not. It could have been three days, maybe less.

Hey 35 ppt, I really appreciate all your likes and comments. You seem really knowledgeable and are making me feel super welcome in this forum.

If fewer, it was likely velvet. Ich has a slower life cycle and rarely (by itself) causes much damage. It’s often accompanied by other parasites such as velvet which is more common and much more deadly. Velvet presents with many more, smaller spots, and can even appear as a “dusting” on the fish, but doesn’t always. It also increases in numbers much more quickly.

Velvet also damages the gills more and quicker, leaving fish swimming in to flow or powerheads for oxygen. They will often act reclusive and hide from light as well. Breathing heavily is a symptom of both.

 

[Stutters]

So, this is not a popular opinion but its something that has worked with my tank after an achilles came down with ich. Shut the lights off and dose with malarya ttablets. it cleared up the ich and didnt halm the corals

 

[Cstar_BC]

Sounds like we’re having the same day - building my emergency quarantine tank right now as well

 

[Bethany Yates]

Sounds like we’re having the same day - building my emergency quarantine tank right now as well

OH NOOOO! I am so sorry.

 

[Bethany Yates]

Hey guys,

I have never ever had an outbreak of ich in over 10 years of reef tank keeping, but I had converted my quarantine tank to hold spawning cichlids and added an unquarantined powder blue to my tank like a TOTAL NEWB. Ugh. So I have pulled all my fish from the tank and am preparing to dose my 35 gal quarantine with copper and let my main tank fallow with just the corals and inverts for 60 days. I'm running two macgyver style sponge filters and a hang-on filter on quarantine. That is where my expertise ends. I need tips!!!! Let me know what you have done in the past that has worked and what hasn't. My fish thank you!!

Bethany

Hey guys!! Thank you all for your input. I finally decided to skip copper altogether and stick with a hypo salinity treatment. I couldn’t stand watching my fish suffer while waiting for a copper test kit to come via amazon (My lfs and petsmart do not carry them).

 

[35ppt]

Hey guys!! Thank you all for your input. I finally decided to skip copper altogether and stick with a hypo salinity treatment. I couldn’t stand watching my fish suffer while waiting for a copper test kit to come via amazon (My lfs and petsmart do not carry them).

While I'm not a fan of hypo I love all the plants in your QT! I wish more QT looked like this, looks great!

 

[Bethany Yates]

While I'm not a fan of hypo I love all the plants in your QT! I wish more QT looked like this, looks great!

Thanks! Yeah, the stark quarantine tanks are not my thing and I don't think they make for a low-stress environment.

 

[Bethany Yates]

Just as a follow-up...

In the end, I used Cupramine, copper test kits, and CupriSorb all from Seachem. After doing 80% water changes every other day for almost two weeks straight I finally got the ammonia under control in the ~30 gal quarantine. I let the main tank lay fallow for about 80 days and added my fish back into m\the main tank. My paired tomato anemonefish, yellow tang, barred rabbitfish, and lawnmower blenny all went through the treatment with no problem (all except the rabbitfish had symptoms of what I now think was marine velvet). I lost one powder blue tang and 3 clown gobies who all died pre-quarantine.

One thing I did that I would highly recommend was set up a separate water mixing station just for mixed water with copper, especially in the beginning I kept it mixing all the time so I could water change whenever nutrients spiked.