Yellow clown goby has ick!!

[gabeJLFT]

i’ve never had to deal with ick in a reef tank before before so please help what do i do??

 

[Humblefish]

Read this: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

 

[Crabs McJones]

i’ve never had to deal with ick in a reef tank before before so please help what do i do??

Do you have a quarantine or hospital tank set up? Your best bet is to capture all the fish, put them in a quarantine tank, and run them through a copper treatment for 30 days, and then let the display tank sit fishless for 76 days to ensure all traces of ich are wiped out. And you'll want to treat all fish, showing symptoms or not.

Treating Ich

Saltwater ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) is best described as salt or sugar-like "sprinkles" on the body or fins. Sometimes however, the parasite can harbor inside the gills - out of sight. Behavioral symptoms such as flashing, scratching, twitching and heavy breathing are other indicators of ich.

Most hobbyists will encounter ich at some point in one of two settings:

1. A newly acquired fish in quarantine (QT) - proceed to "Treatment options" below.
2. Fish in the display tank (DT) - There is no easy way of dealing with this. Even in fish only systems, it can be problematic trying to treat in the DT. Copper (and other medications) can be absorbed by rock/substrate, and doing hyposalinity risks possibly wiping out your bio-filter. You have to catch ALL of your fish, and quarantine/treat using one of the treatment options mentioned below. The DT itself should be left fallow (fishless) for 76 days to starve out any remaining parasites. Continue to periodically feed your corals/inverts; a pinch of flake food every 2-3 days will help maintain bacteria levels in the DT. Remember there is no "reef safe" ich treatment that will actually eradicate all of the parasites! Tea tree oil from India or garlic extract or any other herbal/natural "medication" is designed to only help fish manage their symptoms.

If you need help setting up a QT for treatment, this guide will prove useful: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/189815-how-quarantine.html

Treatment options: Copper, Chloroquine phosphate, tank transfer method, or hyposalinity. All of which are listed here with links to more info: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

 

[gabeJLFT]

Do you have a quarantine or hospital tank set up? Your best bet is to capture all the fish, put them in a quarantine tank, and run them through a copper treatment for 30 days, and then let the display tank sit fishless for 76 days to ensure all traces of ich are wiped out. And you'll want to treat all fish, showing symptoms or not.

Treating Ich

Saltwater ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) is best described as salt or sugar-like "sprinkles" on the body or fins. Sometimes however, the parasite can harbor inside the gills - out of sight. Behavioral symptoms such as flashing, scratching, twitching and heavy breathing are other indicators of ich.

Most hobbyists will encounter ich at some point in one of two settings:

1. A newly acquired fish in quarantine (QT) - proceed to "Treatment options" below.
2. Fish in the display tank (DT) - There is no easy way of dealing with this. Even in fish only systems, it can be problematic trying to treat in the DT. Copper (and other medications) can be absorbed by rock/substrate, and doing hyposalinity risks possibly wiping out your bio-filter. You have to catch ALL of your fish, and quarantine/treat using one of the treatment options mentioned below. The DT itself should be left fallow (fishless) for 76 days to starve out any remaining parasites. Continue to periodically feed your corals/inverts; a pinch of flake food every 2-3 days will help maintain bacteria levels in the DT. Remember there is no "reef safe" ich treatment that will actually eradicate all of the parasites! Tea tree oil from India or garlic extract or any other herbal/natural "medication" is designed to only help fish manage their symptoms.

If you need help setting up a QT for treatment, this guide will prove useful: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/189815-how-quarantine.html

Treatment options: Copper, Chloroquine phosphate, tank transfer method, or hyposalinity. All of which are listed here with links to more info: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

i have my DT and then a nano but it isn’t used as a qt i have corals in it and live rock. but that’s the only other tank i have.

 

[gabeJLFT]

Do you have a quarantine or hospital tank set up? Your best bet is to capture all the fish, put them in a quarantine tank, and run them through a copper treatment for 30 days, and then let the display tank sit fishless for 76 days to ensure all traces of ich are wiped out. And you'll want to treat all fish, showing symptoms or not.

Treating Ich

Saltwater ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) is best described as salt or sugar-like "sprinkles" on the body or fins. Sometimes however, the parasite can harbor inside the gills - out of sight. Behavioral symptoms such as flashing, scratching, twitching and heavy breathing are other indicators of ich.

Most hobbyists will encounter ich at some point in one of two settings:

1. A newly acquired fish in quarantine (QT) - proceed to "Treatment options" below.
2. Fish in the display tank (DT) - There is no easy way of dealing with this. Even in fish only systems, it can be problematic trying to treat in the DT. Copper (and other medications) can be absorbed by rock/substrate, and doing hyposalinity risks possibly wiping out your bio-filter. You have to catch ALL of your fish, and quarantine/treat using one of the treatment options mentioned below. The DT itself should be left fallow (fishless) for 76 days to starve out any remaining parasites. Continue to periodically feed your corals/inverts; a pinch of flake food every 2-3 days will help maintain bacteria levels in the DT. Remember there is no "reef safe" ich treatment that will actually eradicate all of the parasites! Tea tree oil from India or garlic extract or any other herbal/natural "medication" is designed to only help fish manage their symptoms.

If you need help setting up a QT for treatment, this guide will prove useful: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/189815-how-quarantine.html

Treatment options: Copper, Chloroquine phosphate, tank transfer method, or hyposalinity. All of which are listed here with links to more info: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

and the nano is 6.5 gallons i’m not sure it can hold 5 fish

 

[Crabs McJones]

and the nano is 6.5 gallons i’m not sure it can hold 5 fish

What I would do then, is run to your local fish store or big box pet store (petsmart, petco ect...) and pick up an inexpensive aquarium kit (the ones that come with the tank, heater, and filter) It doesn't have to be very large, 10 gallon or 20 gallon tanks make great quarantine tanks. @Humblefish what would you say is the best way to get that tank setup, being that it's not going to be cycled or anything? I've often wondered this but never asked as I have an established quarantine set up and running at all times. My guess is use old aquarium water with some pieces of live rock that you don't care about and won't put back into the display tank. That should quickly cycle the quarantine tank so you can transfer everyone over and start treating.

 

[gabeJLFT]

What I would do then, is run to your local fish store or big box pet store (petsmart, petco ect...) and pick up an inexpensive aquarium kit (the ones that come with the tank, heater, and filter) It doesn't have to be very large, 10 gallon or 20 gallon tanks make great quarantine tanks. @Humblefish what would you say is the best way to get that tank setup, being that it's not going to be cycled or anything? I've often wondered this but never asked as I have an established quarantine set up and running at all times. My guess is use old aquarium water with some pieces of live rock that you don't care about and won't put back into the display tank. That should quickly cycle the quarantine tank so you can transfer everyone over and start treating.

i have like 5 spare tanks a 10 a 20 gallon i will go for the 10 gallon because i can’t take that much water from my 20 gallon DT. won’t the water have the infection in it?

 

[Crabs McJones]

i have like 5 spare tanks a 10 a 20 gallon i will go for the 10 gallon because i can’t take that much water from my 20 gallon DT. won’t the water have the infection in it?

Yes it will, but as soon as you transfer the fish from your display tank over to the quarantine tank, even if you used all new saltwater, that water would then become contaminated as well, so there really is no difference. Any water that comes in contact with an ich infected fish is considered contaminated and should be treated as such. If it helps you can take 5 gallons from your display, and 5 gallons of fresh saltwater for your quarantine tank. I would also highly recommend getting an ammonia alert badge. Since in a quarantine you don't have the advance biological filtration you do in your display tank, ammonia produced by your fish waste might not get broken down as quickly and could harm your fish, any amount of ammonia is considered toxic to fish, so if your alert badge shows anything other than 0 you can quickly perform a water change to bring it back down to 0. I would give the link that Humblefish posted above a good read through. Along with these. Should be able to answer all your questions
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-treatment.193343/
Remember, even though a quarantine tank sounds like alot of work, it is a must. You NEVER want to treat in your display tank under any circumstances.

 

[gabeJLFT]

Yes it will, but as soon as you transfer the fish from your display tank over to the quarantine tank, even if you used all new saltwater, that water would then become contaminated as well, so there really is no difference. Any water that comes in contact with an ich infected fish is considered contaminated and should be treated as such. If it helps you can take 5 gallons from your display, and 5 gallons of fresh saltwater for your quarantine tank. I would also highly recommend getting an ammonia alert badge. Since in a quarantine you don't have the advance biological filtration you do in your display tank, ammonia produced by your fish waste might not get broken down as quickly and could harm your fish, any amount of ammonia is considered toxic to fish, so if your alert badge shows anything other than 0 you can quickly perform a water change to bring it back down to 0. I would give the link that Humblefish posted above a good read through. Along with these. Should be able to answer all your questions
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-treatment.193343/
Remember, even though a quarantine tank sounds like alot of work, it is a must. You NEVER want to treat in your display tank under any circumstances.

so every single one of my fish even if they don’t have it

 

[Humblefish]

Best option for quickly cycling a QT is to pickup a HOB filter (e.g. Aquaclear, Bio-wheel, Seachem Tidal) and then use a bottle of Bio-Spira to seed the bio media it contains. For example, the Aquaclear powerfilter comes with a sponge that is capable of housing nitrifying bacteria. If you need to medicate the QT immediately, remove the sponge and place it in a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone. Dose Bio-Spira into that bucket, and give it a few days to seed before placing the sponge back into the QT w/copper water.

 

[deedubz]

When I quick cycle a qt I use a bag of biomax, a cheap sponge filter, and a bottle of biospira or Dr Tim's. I've never had an ammonia issue. What you'd do is soak the biomax and filter in the biospira(and saltwater to fully submerge) while you're setting up the qt.

 

[Humblefish]

so every single one of my fish even if they don’t have it

If one fish has parasites, your other fish also have them or will get them.

 

[Crabs McJones]

so every single one of my fish even if they don’t have it

Yes, if one fish has it, they all potentially have it. symptoms or not, and should be treated.

 

[gabeJLFT]

Yes, if one fish has it, they all potentially have it. symptoms or not, and should be treated.

will ick affect my corals?

 

[Crabs McJones]

will ick affect my corals?

Ich only targets fish. Your corals and inverts will be fine. But you have to let the display tank sit without fish for 76 days before you add your fish back in. Ich has a lifecycle, and without fish to infect in the display tank it will eventually starve and die out. And by treating with copper in the quarantine tank, you kill off the ich in quarantine. But corals and inverts cannot handle copper even in the smallest amounts, this is why you kill off the ich in a quarantine tank. but If you add the fish back in before that, you give them they're source of food back and you'll be battling ich again before you know it.

 

[gabeJLFT]

Ich only targets fish. Your corals and inverts will be fine. But you have to let the display tank sit without fish for 76 days before you add your fish back in. Ich has a lifecycle, and without fish to infect in the display tank it will eventually starve and die out. And by treating with copper in the quarantine tank, you kill off the ich in quarantine. But corals and inverts cannot handle copper even in the smallest amounts, this is why you kill off the ich in a quarantine tank. but If you add the fish back in before that, you give them they're source of food back and you'll be battling ich again before you know it.

ok i let the new quarantine tank run the whole day before putting the fish in. are u sure it will be ok if i put 5 fish in before the cycle is done? and it’s a 10 gallon so will it be bad for the 5 fish to be in their for the 70 days?

 

[cracker]

poor little guy !

 

[Crabs McJones]

ok i let the new quarantine tank run the whole day before putting the fish in. are u sure it will be ok if i put 5 fish in before the cycle is done? and it’s a 10 gallon so will it be bad for the 5 fish to be in their for the 70 days?

Not so long as you keep an eye on that ammonia badge

 

[HotRocks]

ok i let the new quarantine tank run the whole day before putting the fish in. are u sure it will be ok if i put 5 fish in before the cycle is done? and it’s a 10 gallon so will it be bad for the 5 fish to be in their for the 70 days?

So long as you dosed a bacteria in a bottle product as mentioned above, you should be fine. You may have to do water changes more than you want to in order to keep clean water but it's definitely doable.

Definitely monitor your ammonia badge closely.

Are you planning on using copper to erradicate the ich?