2nd battle with ich! Seriously frustrated. Really need some help to save my fish!

[ReefKeeper666]

So I am now having my 2nd battle with ich after restarting my tank. Please if you have a moment take the time to read and I’m all ears on anyones advice. Also I really do not have the space nor money to start a quarantine set up.

so I bought my tank from a friend of a friends probably just over a year ago now. I had a few corals and got my 55 gallon tank up to about 8 fish. Then ich struck, I didn’t notice the ich until I lost most the fish(rookie mistake). I was told there is no reef safe cure for ich. Shortly later I lost all my fish. Then I had some personal financial trouble, and my wave maker broke.My corals died next. well finally I had the money to restart the tank. The tank had sat fallow for 90 days which is what was recommended to me by my friend and even someone at a LFS. So I bought decent wave makers, did a 50 pct water change. Added a few fish(every fish I added has been dipped in ruby reefs hydroplex). Then a few real basic corals. Things were going great. Currently all my corals are helthy open and I even have 1 piece of SPS that is looking great. However the other day I posted my fire hawk fish was MIA. Now yesterday my fox face(most recent addition) has white Dots all over him! The other fish all still look ok. At one point I bought the polyp lab medic stuff as a just in case. I started using the recommended does of 1 level scoop twice a day. This is really nerve racking and upsetting! I was doing so well this time!! Can anyone offer advice to save my fish ?? Does polyp medic work? I’ve seen people swear by it and others call it snake oil. again appreciate anyones help.

tank set up
——————-
55 gallon tank w/ overflow
refugium filter
FluvalSmart light
jeabo wave makers one set as master one as slave

levels
———-
ph 8.2
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrtae 5-10ppm have a lil difficulty judging the color.
temp : 78.5

fish
———
firehawk fish(assumed dead haven’t seen in 4-5 days)
pair of tomato clowns
leopard wrasse
fairy wrasse
cardinal
scissor fish
royal gramma
fox face(has white spots) was last addition
tomini tang

 

[mtfish]

You do not have the space or means for a QT tank, so you will have to deal with ich management (and any other disease). You did not state the time line for adding fish to the tank. I would do this very slowly and really think about all the fish you plan to add, and to not stock heavily (your stocking list is a heavy list you posted). Your best defense is to have healthy fish to fight anything that gets into the tank. I would add one fish per month, starting with the most docile and going to the most aggressive. Try to buy fish locally so you can see them first. Do not buy anything, no matter how good a deal if the fish does not look 100% OK and make sure it is eating at the LFS. Even then, you could be dealing with something in the future again.

On a side note. Tomato clowns are mean as hell. Foxface grow quickly and get large for a 55 gallon tank. Leopard wrasse are solid once they get acclimated, but can be hard fish for beginner.

 

[Flippers4pups]

So I am now having my 2nd battle with ich after restarting my tank. Please if you have a moment take the time to read and I’m all ears on anyones advice. Also I really do not have the space nor money to start a quarantine set up.

so I bought my tank from a friend of a friends probably just over a year ago now. I had a few corals and got my 55 gallon tank up to about 8 fish. Then ich struck, I didn’t notice the ich until I lost most the fish(rookie mistake). I was told there is no reef safe cure for ich. Shortly later I lost all my fish. Then I had some personal financial trouble, and my wave maker broke.My corals died next. well finally I had the money to restart the tank. The tank had sat fallow for 90 days which is what was recommended to me by my friend and even someone at a LFS. So I bought decent wave makers, did a 50 pct water change. Added a few fish. Then a few real basic corals. Things were going great. Currently all my corals are helthy open and I even have 1 piece of SPS that is looking great. However the other day I posted my fire hawk fish was MIA. Now yesterday my fox face(most recent addition) has white Dots all over him! The other fish all still look ok. At one point I bought the polyp lab medic stuff as a just in case. I started using the recommended does of 1 level scoop twice a day. This is really nerve racking and upsetting! I was doing so well this time!! Can anyone offer advice to save my fish ?? Does polyp medic work? I’ve seen people swear by it and others call it snake oil. again appreciate anyones help.

tank set up
——————-
55 gallon tank w/ overflow
refugium filter
FluvalSmart light
jeabo wave makers one set as master one as slave

levels
———-
ph 8.2
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrtae 5-10ppm have a lil difficulty judging the color.
temp : 78.5

fish
———
firehawk fish(assumed dead haven’t seen in 4-5 days)
pair of tomato clowns
leopard wrasse
fairy wrasse
cardinal
scissor fish
royal gramma
fox face(has white spots) was last addition
tomini tang

Quite a list of fish for a 55 gallon.

Unfortunately, in all due respect, quarantining is the only true path deal with these events.

Two ways to approach this:

1) get a quarantine tank set up ASAP.

A) transfer all fish and treat them accordingly in this tank.

OR

B) transfer all coral, rock and sand to the quarantine tank. Treat all fish in the display tank accordingly. Once the fish are healthy, perform water changes and run a polyfilter to remove any copper from the display. Once the fallow period of 76 days has passed, replace the sand, rock and corals to the display tank.

 

[h2so4hurts]

There is a third option. Feed heavy and get a UV sterilizer sized appropriately to manage the situation. 30% of fish in the wild have it at any one time. Kill the majority of the offspring to mitigate the outbreaks and you'll be fine.

 

[ReefKeeper666]

You do not have the space or means for a QT tank, so you will have to deal with ich management (and any other disease). You did not state the time line for adding fish to the tank. I would do this very slowly and really think about all the fish you plan to add, and to not stock heavily (your stocking list is a heavy list you posted). Your best defense is to have healthy fish to fight anything that gets into the tank. I would add one fish per month, starting with the most docile and going to the most aggressive. Try to buy fish locally so you can see them first. Do not buy anything, no matter how good a deal if the fish does not look 100% OK and make sure it is eating at the LFS. Even then, you could be dealing with something in the future again.

On a side note. Tomato clowns are mean as hell. Foxface grow quickly and get large for a 55 gallon tank. Leopard wrasse are solid once they get acclimated, but can be hard fish for beginner.

Ok so I defiantly added fish too quickly.
what fish would you recommend for a 55 gallon?
are all my fish doomed?

 

[ReefKeeper666]

There is a third option. Feed heavy and get a UV sterilizer sized appropriately to manage the situation. 30% of fish in the wild have it at any one time. Kill the majority of the offspring to mitigate the outbreaks and you'll be fine.

ok my LFS will be open tomorrow and he has UV sterilizes. I’ll go grab one! Do I place it in the tank or the sump? When you say feed heavily? How much and why am I feeding heavily?

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Unfortunately as already mentioned without QT everytime you add a fish, coral, or invert you are risking adding ich and a multitude of other diseases to your tank. However, stress is a big factor in outbreaks. IMO ich is something that can be managed with healthy fish and basic husbandry...ie. water changes, feeding appropriately, nori etc. Literally just my opinion, this has been argued to death in many threads. My hubby put his foot down on multiple tanks so I do not have QT either. I also do not have outbreaks of ich. So take that for what it is worth.

 

[SMSREEF]

I set up a quarantine under my bathroom sink...There is always room.
I also bought a 10 gallon setup for less than $50.
I would get a quarantine tank for fish and leave the main tank fallow for 2 months.

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Unfortunately as already mentioned without QT everytime you add a fish, coral, or invert you are risking adding ich and a multitude of other diseases to your tank. However, stress is a big factor in outbreaks. IMO ich is something that can be managed with healthy fish and basic husbandry...ie. water changes, feeding appropriately, nori etc. Literally just my opinion, this has been argued to death in many threads. My hubby put his foot down on multiple tanks so I do not have QT either. I also do not have outbreaks of ich. So take that for what it is worth.

What is nori?

 

[ReefKeeper666]

I set up a quarantine under my bathroom sink...There is always room.
I also bought a 10 gallon setup for less than $50.
I would get a quarantine tank for fish and leave the main tank fallow for 2 months.

I could try my garage but it’s FL and it’s gonna get super hot in there.

 

[IKD]

This may be helpful given your situation

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Fishbird]

For what it's worth, it is very likely that it would be cheaper to get a 10 gallon QT tank and sponge filter than a UV sterilizer. As mentioned, you can set up a 10 gallon tank almost everywhere and if you needed to keep it in your house you could get/make a stand that lives in your garage unless you have the QT tank up. You don't need to have the QT up permanently. Only when it's in use.

 

[SMSREEF]

I could try my garage but it’s FL and it’s gonna get super hot in there.

I’m in Miami. Garage is a no go for sure.
But there has got to be some place you can hide a tank inside.

 

[h2so4hurts]

There is never an excuse to not quarantine... My setup is a 10gallon Stetilite tub, a 30w heater, an air pump, a sponge filter and a seachem ammonia alert badge. It's like $20 worth of stuff...

 

[Dipan Desai]

Honestly I would feed heavy. Soak Nori in Garlic gaurd. Keep your fish fat and happy and you should be fine. I have ich in my system and trying to catch 20 fish and qt them is not an option at this point. Fish have all built up resilience to ich now. Again just feed the hell out of them and that should help. Trying to catch your fish may end up just stressing them out more.

 

[ReefKeeper666]

This may be helpful given your situation

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks for that.

 

[ReefKeeper666]

There is never an excuse to not quarantine... My setup is a 10gallon Stetilite tub, a 30w heater, an air pump, a sponge filter and a seachem ammonia alert badge. It's like $20 worth of stuff...

Ok I could totally set that up in my garage.but would the garage getting too hot be an issue?

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Honestly I would feed heavy. Soak Nori in Garlic gaurd. Keep your fish fat and happy and you should be fine. I have ich in my system and trying to catch 20 fish and qt them is not an option at this point. Fish have all built up resilience to ich now. Again just feed the hell out of them and that should help. Trying to catch your fish may end up just stressing them out more.

Ok cool but what is nori?

 

[ReefKeeper666]

I’m in Miami. Garage is a no go for sure.
But there has got to be some place you can hide a tank inside.

Ah ****, my Parents are in Kendal. Yea I guess I gotta figure something out for future fish.

 

[Dipan Desai]

Ok cool but what is nori?

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/omega-one-super-veggie-green-seaweed-8-oz-24-sheets-1483994?cm_mmc=PSH-_-GGL-_-CAL-_-PME-_-PET-_-AQU-_-0-_-PM_GGL_FY20_SBU05_SH14_AquaticSupplies_AquaticFood_PLA-SMRT-_-Product_Listing_Ads-_-Smart_Shopping&kpid=go_9419291944_95783901495_419495547835_pla-891497637988_c&utm_config=tad0iunwp&utm_campaign=PM_GGL_FY20_SBU05_SH14_AquaticSupplies_AquaticFood_PLA-SMRT&utm_source=google&gclid=CjwKCAjw2a32BRBXEiwAUcugiNwZPa4J6WyfQI_pgWlO_pWhsZh7cQs3-6cgZ27-shGQ72wFgx_XpBoCKcwQAvD_BwE

Also Nori would be just for your tang and foxface. For the others just feed heavy. If you can get this https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/3722/?pcatid=3722 then soak this in garlic gaurd also and feed to your fish.