Im back...not for fun

Breakthecycle2 · Dec 22, 2017

Hey guys. I have a serious issue with my tank and need advice. Since I started this tank almost three years ago, my fish keep getting a parasite. I've taken them out 4 times. Yes 4. Everything gets QTd. Period. I went fishless, 81 days, 6 weeks and 94 days. Within three months it's back. Looks like ICH to begin with then ramps up very quickly. Velvet is the only thing that makes sense. I just took them all out again. I can't do it anymore. This stuff is no longer fun. It's a chore and in all honesty mentally draining. What are my options here? Reboot the whole tank? If so how? Get new rock and sand? What about cleaning the tank? Just run RO through it for a week before I add the salt and cycle it? I'm giving this one more shot but I need to do something to get it out. Whatever it is, and quite frankly, I don't know for sure what it is, probably a combination of stuff. Regardless, going just fishless isn't working. If I did reboot, what the heck do I do with my coral? Start another tank because right now all my tanks are now being used to qt all my fish. Any real advice is greatly appreciated. End rant.

Breakthecycle2 · Dec 22, 2017

Im sure many will remember my posts. I am just so done here. Could it be the copper Im using is chelated. Should I switch to cupramine? Is CP ( If I can get it) wrasse safe?

KMench · Dec 22, 2017

Wow this sounds crazy! I’m sorry for your situation. What did you use to treat each time you quarantined? If you could get CP there’s a chart on here to tell you what species are safe. I’ll find it and link it for you.

Here it is. Looks like according to our R2R peers no go for CP and wrasses. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-and-treatment-guidelines-with-chart.283450/

Breakthecycle2 · Dec 22, 2017

KMench said:
Wow this sounds crazy! I’m sorry for your situation. What did you use to treat each time you quarantined? If you could get CP there’s a chart on here to tell you what species are safe. I’ll find it and link it for you.

Thank you. I use coppersafe to treat in QT.

coweyes298 · Dec 22, 2017

Interesting... Only thing I could imagine is the copper level is not at 2 ppm. API test kit is horrible to use in my opinion, so we can only base on actual water volume and do the math for copper dosage. But there are marginal error while getting the actual tank volume...

Do you QT coral or other wet stuff has hard surface that ich can encyst? Everything wet that goes to display tank will need to be treated...
For my first QT and 76 days fallow I only treated fish. I still added coral directly to the display after I QT and fallow. ICH gets back. So the second time I QT coral for 76 days as well.

Breakthecycle2 · Dec 22, 2017

coweyes298 said:
Interesting... Only thing I could imagine is the copper level is not at 2 ppm. API test kit is horrible to use in my opinion, so we can only base on actual water volume and do the math for copper dosage. But there are marginal error while getting the actual tank volume...

Do you QT coral or other wet stuff has hard surface that ich can encyst? Everything wet that goes to display tank will need to be treated...
For my first QT and 76 days fallow I only treated fish. I still added coral directly to the display after I QT and fallow. ICH gets back. So the second time I QT coral for 76 days as well.

I do qt everything. However, this is 100% not just ICH. What test kit is good for coppersafe?

coweyes298 · Dec 22, 2017

Chematirc copper test kit. But it got controversy test result lately including me.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chemetrics-or-mardel-which-should-i-trust.340080/#post-4230463

Smo · Dec 22, 2017

Don’t give up yet. Likely not the tank but rather either a case of cross-contamination, the fish not being fully rid of parasites when returned to the DT or a combination of the two. Is the QT at least 10’ away from the DT, separate maintenance utensils for both tanks, wash and dry your hands before working in the other tank? You are absolutely sure you have removed all your fish from the DT?

4FordFamily · Dec 22, 2017

I find chelated copper to be more reliable than cupramine, and slightly more gentle on copper-sensitive fish (such as wrasse)

Gmj4409 · Dec 22, 2017

coweyes298 said:
Chematirc copper test kit. But it got controversy test result lately including me.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chemetrics-or-mardel-which-should-i-trust.340080/#post-4230463

+1 on coweyes comment. I’m now using both Chemetrics and API. I start with Chemetrics & then do a sanity check with API. I’ve got 3 small QTs going right now and seem to be stable.
Hang in there - I’m sure many of us have had multiple failed attempts. I’ve found separating fish into smaller groups ( 10’ separation and own tools) seems to have worked better for me. My first attempt with a 55 and a bunch of fish failed miserably.

Breakthecycle2 · Dec 23, 2017

The problem is, I don't believe it's the QT'd fish bringing it back. There are no signs of anything once copper stops and they are still in QT for a few more months. It's when I put them back in the tank that it seems to kick back up.