Oh yuk! I've got ICK!!! HELP!!!

[scouncil]

OK, I need suggestions. My big powder blue tang has ICK and my Carpenter's Fairy flasher wrasse has it pretty bad too. I've got a cleaner shrimp and a fire shrimp and either they are not letting them get it off or it's just bad. I guess the powder blue is a little immunosupressed due to the healing of the big hole and he's a bit thin, so I guess he was susceptible.

someone suggested that I need a UV filter thing? what is it and what do you recommend?

 

[ironman]

A UV will only kill what is in the water, it wont heal the fish. I would start feeding them a frozen brine or mysis soaked in metronidazol. There is a product called kick ick but I dont know the track record on success. if they are still eating try the food soak. if they arnt eating anymore than it is probly already to late for them.
good luck

 

[salt newbie01]

I have used kick ich and I will not buy it again. Don't waste your money! As brian said you can try food soaked in metronidazol - or also soaking your nori in vitamin supplement. The key is keeping them eating, and keeping their stress level down. A uv filter will kill off all the parasites in the water - which would keep them getting back on the fish. They are just pricey!! Ich with a tang sucks!!!

I am sorry...

 

[scouncil]

Well. I'm depressed. Got the kick ick stuff on my way home and the big powder blue and the carpenter flasher wrasse were both dead when I got there. Everybody else is eating well, but I can see little white spots......

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How long have they had ich? If they just got it, that's to fast to die from ich IMHO. I would look at Marine Velvet as a quick death cause.

So sorry to hear....

 

[jermpool]

That sucks sorry to hear that.

 

[5DC]

My condolences,

I hate losing fish, no matter how many have died it still grieves me. My little pet wrasse in the front frag tank suicided last night and was dried on the floor this morning...



Sorry again susan, come by and we'll get you situated once were sure that ick or whatever is cleared up. I just got some giant purple tangs in also, so I got your back when your ready just come by and talk to me..


/d

 

[scouncil]

I need some more information on marine velvet. I've been treating the tank with a reef safe anti ick medicine (at work now, so I can't remember the name)- it's yellow liquid. My big goldstripe maroon clown looks like a goner and my big naso has cloudy eyes and is now not eating. (seems like he is blind?). suggestions?

I'm getting the "new" new tank next week and can put all the (still alive) fish in the old tank which is still running and treat them with whatever is best while swapping out the old new tank for the new new tank.

Just need to figure out since the new tank is 220 gal and the old tank is 100, if I treat the old tank, I won't be able to use that water in the new reef system, so can I get away with 100 gal of new water with the new tank? I do have a ton of live rock and I'm not going to mess with the refugium.

Anybody want to help with the tank swap? Do we want to meet and discuss club business while helping me swap tanks (ok , it was a dream....).
Susan

 

[salt newbie01]

Hey susan I will be glad to help with the tank swap over. Let me know when...It would be really hard for me to do it during the week - But I should be able to help for a while on the weekend. Just let me know when.

If you can start getting new water ready - like in a big brute trash can. Get the salt mixed up and through a power head and heater in it. I would think if you could use 100 gallons or so of old water and your LR you would be fine. But hopefully some of the more experianced members will chime in tonight.

Do the affected look like they have ich? I know you said the naso had cloudy eyes but is that the only physical symptom? What about the gold strip - what does he look like? So sorry to hear about your trouble.

 

[salt newbie01]

you may already have this info but in case you don't

http://www.ultimatereef.com/articles/marinevelvet/index.htm

 

[5DC]

Susan You can borrow 2 of my 100 gal containers to pre mix your water and age it. I can come up with 100 gal of "live water" and then we wouldn't have to use any of the water you have now. My next suggestion is that you do a 2 week copper treatment on the other fish while everything else gets set up. Well too much for this post just call me and well talk about a plan. I think copper sulfate is your best bet for saving the fish you have now but that means that you can't put any rock or anthing that your moving to your new system in the old system.

Anyhow let me know if I can help.

/donny

 

[salt newbie01]

I think Donny's offer is great susan. Way to come through 5th day!!

I think your best bet if possible will be to put the fish in a QT tank and treat with copper, leave all your live rock in the tank and let it run for several weeks with no fish - so the parasites will die without a host. Meanwhile your new tank can be running with maybe some new LR in it. If you transfer any of the "old" LR into the new tank you run a very good risk of transferring the parasite into the new tank. I know it would stink to keep 3 tanks running but I don't see another way withou running a risk of getting the parasite into the new tank.

Let me know when and I'll be there to help in whatever way I can.

 

[scouncil]

The Naso only has cloudy eyes, and maybe a few white spots on his side fins. Big yellow tang looks unaffected, but he goes to the cleaner shrimp all the time. The yellow strip maroon did have white spots all over him, but now he looks like he's got strips of white stuff comming off of him. Didn't look like the saddle area noted in the article, just lots and lots of white spots. I can't catch him in the big tank and think he's probably going to be dead when I get home. I've never had ick before, so I'm not entirely sure that this is ick verses marine velvet. I've been lucky. I'm still heart broken over the big powder blue, but I guess with the healing hole thing, he just wasn't healthy enough to survive. He died at the same time as the capenter's flasher wrasse which I think was ground zero.

Other fish have a few spots here and there, but don't look very affected.

About switching the tanks- I have to get RID of my current live rock, or keep it without fish for 6-8 weeks? Does ick have to have host like the marine velvet, or can it live in the rock (ugh!). I have a LOT of LR that I will hate to give up..... What about the corals?

I still have my 100 gal running and I can drain all the water out of it and put 100 gals of the big tank into it with the fish and treat the remaining fish with copper for several weeks.

I have a good RO/DI unit and can run the water myself. I've got a 35gal trash can dedicated to the fish water. I've got several circulating pumps to mix with.

Donny, I'll take you up on the offer of using 2 of your 100 gal containers or should I buy several trash cans to hold the corals with the tank switch? If the 100 gal containers would be better, I'll see if Will can come and get them tonight or tomorrow (he's leaving for camping this weekend with my son/boyscouts tomorrow afternoon and I won't have the truck. How long will the water have to age? I can't put my corals in your containers, so I'll have to have something to put them in during the swap, right? I thought I would put corals and fish in the 100 gal, but that's not going to work right now.

Please tell me that I'm not going to have to get rid of my liverock (Donny, I'm not sure I understand what you said in the above post- about moving from the old system to the new- meaning treated with copper?). That is really going to kill me. What about the corals, if the ick can live on the LR, why can't it live on the corals?

And I guess that I'll get a quarantine tank. How big? 20 gals? Is that big enough? Yuk.

The big move will be next weekend on Saturday or Sunday whenever is best for ANYBODY that is willing to help. We go to church on Sunday, so it would have to be in the afternoon. I'll take all the help I can get and I'll buy dinner at some buffet place (Ryan's, Asian Buffet or similar- I really like Asian Buffet) for the help since I will REALLY appreciate it....

I am still really bummed.

 

[scouncil]

Donny, I've got choir practice tonight and friends coming in for the weekend, but will try to stop by this weekend to discuss plans. I guess that I need to get as much water going as quickly as possible, right?

And what salt is best for mixing? I'll need some of that too. And a heater....
ugh....

 

[scouncil]

Do I need to get a UV filter too? Or just plan on the quarantine?

Thanks for the help guys. I'd be even more depressed without friends who at least feel a little sorry for me and can give advice.....

 

[bamachamp92]

Susan, Ill Help Any Way I Can Im Not Sure About My Schedule Next Weekend But I Have Heaters You Can Borrow Until You Get Moved Let Me Know If You Need Any Thing Else And Ill Check To See If I Can Get There Next Weekend. Sorry You Are Going Through All Of This.

 

[5DC]

Susan you shouldn't have to scrap your live rock. regardless of what anyone says there is no way to get rid of ick completly. Everyone has ick, the difference is whether or not there is a stressed fish whos immune system is low enough to host the ick by which causing a chain reaction. There are many schools of thought on this and I am not saying mine is the last word but from what i have experienced and from what my customers say, I am lead to believe ick is everywhere but is an opportunistic parasite. Regardless, the tubs I have are 100 gal rubbermade tubs and they can hold your live rock and all your corals. We'll have to come up with a method of lighting but I can tie the two tanks together so that your skimmer will work for both tanks. This will be a 3-4 hour setup so we'll have to plan when to do it.

Just remember Susan like with any hoby you will find 100 ways to do anything and everyone is convinced theres is the best. So I recommend you gather as much info as you can and make your own educated decision.

/donny

 

[salt newbie01]

Just remember Susan like with any hoby you will find 100 ways to do anything and everyone is convinced theres is the best. So I recommend you gather as much info as you can and make your own educated decision.

/donny

Well said Donny! No you shouldn't have to lose your live rock. All the articles I have ever read say that the ich parasite needs a live host to live, ie fish. So with that thought process the live rock and corals would need to be without fish for 4-6 weeks for the parasite to run it's course and the parasite to die off. With that said there are ALOT of people in the hobby believe the ich parasite is always present. And that it gets on fish that are stressed. When they are stressed they lose their slime coating or it decreases dramatically which inables the parasite to "latch" on.

There is also a method that I can't ever remember how it goes but I think you drop temp and lower salinity. It might be on the following article - running low on time so I can't scan the article for it.

http://www.ultimatereef.com/articles/whitespot/index.htm

With my experience with ich recently it just ran it's course. I lost a couple green banded gobies but everyone else survived. Not even all the fish got it most of them but not all. Now for weeks all the fish are ich free except my one remaining green banded goby - He always seems to have a couple white spots on him.

As Donny said there are a million ways to treat ich you will just have to take in as much info as you can and decide which method is feasible for you.

Next weekend saturday would probably be better for me - just let me know - Good luck

 

[ironman]

well sounds like alot of good ideas. and alot of confusion! hehe! we will do what we can to help.
personally what I would do. put all your liverock and corals in the 100 gallon tank, set it up and let it run by itself. you can borrow my UV sterilizer to run on that tank to speed up the irradication of the parasite. but put no fish in that tank. then you can borrow a 30 gallon quarantine tank ive got to put your fish in, treat them with copper, lower salinity slowly to 1.019 and raise temperature to 80 degrees. this will spead up the lifecycle of the parasite. after a couple weeks of copper the fish that survive should be in good shape.
in the mean time setup your new tank and fill it with as much cycled water as you can get from donny. after the corals and rock have been in the 100 gallon with the UV running for a week or so then move them to the new tank. we can continue to run the UV on the big tank after you move the rock and corals over to it. i would probly let the new tank run without fish for probly at least two weeks before adding any fish. just my idea to through in the ring!

 

[scouncil]

Bryan, I'm not sure all my fish would survive in a 30gal tank. I've got a whopper yellow tang and Naso (naso looked better last night, so he might live- crossing fingers). Yellow tang is a little aggressive, so i don't want to stress everybody else with him in a small tank.

What do you think about putting all the fish in the 100 gal with copper, lower saline content increase temp/minimal lighting and put all the corals/LR back in the big new tank and run the UV sterilizer on it for several weeks? Will it matter whether the sterilizer is running on the 100 gal (with corals/LR) or the big new tank? I'll put some of the old water in the new tank from the old (maybe 100 gal) and then 100 of new water in with the live rock and corals. If I'm going to eventually put in all the old live rock anyway, why not put it in the new tank with the UV sterilizer. I might still quarantine the fish for 6-8 weeks just to be sure though..... copper for the first two and then just let them swim for another 6 weeks.

I would really appreciate the loan of the UV sterilizer......