now what.... ich AFTER fallow

[pdxmonkeyboy]

so.. i went fallow on my 300 gallon sps tank. i had to take the whole tank apart to get the fish out... lost a couple colonies, and a wrasse in the process. it was, in a word.. a nightmare.

They were out for 68 days. i know, i know, but my hippo was geting MHLLE and the were starting to get agressive in there tote. i just had enough of doing 100 gallon water changes and put them back in the DT.

That was 6 weeks ago. two days ago..ich spots on hippo, then yesterday on the achilies..

i put a few corals in the DT when fallow but other than that, no fish, inverts, nothing.

I really dont have it in me to tear it apart again. Getting the anthias out was a horror show. Like shake the rocks over a bowl kind of thing.

So do you think an achilies can survive "ich management"..

I have been depressed all weekend.

fish:
flame hawk
tail spot
7 lyretail anthias
hippo tang
blonde naso
achilies
sohal
desjardini
niger trigger
majestic angel

thoughts? sympathies? magic reef safe ich treatment? huge tank for sale?.

 

[4FordFamily]

No, an Achilles has virtually zero chance of surviving ich management.

When did you add coral last? This was likely your culprit. I did this on a 180 and a tiny watchman goby I had assumed dead, was found in my sump after I added my fish back after a “fallow” period. Whoops... no fun starting over...

Sorry for the trouble. If you’re sure you have ich again you’ll need to start over.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

that is what i was afraid of.

 

[HotRocks]

Sorry Brian but 4ford is right. I'm sure the corals you added got you.

I have an Achilles that is becoming a holy terror if you need another!

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

i added my sohal to put my achilies in check....

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

thanks for the info guys, i really value your opinions. i was hoping there might be a window of.. "yeah, it may work"

so holiday season with all kinds of guests... fish in tote in the basement...

 

[rushbattle]

I’d get the qt ready, but not move the fish yet. I’ve been tricked by spots on fish before, and I have a few degrees in fisheries biology. But I’m not a pathologist, so I’m pretty average a disease ID.

 

[HotRocks]

thanks for the info guys, i really value your opinions. i was hoping there might be a window of.. "yeah, it may work"

so holiday season with all kinds of guests... fish in tote in the basement...

Trust me we are all waiting for the magical DT safe treatment. I wish there was one...

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Trust me we are all waiting for the magical DT safe treatment. I wish there was one...

i might try adding diesel to my DT...

It may just cure EVERYTHING all at once.

 

[HotRocks]

i might try adding diesel to my DT...

It may just cure EVERYTHING all at once.

Kerosene or lighter fluid are likely to be more effective, just kidding.

I know where you are at and how you feel. Just pull the fish and fallow again. I know it's a huge pain. This time no coral adds and 76 days no matter what.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

huh, well i have a can of pre-mix in the garage. dump, light, post everything on craigslist.

because EVERYONE on craigslist wants a $4,000 custom rimless aquarium.

 

[ncaldwell]

My Achilles has had ich for almost 18 months now. So does and old beat up war vet an an Achilles at my lfs. Got ich in my system from some hermit crabs. It can be done I just think it's rare. The Achilles in my tank is the only fish that has ever shown symptoms, the spots show up once a month like clockwork then go away after about a week. Never a bad breakout though and the purple tang has never shown anything

 

[AcroNem]

Sorry to hear you're dealing with this. Did you treat your fish after pulling them or simply have them out?

 

[4FordFamily]

My Achilles has had ich for almost 18 months now. So does and old beat up war vet an an Achilles at my lfs. Got ich in my system from some hermit crabs. It can be done I just think it's rare. The Achilles in my tank is the only fish that has ever shown symptoms, the spots show up once a month like clockwork then go away after about a week. Never a bad breakout though and the purple tang has never shown anything

The one at your LFS is probably repeatedly treated in low levels of copper, this is very common. Yours may be flukes or other injuries, although it’s possible as you said it’s very uncommon.

 

[ncaldwell]

The one at the lfs is in a large coral grow out tank. No copper in it, the Achilles and black tang show ich regularly in that display. It seems to be dealing with it well enough, but yes, very uncommon and I would never recommend trying as the chances are incredibly low for survival

 

[theMeat]

Stupid hi flow, good diet, and uv is your options

 

[AcroNem]

Stupid hi flow, good diet, and uv is your options

Or pulling them/treating and going fallow for the full length.

 

[Jeff_H]

Sorry to hear ick came back after all that effort!

I know it doesn't help now, but would be worth knowing...

Did you replace the frag plugs or dip the corals before adding them?
Did any of the original water from the frags make it to the DT?
How many days was it between adding the corals and putting the fish back in?

I hear almost all strains of Ick will be gone after 45 days with no fish to complete the cycle. If it was longer than 45 days the odds are you were just very unlucky, missed a fish in the DT.

Or - How did you treat the fish for ick while they were in the tubs? Assuming copper, could the dose have drifted too low at any time?

Hang in there! It's a total pain, but at least ick is one thing we have excellent odds of preventing if we just have a little OCD and patience!

 

[AcroNem]

Sorry to hear ick came back after all that effort!

I know it doesn't help now, but would be worth knowing...

Did you replace the frag plugs or dip the corals before adding them?
Did any of the original water from the frags make it to the DT?
How many days was it between adding the corals and putting the fish back in?

I hear almost all strains of Ick will be gone after 45 days with no fish to complete the cycle. If it was longer than 45 days the odds are you were just very unlucky, missed a fish in the DT.

Or - How did you treat the fish for ick while they were in the tubs? Assuming copper, could the dose have drifted too low at any time?

Hang in there! It's a total pain, but at least ick is one thing we have excellent odds of preventing if we just have a little OCD and patience!

While that time frame can be accurate, Cryptocaryon can really be encysted for much longer. 72 days is more like it. Up to 90 in some cases. They haven't answered on how they treated these fish, hopefully we know soon.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

i appreciate the story of the battle scared achilies but even though my achilies is the meanest fish on earth, I honestly dont feel right knowing that i could do soemthing about it but choosing not too. These fish are fragile and beautiful. The fish industry is A MEAT GRINDER. These guys made it all the way to my tank so i guess in some silly way i feel i owe them. Plus.. imagine how high my horse will be after two rounds of doing the right thing!!

sigh.....

So in the interest in helping others there are a couple things that could have caused my tank to become reinfected. I will list them so hopefully people will take precautions if they are in a similar situation. They are in the order of what i see as risk.
1. non QT frags. the tank was just empty so of course I bought some colonies. always dipped, almost always cut the plug off. I put a torch in about 2 weeks before the fish.
2. the missing blenny... tore the tank apart, couldnt find this blenny. took ALL the rock out of my 100 gallon fuge and left it out for about 30 mintues, looked around, no sign of him.
3. new trigger.. i put a trigger into QT 2 weeks before all the fish went in. full copper treatment.
4. cross contamination with nets... bought the wife a new tank, putting them in QT, yadah yadah yadah...maybe nets?
5. aerisol transmition. this just seems like the "to hell with this hobby" risk but it is a risk. If i need a clean room to QT fish.. I'm out.
6. being a horrible person. i made fun of disabled people as a kid, was racist, hated gay people.. your basic midwest youth stuff. Maybe now it is all coming back to haunt me??