New Tank Help!

[Andrew Snowball]

Good Afternoon All!
I have a couple questions. About my tank.

So I purchased a 40 gallon tank
I started it with live sand and live rock! To get the cycle going as I was told by my local fish store!

They told me to wait about 3 weeks. So I did. I have the power head / normal lighting / skimmer running. I also was told putting live sea weed in the sump helps too. I have a small light over the sea weed to help it grow.

Tank looks great. Water levels are on point.
Ammonia - 0
PH - 8.0 - 8.3
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Temp is 78-80

So like I said after about 3 weeks. I was told you can start introducing some fish. So I did

Simple I got 3 fish:
Hypo Tang
A pair of clowns
And a algae Blenny

FYI: I purchased everything from one Shop!

After about 1 week I started seeing white salt dots on the hypo tang. So I looked that up and Ich came up. I gave it about 2 more days and she was covered. I freaked out and went back to my fish guy. He gave me garlic and the green mysis shrimp. They all loved it and keeped eating. The following day so this is day 3 from when I spotted the ich. I saw the hypo tang rubbing against the rock. To the point that she had a scar.

That following morning. I looked for the hypo tang and she was dead. Unfortunately It's looks like the scar got infected as well

The clowns and Blenny I was able to save because I put them in my QT Tank. I was told that's always good to have one set up. Just in case, so I did. They have been treated with a small amount of copper. Which now they are all cleared up

My questions are:
How long should I leave my main tang alone for?
Will the Ich go away ?
Is my tank fully cycled?
When do you know the cycle is completed?
Is the tank to small for a hypo Tang?

I appreciate all the feed back and help guys !

Thank you,
Andrew

 

[kareemkamal3]

First you should leave your tank from 3 to 6 weeks whitout any fishs to die ich

Dont add any treatment

Your tank is too small for hypo or any tangs fish

Check your water ratios after 4 weeks from the cycle begin
If that is good can you start add fish and corals

 

[Andrew Snowball]

First you should leave your tank from 3 to 6 weeks whitout any fishs to die ich

Dont add any treatment

Your tank is too small for hypo or any tangs fish

Check your water ratios after 4 weeks from the cycle begin
If that is good can you start add fish and corals

This was my water yesterday from the main tank

Again I know that not every one likes the API test !

 

[Andrew Snowball]

This was my water yesterday from the main tank

Again I know that not every one likes the API test !

I also have: a couple hermits and snails. With one fire shrimp. Do those get affected by ich?

 

[Jisko]

This is why I feel sometimes LFS are just out to snag money :\ most will say never double your bio load in a single month by adding a lot of fish. Also they should of told you a hippo tang is a no go for a 40g tank. Don't quote me but it takes up to 10 weeks for ich to die off completely so qting fish, inverts, and corals for as long as you can can help prevent this from happening. Qting corals isnt as much as important if you are removing the frag plugs but eggs and such can still survive dips. Also crabs can survive dips

 

[Andrew Snowball]

This is why I feel sometimes LFS are just out to snag money :\ most will say never double your bio load in a single month by adding a lot of fish. Also they should of told you a hippo tang is a no go for a 40g tank. Don't quote me but it takes up to 10 weeks for ich to die off completely so qting fish, inverts, and corals for as long as you can can help prevent this from happening. Qting corals isnt as much as important if you are removing the frag plugs but eggs and such can still survive dips. Also crabs can survive dips

Jisko, thanks for the response
Ive heard from multiple ppl. That some LFS are like that which stinks.

I was also told that ich can't live unless there fish in the tank.

And the cycle of ich is 4 to 6 weeks.

Ich isn't fun. Took one fish. But I was able to save the others.

My other 2 brothers have tanks as well. One has a 150 and the other has a 75. Which both got ich a while back ! All purchased from the same LFS .

 

[Jisko]

Jisko, thanks for the response
Ive heard from multiple ppl. That some LFS are like that which stinks.

I was also told that ich can't live unless there fish in the tank.

And the cycle of ich is 4 to 6 weeks.

Ich isn't fun. Took one fish. But I was able to save the others.

My other 2 brothers have tanks as well. One has a 150 and the other has a 75. Which both got ich a while back ! All purchased from the same LFS .

dang thats terrible luck... personally I super picky about my corals, fish, and inverts for my display. I only buy corals from fishless tanks and the two fish I have were bought at the same time and let settle in the tank for over a month before i even added a coral haha

 

[Reef Stu]

I don't know how new you are to the hobby, so sorry if this is obvious to you. Your quarantine tank is now a hospital tank. As long as it has copper in it, it is unsafe for invertebrates (so don't quarantine any in it).
No, your crabs and snails and shrimp will not be affected by Ich. Leave them in your main display without Fish, and wait it out. Good for you having a quarantine tank ready to go. [emoji1303]

 

[Andrew Snowball]

dang thats terrible luck... personally I super picky about my corals, fish, and inverts for my display. I only buy corals from fishless tanks and the two fish I have were bought at the same time and let settle in the tank for over a month before i even added a coral haha

Yeah that makes sense. Slow and steady wins I guess in this hobby. I thought I was doing everything right. I just followed instructions.
I have to be very careful now.

 

[Andrew Snowball]

I don't know how new you are to the hobby, so sorry if this is obvious to you. Your quarantine tank is now a hospital tank. As long as it has copper in it, it is unsafe for invertebrates (so don't quarantine any in it).
No, your crabs and snails and shrimp will not be affected by Ich. Leave them in your main display without Fish, and wait it out. Good for you having a quarantine tank ready to go. [emoji1303]

Thanks Reef Stu
I'm very new to the hobby. I'm learning fast!
Ich is very annoying. Just wanna have a nice small display.
Sounds good. I'll just leave me snails /hermits and shrimp in the main tank. While I treat my 4 fish with cooper

An other question I have is. Once I don't see anymore ich in my QT tank. Do I keep treating with cooper or do I leave it alone until my main tank is ready?

Thank you guys

 

[Ojoh]

I would leave the tank fallow for 72 days to be sure

 

[wkscott]

I would leave the tank fallow for 72 days to be sure

That estimate has been upped to 76 days.
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine.232/

 

[Vahanyos]

OP, I do want to note that your fish probably got stressed out badly for ich to come in the first place. How did you acclimate your fish?

Also, I had ich as well and I went fallow for 3 whole months to get rid of it. I read from a lot of reputable sites that it could take up to 72 days for the complete cycle.

I have a learned that the best way to battle Ich is to keep your fish as happy as they can be. No stress, no ich. I have actually seen tanks where the fish have spots on them, however they are not very noticeable and they generally do not stay for more than half a day before they disappear for days on end. The fish do not seem bothered by it or show any signs of stress.

You have a QT and set up now which is good, however, I do not use one and I am very careful when I choose my fish. I always make sure I drip acclimate for one and a half hours at a minimum and make sure I do not put the fish under any unnessecary stress.

You can have inverts and corals, but I recommend waiting at least 2 months and not just 6 weeks. The last thing that you want to do is put another fish in there and have to start all over again

 

[Vahanyos]

Keep your fish well fed, and your water level stable so Chemistry doesn't change very much

 

[Vahanyos]

To answer your question about your tank being fully cycled, have you gotten a diatom bloom yet? Sometimes cycles can take longer than usual and levels don't start showing when you want them to.