Confused on ich eradication and mangement

[anthony1222]

I have 1 Hippo tang, 1 Foxface, 1 Copperband Butterflyfish, and 2 clownfish.

I noticed ich on the butterfly and hippo tang around 2 weeks ago with symptoms like scratching, flashing and white spots on body and fins. I knew it was ich because the number of spots seems to lower or completely disappear and then come back again a few days later.

I don’t know if I should do ich eradication or management. My tank is only 2 and a half months old and I’m in the process of maturing the tank to grow coraline and supporting LPS. I also recently set up a refugium with tons of copepods and Chaeto. Wouldn’t going fallow for 76 days disrupt the biological progress of the tank?

Also, let’s say you do successfully eradicate ich by quarantining all your fish for 76 days, this would mean moving forward you would need to strictly quarantine EVERY single living thing for 3-6 weeks. I doubt most people in the hobby even do this so I’m guessing ich is in 99% people’s tanks? I heard also that one tiny mistake can bring ich to your tank all over again. I’m scared to attempt eradication and invest so much time and effort just for a possibility get ich again. Is it even worth it?

Can I still ‘manage’ ich with a hippo tang and no UV? I don’t think my sump has space to house the UV pump and I heard hippo tangs are really really bad for managing ich. Or should I catch and trade him for a more hardy tang and hope for the best?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have 1 Hippo tang, 1 Foxface, 1 Copperband Butterflyfish, and 2 clownfish.

I noticed ich on the butterfly and hippo tang around 2 weeks ago with symptoms like scratching, flashing and white spots on body and fins. I knew it was ich because the number of spots seems to lower or completely disappear and then come back again a few days later.

I don’t know if I should do ich eradication or management. My tank is only 2 and a half months old and I’m in the process of maturing the tank to grow coraline and supporting LPS. I also recently set up a refugium with tons of copepods and Chaeto. Wouldn’t going fallow for 76 days disrupt the biological progress of the tank?

Also, let’s say you do successfully eradicate ich by quarantining all your fish for 76 days, this would mean moving forward you would need to strictly quarantine EVERY single living thing for 3-6 weeks. I doubt most people in the hobby even do this so I’m guessing ich is in 99% people’s tanks? I heard also that one tiny mistake can bring ich to your tank all over again. I’m scared to attempt eradication and invest so much time and effort just for a possibility get ich again. Is it even worth it?

Can I still ‘manage’ ich with a hippo tang and no UV? I don’t think my sump has space to house the UV pump and I heard hippo tangs are really really bad for managing ich. Or should I catch and trade him for a more hardy tang and hope for the best?

Quarantining for 30 days is sufficient. 76 days for Fallow is now at 45-60 days while you can do 76
Can you post pics under white lighting to confirm what you have?
Your symptoms can also be flukes but video of at least 30 seconds may help confirm.

 

[MnFish1]

I have 1 Hippo tang, 1 Foxface, 1 Copperband Butterflyfish, and 2 clownfish.

I noticed ich on the butterfly and hippo tang around 2 weeks ago with symptoms like scratching, flashing and white spots on body and fins. I knew it was ich because the number of spots seems to lower or completely disappear and then come back again a few days later.

I don’t know if I should do ich eradication or management. My tank is only 2 and a half months old and I’m in the process of maturing the tank to grow coraline and supporting LPS. I also recently set up a refugium with tons of copepods and Chaeto. Wouldn’t going fallow for 76 days disrupt the biological progress of the tank?

No it will not necessarily change/disrupt the biological progress. You can also add a small amount of frozen food, etc key word being 'small'

Also, let’s say you do successfully eradicate ich by quarantining all your fish for 76 days, this would mean moving forward you would need to strictly quarantine EVERY single living thing for 3-6 weeks. I doubt most people in the hobby even do this so I’m guessing ich is in 99% people’s tanks? I heard also that one tiny mistake can bring ich to your tank all over again. I’m scared to attempt eradication and invest so much time and effort just for a possibility get ich again. Is it even worth it?

Yes - thats what it means. And you're correct some people do not QT on R2R. You would treat your fish with copper and prazipro per the protocol at the top of the forum.

Can I still ‘manage’ ich with a hippo tang and no UV? I don’t think my sump has space to house the UV pump and I heard hippo tangs are really really bad for managing ich. Or should I catch and trade him for a more hardy tang and hope for the best?

There is a lot of debate as to exactly how much benefit a UV is (unless it is quite large) - and there is also debate as to whether tangs are really as 'bad' as its said. I do not think you need to capture him and replace him.

 

[jabberwock]

Ich sucks. In my opinion a HUGE contributing factor is stress. I did the 76 day fallow thing, and have been ich free every since, but I drastically changed my stocking choices and expectations.

I have a smaller tank, 25 gallon AOI.

 

[anthony1222]

Quarantining for 30 days is sufficient. 76 days for Fallow is now at 45-60 days while you can do 76
Can you post pics under white lighting to confirm what you have?
Your symptoms can also be flukes but video of at least 30 seconds may help confirm.

Why is it 45-60 days now? I’ll see if I can post pictures later today but the spots are mostly visible in the very tiny hippo tang and not on the other fish Although I’m 100% certain it’s not flukes because I already treated with prazi in my tank

 

[anthony1222]

Ich sucks. In my opinion a HUGE contributing factor is stress. I did the 76 day fallow thing, and have been ich free every since, but I drastically changed my stocking choices and expectations.

I have a smaller tank, 25 gallon AOI.

Yeah fish parasites makes the hobby less enjoyable

 

[threebuoys]

Why is it 45-60 days now? I’ll see if I can post pictures later today but the spots are mostly visible in the very tiny hippo tang and not on the other fish Although I’m 100% certain it’s not flukes because I already treated with prazi in my tank

This thread, particularly Jays initial post, explains fallow very well.

45 Day Fallow periods

I've been doing some research into the "76 day fallow period". I never heard of that prior to coming to Reef2Reef this past summer. I had always used 32 days as the maximum time for a tomont to remain viable under tropical conditions, and then I would round up to 45 days to help ensure that...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[alton]

Why is it 45-60 days now? I’ll see if I can post pictures later today but the spots are mostly visible in the very tiny hippo tang and not on the other fish Although I’m 100% certain it’s not flukes because I already treated with prazi in my tank

Prazi doesn't always kill flukes. I found out the hard way many years ago. I Freshwater dip every fish that I get, prazi bath for hours and then everyone goes into a isolation tank for a month or more before going into my established aquariums. If I lose a fish due during the process, it is much better than losing my fish that I have had for years.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Prazi doesn't always kill flukes. I found out the hard way many years ago. I Freshwater dip every fish that I get, prazi bath for hours and then everyone goes into a isolation tank for a month or more before going into my established aquariums. If I lose a fish due during the process, it is much better than losing my fish that I have had for years.

The biggest issue is that prazi doesn't kill fluke eggs at all. That means you need to use multiple treatments, spaced apart in an attempt to kill any new flukes that hatch from eggs, before they can lay eggs of their own - and that is tough to do. I've seen cases for Neobenedenia flukes where 5 prazi treatments were needed, versus a live bearing species of fluke that could be killed with one treatment.

Hyposalinity works better against flukes IMO

Jay

 

[FiveGallonSea]

You're stocking choices weren't the best for a new tank but I'm not here to judge on that just be careful in the future. As far as going fishless, I once did 6 months just to put them back and spots to appear. It's frustrating. I now live with the fact that ich is to be managed and not eradicated. I have an oversized UV sterilizer and stay away from certain fish (even though I'd love to have some of them). I've always been into tangs and angels and a moderately stocked tank to now being low stocked and peaceful. I also seldom do dramatic changes. Stress is a huge contributor. Since then everything has changed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Why is it 45-60 days now? I’ll see if I can post pictures later today but the spots are mostly visible in the very tiny hippo tang and not on the other fish Although I’m 100% certain it’s not flukes because I already treated with prazi in my tank

Through studies, it was determined that the life cycle is 30 days , and 45-60 was an assurance that the parasite would not be able to continue reproduction cycle without a host fish past this period. 45-60 assures the tromonts and cysts are no longer able to survive

 

[Spare time]

I would put them through a hyposalinity QT with a very reliable and frequently calibrated way to measure salinity, then leave the tank empty for 45 days at 81F (the 81F helps speed the parasite lifecycle up). Add coral food while the tank is fallow.

 

[John K]

If you are specifically worried about ick TTM is an effective and relatively quick way to treat incoming fish. Other possible parasites would still be a concern, but for ick specifically…

I do TTM and observation for new fish. Ick free since around 2005.

 

[Richard Vega]

What’s TMM?

 

[Richard Vega]

Sorry, what’s TTM

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

"Management" is just letting the fish's immune system work things out, sometimes with assistance in the form of good food or something like a UV sterilizer. "Eradication" is treating the fish separately from the main tank for whatever period you go with, 76 days is usually recommended. Management can work (I'm doing it myself, fish are healthy and only rarely get a spot or two on them), but it might be best to do eradication given the sensitive species you have.

 

[Spare time]

What’s TMM?

Tank transfer method. It doesn't do anything for flukes, velvet and other diseases.

 

[John K]

Tank transfer method. It doesn't do anything for flukes, velvet and other diseases.

Exactly.

 

[bruce337]

You're stocking choices weren't the best for a new tank but I'm not here to judge on that just be careful in the future. As far as going fishless, I once did 6 months just to put them back and spots to appear. It's frustrating. I now live with the fact that ich is to be managed and not eradicated. I have an oversized UV sterilizer and stay away from certain fish (even though I'd love to have some of them). I've always been into tangs and angels and a moderately stocked tank to now being low stocked and peaceful. I also seldom do dramatic changes. Stress is a huge contributor. Since then everything has changed.

every ****** time i get a tang (hippo, naso, orange shoulder clown you name it..) i QT for 30 days, they go into my DT and are fine for 2 weeks top then they effign get ich, BAD ICH, and i have to take them out qt them again, and they croak, no other fishes I aleady have get the ich (clown, chromis, gramma watchman, coral beauty...) just the effin tangs! then i gotta treat the DT and eveyone in it with maricyn (whatever the orange box one is to lazy to go into other room and look at the name) to be safe and let it settle for 2 months before I even think of adding anything new. I like tangs but I WILL ABSOLUTELY NEVER EVER EVER get one again!

 

[John K]

every ****** time i get a tang (hippo, naso, orange shoulder clown you name it..) i QT for 30 days, they go into my DT and are fine for 2 weeks top then they effign get ich, BAD ICH, and i have to take them out qt them again, and they croak, no other fishes I aleady have get the ich (clown, chromis, gramma watchman, coral beauty...) just the effin tangs! then i gotta treat the DT and eveyone in it with maricyn (whatever the orange box one is to lazy to go into other room and look at the name) to be safe and let it settle for 2 months before I even think of adding anything new. I like tangs but I WILL ABSOLUTELY NEVER EVER EVER get one again!

Maracyn to treat a parasite?