mr.kurt
New Member
Hi all, I am new to the hobby about a year. I have a new fish to my tank that has ick. I started a quarantine tank to move him into. The tank is now set to go but im not sure if i just put him in or all the fish. Please help ty
sick with ick
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specialk
Valuable Member
Is this a newly added fish to your existing tank that you just bought from your LFS? If so, I am assuming you did not QT him in the beginning before introducing him to your tank? Also is he currently eating? Also what kind of fish is this .. a tang? How are the other fish in the display tank looking as well?
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ReeferBob
Valuable Member
If you added a new fish to your DT that had Ick it is likely that your entire tank is now infected. You should move the new fish asap to QT and start treatment and be prepared to move your entire tank to QT if you see anymore, which is highly likely. The DT will need 6-8 weeks fallow for all the ick to die out. In the future, quarantine your new purchases for 4 weeks at least.
mr.kurt
New Member
Yes its a blue tang, he is new to the tank, he is eating and the other fish show no signs of ick. I didn't qt him when i got him. I am moving the tang today to the qt tank today. I also picked up copper for the medical treatment.
specialk
Valuable Member
Blue Tangs (among some other tangs) are known "Ick Magnets" -- that's good that's he's eating though. I would def recommend QT'ing before .. def Tangs. I learned the hard way .. now I always QT. Otherwise your just rolling the dice .. just my shiny 2 cents
TJ's Reef
Valuable Member
Kurt, let me clear up some information regarding a true QT process here.
#1 We should always QT new fish and dip new Corals before going into our DT. Easier said than done but a responsibility we should all take seriously.
#2 A proper QT process includes being the correct size tank and filtration with a treatment cycle of PH adjusted FW dips, meds only if needed ie; Copper for the full duration (1st day 1/2 strength 15 days full strength then reduced by continued WC's for remaining 14 days) or a hypo-saline of 1.008 - 1.010 S.G. for full duration. Without this treatment phase it is only an observation and will not necessarily determine if there are parasites present. 15-30% water changes every few days and Copper replaced if part of treatment. QT systems should be bare bottom (except for sand burying Wrasses and then a container of silica sand) should have some basic inert structures such as PVC pipe and plastic aquarium plants to lower stresses (not to eliminate them) and keep them from hurting themselves if panicked.
#3 Fallow periods in DT should really be 7-9 weeks to be on the safe side and means removal of all vertebrates/Fish. This period requires a lot of manual maintenance to DT including feedings so that the bacterial levels remain steady and extra CUC if you are removing herbivores such as Tangs and Rabbitfish.
#4 Most all parasites need an influx of new DNA to exist long term so many studies now show that if you do have some parasites in your system and not a full on outbreak one can reasonably assume that if you were to NOT ADD ANY NEW FISH or ANYTHING to your Display for a full year (10-12 months) your particular strain of parasite will have interbred itself to extinction. This is not an answer to dealing with parasites but a bit of a comfort if you have a fish or two that occasionally shows a few visible parasites brought on by a stressful event.
Cheers, Todd
#1 We should always QT new fish and dip new Corals before going into our DT. Easier said than done but a responsibility we should all take seriously.
#2 A proper QT process includes being the correct size tank and filtration with a treatment cycle of PH adjusted FW dips, meds only if needed ie; Copper for the full duration (1st day 1/2 strength 15 days full strength then reduced by continued WC's for remaining 14 days) or a hypo-saline of 1.008 - 1.010 S.G. for full duration. Without this treatment phase it is only an observation and will not necessarily determine if there are parasites present. 15-30% water changes every few days and Copper replaced if part of treatment. QT systems should be bare bottom (except for sand burying Wrasses and then a container of silica sand) should have some basic inert structures such as PVC pipe and plastic aquarium plants to lower stresses (not to eliminate them) and keep them from hurting themselves if panicked.
#3 Fallow periods in DT should really be 7-9 weeks to be on the safe side and means removal of all vertebrates/Fish. This period requires a lot of manual maintenance to DT including feedings so that the bacterial levels remain steady and extra CUC if you are removing herbivores such as Tangs and Rabbitfish.
#4 Most all parasites need an influx of new DNA to exist long term so many studies now show that if you do have some parasites in your system and not a full on outbreak one can reasonably assume that if you were to NOT ADD ANY NEW FISH or ANYTHING to your Display for a full year (10-12 months) your particular strain of parasite will have interbred itself to extinction. This is not an answer to dealing with parasites but a bit of a comfort if you have a fish or two that occasionally shows a few visible parasites brought on by a stressful event.
Cheers, Todd
jedimasterben
Bubble coral sting good
FYI, copper treatments need to be at least 21-28 days to be properly effective, as it can only affect the parasites in one stage of their life. Cupramine is the safest form, stay away from chelated coppers.
A safer med than copper would be chloroquine phosphate, which can now be purchased without a prescription in small quantities. Aquarium Dry Goods for SaleKM Associates Intl
60mg/L if quarantining a new arrival, and 75mg/L for a treatment dose. Leave it full strength the entire QT length. Chloroquine doesn't bind to anything, so use live rock and live sand in the QT tank, but do not keep it lit nor in a place that receives sunlight. Keep a light on in the room, but make sure it is away from the tank.
All of your fish, regardless of whether they show outward signs of such, are infected and will need to be treated. There are a lot of 'remedies' that absolutely do not work. There is a very short list of things that kill Cryptocaryon irritans that have any respectable percentage of effectiveness without also killing the host - copper at 0.5mg/L, chloroquine at 75mg/L, hyposalinity at 14ppt, and really that's about it. Oh, and starvation, which is what happens in the display when left fallow. 60 days without fish encompasses around 99% of all strains of marine ich, 72 days covering almost all of that last 1%. I'm battling a strain right now that is resistant to copper medications AND has survived a 72 day fallow period. If chloroquine and a 90 day fallow period don't do it for me, then I'm done with fish :/
A safer med than copper would be chloroquine phosphate, which can now be purchased without a prescription in small quantities. Aquarium Dry Goods for SaleKM Associates Intl
60mg/L if quarantining a new arrival, and 75mg/L for a treatment dose. Leave it full strength the entire QT length. Chloroquine doesn't bind to anything, so use live rock and live sand in the QT tank, but do not keep it lit nor in a place that receives sunlight. Keep a light on in the room, but make sure it is away from the tank.
All of your fish, regardless of whether they show outward signs of such, are infected and will need to be treated. There are a lot of 'remedies' that absolutely do not work. There is a very short list of things that kill Cryptocaryon irritans that have any respectable percentage of effectiveness without also killing the host - copper at 0.5mg/L, chloroquine at 75mg/L, hyposalinity at 14ppt, and really that's about it. Oh, and starvation, which is what happens in the display when left fallow. 60 days without fish encompasses around 99% of all strains of marine ich, 72 days covering almost all of that last 1%. I'm battling a strain right now that is resistant to copper medications AND has survived a 72 day fallow period. If chloroquine and a 90 day fallow period don't do it for me, then I'm done with fish :/
