Did a bad thing. Please QT your fish. Med help

[melypr1985]

Yeah, unfortunately this is probably the wrong thing and is contributing to your ammonia. Very little bacteria is in the water and most of the skimmer scum is organic in nature that will break down into ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria thrives and clings to hard surfaces which is what makes porous live rock work so well as a filter. You can't even scrub the bacteria off it clings so tightly.

Adding the stability should help in the long run, so that is a good thing.

Oh boy!! Good catch! For some reason my brain skipped right over that part about the skimmer junk. I had to go back and read it again. Agree with this^^^ 100%

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Just went through this but on a smaller scale. Did fallow for 6 weeks as I couldn't keep the qt running due to space restrictions. AKA the wife. Well I was nervous about putting the fish back into the tank but the 2 fish I put back in thay survived the ich are still ich free a month later. I also added a gladiator clown that I got from Fish Doctor and he quarantines all fish for 21 days with meds and what not so he went straight into display and no ich. Definitely sucks to get ich

Never, ever trust anyone else to QT fish for you. EVER. I got burned twice.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

Never, ever trust anyone else to QT fish for you. EVER. I got burned twice.

Agreed.
Also, never trust the "it's been in my tank with other fish for years with no signs of disease" either. That came from a LFS owner, when I purchased from his home tank. My $70 deal on an adult Passer Angel cost me about $1200 in fish loss when I decided to not QT.

I'm rooting for you here. I want to see a happy ending (or as happy as can be at this point)!

 

[Michael43]

Went to get some dr tims today. The guy at the store said to be careful with copper and Angels?

 

[melypr1985]

Went to get some dr tims today. The guy at the store said to be careful with copper and Angels?

Angels can be sensitive to copper. However, if you use chelated copper like Coppersafe and are careful to raise the levels slowly, you shouldn't have a problem. I use Coppersafe at the store and have had very little problem with angels in that system.

 

[Michael43]

The levels in the tanks are 1 and 1.5. Is that enough to be therapeutic

 

[Michael43]

And ammonia levels are extremely high right now...

 

[melypr1985]

The levels in the tanks are 1 and 1.5. Is that enough to be therapeutic

1.5ppm - 2ppm is therapeutic for Coppersafe. You'll need to get the other tank to this range.

And ammonia levels are extremely high right now...

You'll need to do a water change any time you see ammonia. Be sure to dose copper to the new water before adding it to the QT so the copper levels don't drop.

 

[Michael43]

I did a water change everyday since I set them up wed. No different. Feeding lighter

 

[Areseebee]

1.5ppm - 2ppm is therapeutic for Coppersafe. You'll need to get the other tank to this range.

You'll need to do a water change any time you see ammonia. Be sure to dose copper to the new water before adding it to the QT so the copper levels don't drop.

Is this a problem? I've been trying to limit how much my spare WC equipment is exposed to copper (buckets, heaters, powerheads, etc) and I've been immediately re-adding the copper after a ~50% water change. Is that a real problem? Obviously the best case is that all this equipment is relegated to DT or QT entirely but I do occasionally need to reuse a tube or a powerhead or bucket in a pinch.

 

[melypr1985]

I did a water change everyday since I set them up wed. No different. Feeding lighter

It will take time for your QT to cycle. As long as you have a filter with a sponge or other biomedia and bacteria with that, then it will cycle. Until then, daily water changes may be needed. If you are using an ammonia badge, be sure that you are viewing it in bright light for a true reading. If you need to, you can try shining a flash light behind the badge or directly above it.

 

[melypr1985]

Is this a problem? I've been trying to limit how much my spare WC equipment is exposed to copper (buckets, heaters, powerheads, etc) and I've been immediately re-adding the copper after a ~50% water change. Is that a real problem? Obviously the best case is that all this equipment is relegated to DT or QT entirely but I do occasionally need to reuse a tube or a powerhead or bucket in a pinch.

Yes, it's a problem for sure. Every time you do this, you drop the copper level for a bit. In that time, ich can create a cyst, or break open from one to attach to a fish. This continues the life cycle. If your copper levels drop below therapeutic even one time, the 30 day clock starts over. I suggest having a bucket dedicated to QT water changes so you don't have to worry about adding copper to it.

 

[leahfiish]

Seems like you got in a bit over your head. Best of luck, please keep us updated.

 

[Michael43]

Well here's to a new start...

 

[Humblefish]

Looks good!

 

[Michael43]

So I've been running rox Carbon and gfo in the DT and frag tank since wed . How long before it's safe to say the kick ich is fully removed from the system and I can at least put some corals in. I have some corals in now with no issues but don't want to go crazy

 

[prsnlty]

Looks great!

 

[Humblefish]

So I've been running rox Carbon and gfo in the DT and frag tank since wed . How long before it's safe to say the kick ich is fully removed from the system and I can at least put some corals in. I have some corals in now with no issues but don't want to go crazy

You should be good now.

 

[Michael43]

Should I use something like furan or kanaplex during treatment or wait till the 30 day copper treatment is done and decide?

 

[noahreef]

Hyper cure is the way to go