Question about Ich and fallow tank

[BigDog008]

Unfortunately this past few days I had a massive outbreak of Ich in my 300 gallon tank. I tried to rescue and remove as many fish as I could and place them into a HT with Cupramine, but it was too late and all my fish passed. :-(

While I was able to remove most of the fish, some of the smaller fish were not removed and they have probably passed in the display tank with the crabs and snails making short work of them. I judge this based on the fact that there seems to be zero activity in the tank now and even upon placing food in the tank, nobody comes out.

I would like to keep the tank fallow for 72 days prior to starting to restock. Does this fallow period start now since the tank is empty? Does it make a difference if there is potentially a dead fish somewhere in the tank being cleaned up by crabs and snails?

 

[143MPCo]

I can only say what I would do, if that was my tank I would drop the salinity (hyposalinity treatment) and leave it like that for 6+ weeks.

This is what I have followed in the past, hope it helps... other might have a better way.

1. This is the easy part. By having no fish in the tank, you can let the tank just go about its daily routine. You can feed the corals (if you feed them at all), and do your normal tank maintenance.

2. With no fish in the tank, any Tomonts that hatch will not have any fish to attach to and start feeding to grow into adults...........No fish = starving baby marine Ich.:whoo:

3. The reason the tank must remain without fish for 6 weeks, is that the Tomont stage can take up to 28 days to hatch out, if it is a different species, it could take longer. With this being the longest stage of the parasite, it will take the longest to "cure". Note that I said 6 weeks and not 28 days. This is just being on the safe side. Why wait exactly 28 days only to find out the hard way that it may have taken a bit longer. Or that it may just well be a different species of this parasite.

 

[camelcruiser]

I just had the same problem I waited 6 weeks and added new fish 2 weeks ago and everything is fine with no signs of ich.

 

[BigDog008]

Trust me, I have definitely learned my lesson and will NEVER rush through again.

I will have no problem leaving the tank fallow. Just to make sure, the ich tomont need a living fish.... having a stray fish body that is being eaten by crabs/snails will not serve as host to the ich tomonts.

Also, will corals or snails/crabs be affected by hyposalinity?

 

[143MPCo]

In my experiences corals and snails are not effected to much, but ornamental crabs don't do well if the salinity is too low... for that reason I don't go below 1.010, the trick is to make it as slow and as gradual a change as possible over a week or more just to be save.

 

[d5332]

If there are any hidden fish in the tank than you will waste your time waiting 72 days.

You should add a UV filter to you tank, proper size UV and optimally installed.

If you leave your tank without fish for 2 months and do not add a UV filter chances are high that you will once again have an ich headache in 2015.

 

[BigDog008]

Okay so to summarize....

1) Fallow period starts today even though there may be a body left behind in the tank to be consumed by CUC
2) Over the next week bring salinity down to 1.010
3) Keep tank fallow and in hyposalinity for at least 6 weeks, if not for a full 72 days
4) Invest in a UV sterilizer to run during the fallow period

Anything else?

 

[143MPCo]

I'm quoting this from a Steve Pro post, while I agree a "proper size UV and optimally installed" would have help if install from the beginning it will do nothing for fish already infected. They are called UV's Sterilize and work by rendering the organism sterile and unable to reproduce.... If they killed anything I'm sure the name would be changed to UV Killer... :becky:

Steven Pro:
Have any of you read "Ultraviolet light control of Ichthyophthiriius multifiliis Fouquet in a closed fish culture recirculation system" by Gratzek et al from Journal of Fish Disease 1983, 6:145-153. While it discusses freshwater Ich, both saltwater and freshwater Ich have a similar mode of reproduction making comparison somewhat useful especially in discussing UV's. Colorni & Burgess also extrapolate from this study in discussing the potential of using UV's to combat Cryptocaryon irritans in their 1997 paper "Cryptocaryon irritans Brown 1951, the cause of 'white spot disease' in marine fish: an update" in Aquarium Sciences and Conservation, 1:217-238.


In the Gratzek experiment 36 20-gallon tanks were hooked up to a central filtration system. Four of those tanks were stocked with infected fish while the rest contained healthy individuals. The healthy fish remained disease free and never had more than 1.33% moralities, while the infected fish suffered an 82.81% mortality rate. It appears the UV was able to contain the infection, but it did nothing to cure the already sick fish in the infected tanks.


If someone asked me, "I have $200 to spend on disease prevention. What should I buy?" I would tell them categorically to invest that money in a quarantine tank, no question.

 

[143MPCo]

Okay so to summarize....

1) Fallow period starts today even though there may be a body left behind in the tank to be consumed by CUC
2) Over the next week bring salinity down to 1.010
3) Keep tank fallow and in hyposalinity for at least 6 weeks, if not for a full 72 days
4) Invest in a UV sterilizer to run during the fallow period

Anything else?

I run a UV more for algae control and run it 24/7 not just for outbreaks, I have a dedicated quarantine tanks both for fish and coral, IMHO your investment is to high not to consider something similar.

 

[d5332]

I have no idea who Steven Pro is nor when that paragraph was published, 1951? 1997?

Yes, if you have the room to setup a nice QT tank and hold each new fish there for a month and observe great.

I had Ich, over the years I did hypo, I did copper, I did tank transfer, sometimes I killed it sometimes I did not but most of the time I ended up losing fish to only get ich again.

I had ich once again, I changed the UV from 25w to 55w and reinstalled in a more optimal manner and I have not had an ich outbreak nor lost a fish to ich in over a year.

UV filters work
QT tanks are nice but must be properly sized and setup, a 10 gallon tank is not a proper long term QT observation tank.

2014 UV filters work when properly installed.
You need proper wattage, proper return line installation and good water circulation in display tank to ensure free high percentage of free floating ich makes it to the sump which then runs through the UV.

I agree, proper QT should come first, if you have the space, money and time to set one up when you first setup your tank. Most of us don't QT for whatever the reason may be, UV's work when properly used, ask around.

 

[P3FE]

I wouldn't drop the salinity at all! Your corals and inverts are not going to like that and you may be asking for trouble there. Icy won't survive without a live host, no fish, no ich. Must books and reads on this issue recommend leaving the tank fallow for 60 days, so you are doing the right thing by waiting 72. IMO that's what I would do, I wouldn't mess with anything else.

 

[143MPCo]

Steven Pro and Mr. Saltwater Tank co-wrote and published the No-Nonsense Guide to Marine Fish Disease, Treatments, and Quarantine...

His real name is Steven Pro. I call him “Coach Pro”. Steven is a 19-yr veteran of the saltwater aquarium industry and there isn’t much he hasn’t done. Here’s a quick look at his career:

• Authored more than 44 articles on a variety of topics from equipment reviews to fish selection
• Delivered over 70 lectures to hobby groups and international conferences
• Successfully ran a local fish store and aquarium installation and maintenance business
• Represented the United States at the 2nd and 3rd International Workshop on the Trade in Coral Reef Species in Bali, Indonesia
• Served as the President of the Marine Aquariums Society of North America (MASNA)