Please help

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Does my fish have ich and if so, what can I do to save him and the rest of my fish?

Fish Styx · Mar 1, 2023

Please share photos under white light to aid in ID.

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Fish Styx said:
Please share photos under white light to aid in ID.

Will do it as soon as I can!
there’s just these little clear bubble on him. He’s still very happy, happy to eat, swimming around full of energy.

Fish Styx · Mar 1, 2023

Those are all good signs. While we wait for the pics under whites I'm gonna call in the big guns, because I'm not sure about the bubbles.

#fishmedic

Jay Hemdal · Mar 1, 2023

In addition to photos under white lights, video might also help. Also, do any of the other fish have spots?
Jay

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
In addition to photos under white lights, video might also help. Also, do any of the other fish have spots?
Jay

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
In addition to photos under white lights, video might also help. Also, do any of the other fish have spots?
Jay

I can’t tell if the spots are on the clown or if it’s just normal reflection to the LEDs.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 1, 2023

The clown on the left appears to have a protozoan infection, probably ich. I’d say the boxfish also has ich. The best treatment for this would be copper or hyposalinity in a tank without invertebrates.
Jay

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

We have a fire shrimp and two emerald crabs. We also have a large anemone in there as well. Will it be okay to treat? I have the boxfish in a 5 gallon tank in case he releases toxin from stress.

Fish Styx · Mar 1, 2023

LivingSalty said:
We have a fire shrimp and two emerald crabs. We also have a large anemone in there as well. Will it be okay to treat? I have the boxfish in a 5 gallon tank in case he releases toxin from stress.

You cannot treat you DT with copper, as it will kill your Inverts.

Ideally, you will want to remove all fish from your system and run it fallow for a minimum of 42 days, but I reccomend and additional 5 to err on the side of caution.

Give all of your fish a fresh water dip, and then begin copper treatment in a dedicated QT system for a minimum of 14 days after they show no signs of infection. 30 days is reccomended, though. You will also want to treat prophylactically with antibiotics to prevent secondary infection (Furan-2).

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Would it be ea

Fish Styx said:
You cannot treat you DT with copper, as it will kill your Inverts.

Ideally, you will want to remove all fish from your system and run it fallow for a minimum of 42 days, but I reccomend and additional 5 to err on the side of caution.

Give all of your fish a fresh water dip, and then begin copper treatment in a dedicated QT system for a minimum of 14 days after they show no signs of infection. 30 days is reccomended, though. You will also want to treat prophylactically with antibiotics to prevent secondary infection (Furan-2).

Would it be easier to remove the inverts and treat the DT with fish in it? We don’t have a big enough QT tank for the fish we have to all be placed in there, but if I don’t treat I stand to lose thousands in fish. Not really worried about the money, I just love my fish and want to give them the best chance of survival.

Seansea · Mar 1, 2023

If your fish is eating and the other fish are healthy i wouldnt bother doing pulling out and qting. More stress means it will over run him. Feed heavy for a couple weeks to make sure him and your other fish are strong and he will beat it.

Fish Styx · Mar 1, 2023

LivingSalty said:
Would it be ea

Would it be easier to remove the inverts and treat the DT with fish in it? We don’t have a big enough QT tank for the fish we have to all be placed in there, but if I don’t treat I stand to lose thousands in fish. Not really worried about the money, I just love my fish and want to give them the best chance of survival.

Not if you ever want to add the Inverts back into that tank or add coral in the future, no. The copper will be absorbed into your rocks and will leach back into your system over time.

If it is not feasible to set up a QT, you can do a three day treatment with a product called Rally by Ruby Reef. Know though, that your tank will never be free of Ich and you will just be managing it, not curing it. You may experience outbreaks in the future, and new fish added down the road will be highly susceptible. That can be mitigated, to some degree, via an appropriately sized UV and a product by Polyp Lab called Medic, but efficacy is not guaranteed.

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Seansea said:
If your fish is eating and the other fish are healthy i wouldnt bother doing pulling out and qting. More stress means it will over run him. Feed heavy for a couple weeks to make sure him and your other fish are strong and he will beat it.

Yeah, everyone is extremely happy and active but this is only day one. Or at least I just noticed it today and we watch them daily.

LivingSalty · Mar 1, 2023

Fish Styx said:
Not if you ever want to add the Inverts back into that tank or add coral in the future, no. The copper will be absorbed into your rocks and will leach back into your system over time.

If it is not feasible to set up a QT, you can do a three day treatment with a product called Rally by Ruby Reef. Know though, that your tank will never be free of Ich and you will just be managing it, not curing it. You may experience outbreaks in the future, and new fish added down the road will be highly susceptible. That can be mitigated, to some degree, via an appropriately sized UV and a product by Polyp Lab called Medic, but efficacy is not guaranteed.

Dang, I’d prefer to completely kill it. Have you ever heard of pulling fish for three days and raising water temp to 96 degrees?

Fish Styx · Mar 1, 2023

LivingSalty said:
Dang, I’d prefer to completely kill it. Have you ever heard of pulling fish for three days and raising water temp to 96 degrees?

Increasing the temp will speed up the life cycle of the parasites in your system, but will not necessarily eliminate them as there will be varying stages in your DT (trophont, tomont, and theront). Besides, reintroducing your fish after only three days will just add the parasite back into your tank. I do not reccomend this approach.

LivingSalty · Mar 2, 2023

Fish Styx said:
Increasing the temp will speed up the life cycle of the parasites in your system, but will not necessarily eliminate them as there will be varying stages in your DT (trophont, tomont, and theront). Besides, reintroducing your fish after only three days will just add the parasite back into your tank. I do not reccomend this approach.

Yeah, that makes sense. If I pull the water out of my current tank and put it in another tank, would that be okay since I’m treating it? My current tank is a 180, but I also have a 90 gallon I use to make RODI water. If I pumped the water from the 180 into the 90, would that be okay to do? And then just make 90 gallons of new water for the DT?

Fish Styx · Mar 2, 2023

LivingSalty said:
Yeah, that makes sense. If I pull the water out of my current tank and put it in another tank, would that be okay since I’m treating it? My current tank is a 180, but I also have a 90 gallon I use to make RODI water. If I pumped the water from the 180 into the 90, would that be okay to do? And then just make 90 gallons of new water for the DT?

Your nem might be a bit grumpy with that big of a water change in the DT, but that should work, yes.