New QT - Ick battle

[Drumstin]

New to reefkeeping. Tank is now 1 year old. Water Params are spot on and stable. Even zero nitrates. Temp fluctuates between 75-79 is all I think needs improvement water quality wise. PH is at 8.2.

Coral is happy, but I recently made the mistake of adding a flame angel without quarantining. Tank is now infested with ick. Flame died, lost a few chromis and 1 clown. Now trying to save the rest so I setup a 10 gal hospital tank today and medicated them with API super ick cure. Hoping they survive. Used water from DT to start this tank up and will be watching ammonia like a hawk. Also bought some prime and beneficial bacteria to supplement.

The hob skimmer is a cheap petsmart one that I am worried might be too much flow. Can you guys just chime in and let me know if I’m on the right track?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Drumstin]

3 clowns and 5 chromis in the tank..

 

[NoobReeefer]

all that ich cure is going to do it help them fight it so they wont show signs of ich but they will still have it....you gotta use copper, ttm or hypo...theres no way around it

 

[ngoodermuth]

First off, welcome to the hobby and to R2R! I'm sorry you are having trouble right off the bat.

What you are describing actually sounds like it could be velvet, instead of ich. Velvet is known to cause quick casualties. Like mentioned above, kick ich is more of a "suppression" aid than a cure, and it will NOT work for velvet. You will need to treat with copper (or CP), using the correct test kit to make sure the level stays where it should.

Here are some links you might find helpful, and feel free to ask any questions you need as they arise. Good luck!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-treatment.193343/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/

 

[ngoodermuth]

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT- Do NOT use Prime (or other ammonia reducers) with copper. It will kill all of your fish. You'll need to remove the prime with water changes prior to dosing the copper. To help control ammonia, I'd recommend a bottle of bacteria supplement (like Biospira or Dr. Tim's).

Here's a helpful write-up on controlling ammonia in QT:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ammonia-control-in-a-hospital-tank.296119/

 

[Drumstin]

Good to know! haven’t put the prime in yet as we have well water so I never use water conditioner. Just rodi filtration.

What about adding copper with the ick cure treatment that is in the water? Also have a UV sterilizer, should I put that on the QT?

Thanks!

 

[ngoodermuth]

I don’t have much experience with kick-ich myself, but found this on the product description, so I’m going to say “no” to be safe:

I would do a pretty large water change and run carbon for a few hours before adding the copper. Just don’t forget to take the carbon out before dosing [emoji12]

 

[Drumstin]

I think the product I’m treating with is different than “kick-ich”. It’s API liquid super ich cure and is blue in color. It states that is quickly kill ich. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[NoobReeefer]

its not gonna kill marine ich period....maybe freshwater ich but i dunno

 

[Drumstin]

Ok much appreciated!

 

[ngoodermuth]

Oh, and wouldn’t bother with the UV sterilizer for QT. It won’t interfere with copper but it’s not really necessary and you wouldn’t be able to use it on your main tank afterwards. Anything used in a copper tank is generally considered no good for use with corals, as the copper can be absorbed and leached out.

Some people have claimed otherwise, and that it can be removed, but I err on the safe side and don’t do it.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I’m sorry, I misread your initial post.

Ok edit... striking out here. Was thinking of the powder super ick cure vs. liquid. Need to do a refresher on these treatments lol.

It’s actually malachite green. I don’t think it will react poorly with copper, since it is actually a copper-carbonate (but not the same thing) Let me double check on that for you though...

@Humblefish @HotRocks @4FordFamily

If QT has been dosed with malachite green, should it be removed prior to using copper?

 

[Smo]

3 clowns and 5 chromis in the tank..

That’s a lot of fish in a medicated 10 gallon QT. Be sure to have plenty of aeration and watch ammonia like a hawk.

 

[Drumstin]

Actually the skimmer is providing a ton of aeration to the point it’s annoying. Bubbles everywhere. I have an ammonia alert on the glass to keep an eye out. And will be sowing some bacteria along the way as well. Hope to keep these guys alive in here for 75 days while the DT finishes off any left over ick populations fishless. Hopefully I succeed.

Thank you all for the help. Ran carbon for an hour to clear the ick cure liquid and dosed sea chem copper.. tested at 0.6 mg/l.. hoping in the morning to still have 3 clowns. :/

 

[Gmj4409]

You may already know but don’t continue to use DT water for water changes on your QT. DT water will continue to be infected for some time.

 

[Drumstin]

Yeah thought about that yesterday as I was about to feed the fish. I normally use a little bit of DT water to thaw the food so I dumped their food out and thawed one with only a bit of Garlic guard.. thanks for the pointer

 

[Drumstin]

Well shoot, lost one of the clowns and one of the chromis. Not looking good. Despite the garlic gaurd no one is eating. Tested copper still at 0.6 mg/l...

Haven’t done a freshwater dip.. at this point will that help, harm, or useless?

Thanks

 

[Smo]

Do you have access to live foods?

 

[ngoodermuth]

Do you have antibiotics on hand? Kanaplex/ furan-2 or Spectogram maybe? If so, I think I would give each the freshwater dip and dose the antibiotics in addition to the copper. Secondary infections are extremely common with velvet due to the numerous insertion sites.

 

[Drumstin]

Afraid I don’t have live food or antibiotics,,