This hobby is very discouraging.

Sordfish · May 12, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
And how long did you treat.
Also understand UV helps but is not an eraser. It will address free floating organisms and what passes through the unit and not address what is preexisting. You can still have disease with a UV unit. Mucus cones are raised white con shaped spores but lets get this confirmed BEFORE making any protocols or treatments.

2 weeks for prazipro followed by 30 days with copper. And I totally understand that UV simply slows down spread but does not eliminate.

BTimms · May 12, 2023

Sordfish said:
So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

Just wait till you get dinos…..

littlefoxx · May 12, 2023

Sordfish said:
Do you see any white spots on him - or is it just scratching? My baby hippo schools/ hangs out with the chromis and is quite outgoing. Downright aggressive at feeding time (still even with ich).

So he occasionally has spots on him indicating ich, but most of the time I dont see them. I also have had him in my 32 gallon (he is about 2-3 inches) for him to heal as he was a rescue. He came to me very skittish and his fins were a mess and he had dents and cuts all over his body. Poor guy was in a 50 gallon with about 10 or so tangs and he was the smallest. Guy surrendered him. Im moving him to my 125 tomorrow as he has healed up nice and looks like a totally different fish. So its very possible he is just stressed with the tank size (my improv QT for him since my 4 other fish in that tank are small and peaceful). We will see how he does with all the extra room now that he is healthy enough to be with my bigger fish in that tank!

vetteguy53081 · May 12, 2023

Sordfish said:
2 weeks for prazipro followed by 30 days with copper. And I totally understand that UV simply slows down spread but does not eliminate.

Ok- we'll take it from there once pics posted

RSNJReef · May 12, 2023

Sorry to hear you are going through this sordfish. Unfortunately it’s part of the right of passage. Given an indefinite amount of time you will face many of the common diseases with both fish and coral, be it in a qt or the display, and, it’s scary, frustrating, and will make you want to quit the hobby multiple times, but, what begins to happen over time is the spilled milk story (as a three year old, if you spilled some milk you wanted your disappointment will make you cry, but, 20 years later you’ll just see it a spilled milk and a few minutes of cleanup is all it takes). I myself am 9 years in and still learning (only started with acropora this year and am 0 to 4 so far), and even just recently had to deal with chrysophytes (wait till you encounter that, it made me want to pour bleach in the tank just to be done with it at times), but, persistence, lots of questions, and patience is the key. If you keep at it, 3 years from now, you’ll look at this like a fond memory of you beginning in the hobby.

Good Luck, and, ask questions!!!

((FORDTECH)) · May 12, 2023

Every one of my fish has had ich the day I put it into my tanks. Every one of my fish gets rid of the ick after about a week of me aggressively feeding them and making sure my water quality is good. I will never quarantine a fish I never have quarantine a fish and I think it’s ridiculous for people to have to do this.

((FORDTECH)) · May 12, 2023

Make sure you feed quality food 3-5x a day at least and have nori on a clip 1x a day.along with good filtration

Spare time · May 13, 2023

((FORDTECH)) said:
Every one of my fish has had ich the day I put it into my tanks. Every one of my fish gets rid of the ick after about a week of me aggressively feeding them and making sure my water quality is good. I will never quarantine a fish I never have quarantine a fish and I think it’s ridiculous for people to have to do this.

Do you tell people its ridiculous when their tank gets wiped or at least some fish die from the disease? Do you realize the insane number of fish that die in this hobby from disease that could have been saved given proper QT?

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Spare time said:
Do you tell people its ridiculous when their tank gets wiped or at least some fish die from the disease? Tell that to the uncountable number of fish that die in this hobby from disease. Oh wait, you can't tell them because they've rotted away.

I truly believe that most of these cases are due to poor water, quality and underfeeding Fish

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Like I said, and I will repeat myself if their environment was ideal, the Ich would go away on its own

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Does nobody think that it’s cruel to put a fish and a small tank and then load it with a ton of medication just for ich?

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Again, I’ve been in this Hoby about 12 years I currently own about 70 Fish and I have never lost a fish to ich. I must be doing something right

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Every single purple tang I have put in my tank has had ich every single blue tang I put in my tank has had it. None of them have it anymore and all I have done is kept superb water quality and feed a lot.

((FORDTECH)) · May 13, 2023

Spare time said:
Do you tell people its ridiculous when their tank gets wiped or at least some fish die from the disease? Do you realize the insane number of fish that die in this hobby from disease that could have been saved given proper QT?

And I am talking about ich alone no other disease

hexcolor reef · May 13, 2023

I stopped buying fish and now use all of my money to buy corals. Fish are great to look at but it’s easy to throw $100-$1000 down the drain on fish

exnisstech · May 13, 2023

hexcolor reef said:
I stopped buying fish and now use all of my money to buy corals. Fish are great to look at but it’s easy to throw $100-$1000 down the drain on fish

Ya and no one has ever lost that much on corals dying

Muffin87 · May 13, 2023

Sordfish said:
First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro

How often did you test for copper and what test kit did you use?

Blue Spot Octopus · May 13, 2023

Having some tangs is like feeding chocolate to teenagers and expecting that they will not get acne.
Hopefully he gets through it and all the other fish are fine.