First time ich

lost66

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Hi
I knew I should not buy fish from them, I knew it... I week ago I bought yellow tang which looked good at shop, they told me they got him a week before. I don't have quarantine tank so I added him to my display tank. And I noticed few white spots. I thought it's maybe some sand particles since I have this orange goby which makes a hell in my sand bed and water is not super clear. But after a week I noticed white spots on my blue tang so I think it's ich.
I was preparing for such an event and a sponge filter is in my sump for a week. I have 20g tank and heater. I don't see white spots on my other fish but I assume it's just matter of time?
So my plan of attack is: put all my fish to my 20g tank (if I will be able to catch them all :( ), put sponge filter with air pump, add some cheap lamp and some 2-3" pvc elbow, heater and pour dose cupramine and keep my display tank for 67 days and hope all my fish will survive in my hospital tank?

Please correct me if I am doing anything wrong. I am ordering cupramine from Amazone so I will start procedure on Wednesday.
 

LAReefer4Life

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Sorry for your troubles. Are you 100% its ich? Post some pictures possibly?

If you're certain your dealing with ich than you will need to remove all fish and run you display fallow for minimum of 76 days but 12 weeks is ideal. Avoid cross contamination of pumps, tools, buckets, etc and make sure the QT is at least 10 feet away from your display.

Cupramine is great for eradicating ich, slowly ramp up copper levels over 3-4 days to hit therapeutic levels of .50ppm. You also need a solid test kit and the best in my opinion is the hanna checker. Since you only have one QT tank you'll need hold .50ppm for minimum 35 days and then observe for the remainder of fallow period.

Since this is a new QT that has not cycled, you'll to watch the ammonia levels as they quickly raise. Make sure you get yourself the seachem ammonia alert badge and a couple bottles of nitrifying bacteria such as biospira or Dr Tims. Also have plenty of fresh saltwater on hand just in case you need to conduct a large water change. You also might want to invest into a couple tank dividers to help mitigate aggression issues. 20 gallons is a small space for this long of a period.
 
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lost66

lost66

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I took some pictures. It is not easy to capture clear picture using smartphone, my blue tang is super shy and notices when I try to take picture. All other fish looks good. Should I wait some time to see if other fish get the same thing? Since I cannot be 100% sure if its ich at this point.

I have seachem ammonia badge in my DT since my tank is relatively new.
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Multra

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IMO your fish have a better survival chance by just feeding them well and keeping them calm to build immunity to Ich over cramming them in a 20 gallon tank for 3 months battling stress/copper/ammonia.
 

LAReefer4Life

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Thanks. It is tough to see with the blue light on but the size of the spots do indeed resemble ich. Try and post with whites lights on please.

In regards to other fish not showing symptoms, some may and others may never have symptoms due to built up immunity but the parasite is still present in the gills. Reduced stress levels will help keep the parasite at bay but when a high stress situation takes place the parasite can take a foot hold on the fishes immune system.

If you want to eradicate the parasite the only way is too remove and run fallow as stated before. Many reefers go the route of ich management and have had success. I personally suggest eradication of the parasite.

Read this thread below.

 

kirinreef

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Totally agree with Multra, However if you decide to go with the route of eradicating it, be sure to follow a strict quarantine practice from now on, otherwise the fallow period would be wasted.
 

AquaholicAquariums

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You can “manage” ich by feeding heavy, and parameters in check but IMO I would only go that route if I added my last fish. Becomes a gamble and velvet is more common then ich nowadays
 

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Hi
I knew I should not buy fish from them, I knew it... I week ago I bought yellow tang which looked good at shop, they told me they got him a week before. I don't have quarantine tank so I added him to my display tank. And I noticed few white spots. I thought it's maybe some sand particles since I have this orange goby which makes a hell in my sand bed and water is not super clear. But after a week I noticed white spots on my blue tang so I think it's ich.
I was preparing for such an event and a sponge filter is in my sump for a week. I have 20g tank and heater. I don't see white spots on my other fish but I assume it's just matter of time?
So my plan of attack is: put all my fish to my 20g tank (if I will be able to catch them all :( ), put sponge filter with air pump, add some cheap lamp and some 2-3" pvc elbow, heater and pour dose cupramine and keep my display tank for 67 days and hope all my fish will survive in my hospital tank?

Please correct me if I am doing anything wrong. I am ordering cupramine from Amazone so I will start procedure on Wednesday.
You might want to switch your copper to a "chelated" copper. Ionic coppers like Cupramine can be a bit harsh on some fish, like your yellow tang. Here's a chart with info gathered from many sources as to the best-worst treatment for parasites:

 
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lost66

lost66

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I think it's not velvet, I can count dots.
I took some more pictures using white light. Switching from "schedule" to "on" freaked out all living creatures in my tank. Blue tang disappeared for 10 minutes...
I don't want to manage ich. I just want to eliminate it for good and do everything by the book from now on (lesson learned).
What I have in my tank:
* blue tang,
* yellow tang
(small ones, planning to upgrade my tank in like 9 months)
* 2 cardinals
* 1 clown (I think I see white spots on him too but cannot take picture, he is too fast)
* orange goby
* firefish
* lawnmower blenny
* 3 emerald crabs
* horde of hermit crabs and snails

Now when I read what I have I think it is a lot for 20 g tank for 76 days... I can buy another 20-30g and separate them after treatment? But I have only 1 sponge filter in the sump preparing for a week now.
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LAReefer4Life

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Look like ich. If you purchase the 2nd QT tank you want it to be completely sterile so you wouldn't want to use anything from your display. Just add a bottle of bio-spira and maintain testing to ensure water parameters are good and ammonia in check.
 
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lost66

lost66

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Ok so if it has been identified as ich (I trust you guys, I know it may be 100% sure but it is good enough for me) then I think I will purchase second 20-30g tank, second sponge filter and setup 2 hospital tanks.

Cupramine (I don't know any other medication and it has to be in prime, not some super specific and rare item) has an information that it cannot be used with any water additions so I wonder if I can use biospira to cycle quarantine tank with cupramine?
I have some spare dry rock which I just finished curing and I can add to these tanks to have a place for bacteria and after 76 days just utilize them and not put to DT tank.

I wonder how to manage ammonia spike when I add cupramine and then I have ammonia. The only way is to do a water change? If so then I will dilute medication. How to do it? I know this forum is full of information but at this point it is hard for me to find all this information, there are so many topics about this, so much to read :/ Sorry for asking basic questions which are answered somewhere already.
 
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lost66

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Oh boy, what a day... Cleaning the floor 2 times... I thought it will be easy to catch fish in my DT. It took me 2 hours and I needed to take out all rocks with corals on them. I can't imagine catching all fish from 240g or bigger just in case of an emergency. Lesson learned for sure :) No more skipping quarantine tank.

I setup 2x20g hospital tanks. One has yellow and blue tang and other one has lawnmower blenny, orange goby, firefish, 2 cardinals and clown. I split bio-spira and added to the tanks. My local fish store told me I shouldn't use cupramine and they have Fritz Coppersafe which is prime safe so I don't have to worried much about ammonia.
I have few questions, please advice:
1) When should I add Coppersafe? Should I wait few days for bio-spira starting to work? Not all fish look infected so I think it is just beginning of ich.
2) Both tanks are bare bottom, I have orange goby who loves sand. I have some clean play sand - can I add some to that tank?
3) Can I use heaters from these hospital tanks in my DT after 76 days? If so, use vinegar or bleach?
 

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