I SPY ich 8 days before vacation, need a PLAN fast!

[Wen]

Yes, I am guilty of not following strict qt protocol on my last fish addition, which has brought ich into a fully loaded, 150 gallon mixed reef. The big problem is that I depart for a 3 week vacation in 8 days!

Here are some details...

Fish List:
PJ Cardinal (no signs of ich)
Threadfin Cardinals (no signs of ich)
Midas Blenny (1 spot on body)
Flame Hawk Fish Pair (no sign)
Canary Wrasse (no sign)
Ruby Head Fairy (no sign)
White Tail Bristletooth (2 spots on body)
Scooter Dragonet (no signs)
Bullet-hole Clown Pair (no signs)
These fish have been through TTM/Prazi, I have had these 1 year and some up to 6 years. All fish are fat and happy. (pellets 3x daily, frozen food mix 2x daily, nori and krill 1x week)

Royal Gramma (5 spots of ich on body and fins) *this is the carrier fish*
I TTM/Prazi and qt for 1 week extra, then put him in DT. It showed no sign of ich when purchased, no sign of ich after ttm/prazi, so ... ;Nailbiting

Do I remove only the fish showing signs of ich, while I am gone on vacation? and attempt to treat them? while leaving the "hardier" fish with no sign of ich in DT until my return?

Available QT tanks:
30 gal IM (Bristletooth and canary - these 2 are inseparable)
20 gal IM (Midas Blenny)
10 gal IM (Royal Gramma)
*leaving other "hardier" fish in 150 until I return????

I will eradicate the parasite from the 150 DT by going fallow for 76 days, I will treat and qt all my fish...BUT, the problem is my limited time to catch fish and treat fish, and then have fish stable while I am away.

Also, with only 8 days until I leave, that's not enough time for TTM, and I'm not experienced with and would prefer not to use copper. What do I do?

 

[mich2599]

Ich is already is your system so you are going to have to pull out all your fish and QT. They might look healthy now but ich can appear on them any moment now. If you leave them in there you might return to find a devastated tank.

Funny how i also just bought a royal gamma and was fixing to add him to DT just bc he looked “okay” but ended QT him just in case.

 

[HotRocks]

Yes, I am guilty of not following strict qt protocol on my last fish addition, which has brought ich into a fully loaded, 150 gallon mixed reef. The big problem is that I depart for a 3 week vacation in 8 days!

Here are some details...

Fish List:
PJ Cardinal (no signs of ich)
Threadfin Cardinals (no signs of ich)
Midas Blenny (1 spot on body)
Flame Hawk Fish Pair (no sign)
Canary Wrasse (no sign)
Ruby Head Fairy (no sign)
White Tail Bristletooth (2 spots on body)
Scooter Dragonet (no signs)
Bullet-hole Clown Pair (no signs)
These fish have been through TTM/Prazi, I have had these 1 year and some up to 6 years. All fish are fat and happy. (pellets 3x daily, frozen food mix 2x daily, nori and krill 1x week)

Royal Gramma (5 spots of ich on body and fins) *this is the carrier fish*
I TTM/Prazi and qt for 1 week extra, then put him in DT. It showed no sign of ich when purchased, no sign of ich after ttm/prazi, so ... ;Nailbiting

Do I remove only the fish showing signs of ich, while I am gone on vacation? and attempt to treat them? while leaving the "hardier" fish with no sign of ich in DT until my return?

Available QT tanks:
30 gal IM (Bristletooth and canary - these 2 are inseparable)
20 gal IM (Midas Blenny)
10 gal IM (Royal Gramma)
*leaving other "hardier" fish in 150 until I return????

I will eradicate the parasite from the 150 DT by going fallow for 76 days, I will treat and qt all my fish...BUT, the problem is my limited time to catch fish and treat fish, and then have fish stable while I am away.

Also, with only 8 days until I leave, that's not enough time for TTM, and I'm not experienced with and would prefer not to use copper. What do I do?

8 days is about enough time to catch fish move to QT and ramp up copper to therapeutic level.

I personally wouldn't take a chance on leaving them for three weeks without treatment.

Is it safe to assume someone will be caring for them while you are away?

Only other thing I could think of is to get a UV sterilizer and run it on DT in hopes your fish can live/survive in "ich management" while you are away. Until you can return and treat properly.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

 

[Gablami]

I’ve caught all my fish and gone fallow. It is not easy, and also not to be rushed. I have seen more fish die from attempting ich treatment than actually from ich (friends’ tanks). Copper can kill fish too and you really have to watch your biofilter, if it’s not mature, as that can kill your fish just as easily.

Many people choose to live with ich instead of trying to eliminate it from your tank. None of your fish are the “super ich magnets” (ie like pbt and Achilles). Ich is a slow killer, if it kills at all.

My advice is to ride it out and not stress out your tank. Treat when you return. Have a tank sitter help keep your tank stress free. God forbid if a fish dies, it can be removed. I can’t think of another good option within an 8 day time frame.

If you already have a running tank with enough biofilter to handle all your fish, you can dose CP and leave. I think that’s the only other option, but gotta make sure it can handle your bioload.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

If it is ich, I would leave them in dt. until you return. Having them in a qt tank unsupervised wont end well. Best chance is to leave them in dt.

I wonder if it is ich, you said you did ttm on all fish, even the gramma? Could it be velvet? Could it be sand?

You are in a tough spot...

 

[Wen]

Thank you HotRocks and Mich, I agree, fish need to move out of DT and into QT.
Will start making water now, set up QTs first thing in morning, then divide tank with an acrylic wall and remove liverock/corals (cringe) and start netting my friends.

I have a non-fish person only capable to feed/top off every day. I have experienced friend coming once each week.

Ugh. This is ugly.

 

[Wen]

Goldeneyeret, I kept telling myself it was sand 5 days ago. A grain here, then gone, a grain there, then gone, one fish, two fish.. I keep looking and fretting. I saw the bristletooth tooth flashing a little yesterday with no spots...tonight a spot.

I’m confident about the ttm for the established group, but the newcomer..I didn’t observe it long enough after ttm.

The 30 gal Qt is established, others are empty.

 

[Joshky]

Starting treatment before you leave is a terrible idea. Good luck.

 

[Joshky]

If it were me, I'd leave the fish, set up a camera to watch the tank and not make any major changes. Mistakes happen, setting all of this up is a huge ordeal and the timing's just terrible.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I still feel the best course of action is to leave in dt until you return. Hopefully it is ich, and a less aggressive strain. If that's the case they may make it until you return.

 

[mich2599]

Maybe wait a couple of more days to see how it goes. Then make a decision based on what you see.

 

[Wen]

I’ve caught all my fish and gone fallow. It is not easy, and also not to be rushed. I have seen more fish die from attempting ich treatment than actually from ich (friends’ tanks). Copper can kill fish too and you really have to watch your biofilter, if it’s not mature, as that can kill your fish just as easily.

Many people choose to live with ich instead of trying to eliminate it from your tank. None of your fish are the “super ich magnets” (ie like pbt and Achilles). Ich is a slow killer, if it kills at all.

My advice is to ride it out and not stress out your tank. Treat when you return. Have a tank sitter help keep your tank stress free. God forbid if a fish dies, it can be removed. I can’t think of another good option within an 8 day time frame.

If you already have a running tank with enough biofilter to handle all your fish, you can dose CP and leave. I think that’s the only other option, but gotta make sure it can handle your bioload.

Thank you Gablami, I see your point as well. The fish before this are in great shape, just not sure if the ich will stay at this level or ramp up.
Only the 30 gal qt is established. Was thinking to put the bristletooth in it. But the stress could cause the bristletooth to become much worse and no one will be here.

 

[Gablami]

Thank you Gablami, I see your point as well. The fish before this are in great shape, just not sure if the ich will stay at this level or ramp up.
Only the 30 gal qt is established. Was thinking to put the bristletooth in it. But the stress could cause the bristletooth to become much worse and no one will be here.

If you take all the fish out and put them in the 30g, how are you going to treat? Copper? Your biofilter will take a hit with the copper and the tank hasn’t seen the bioload before. All your fish could die from ammonia tox while you’re gone.

Your chances of riding this out are much higher leaving your DT alone until you get back.

 

[Humblefish]

If you are sure this is just Ich (and not velvet), then I would put the DT in ich management mode until you return from vacation: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

There's no way I would trust a non-fish person with a QT for 3 weeks. As previously mentioned, you don't have any fish overly susceptible to ich. Not treating right now is the lesser of two evils.

 

[Wen]

If you are sure this is just Ich (and not velvet), then I would put the DT in ich management mode until you return from vacation: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

There's no way I would trust a non-fish person with a QT for 3 weeks. As previously mentioned, you don't have any fish overly susceptible to ich. Not treating right now is the lesser of two evils.

Thanks Humblefish, I’m honored to have your opinion.

I’d feel much better leaving the fish in DT, with apex safety features and nest camera, then in multiple qts with no back up.

Have read your article on eradication vs management...and think my friends have a good chance of surviving 3 weeks with ich.
So looks like a plan of action should be purchasing and installing a uv sterilizer asap, keeping fish well fed and water quality top notch until my return. Then start the process of eliminating ich from my life.

Any advise on a uv sterilizer? Should it be oversized?

Thank you.

 

[Humblefish]

Any advise on a uv sterilizer? Should it be oversized?

Yes, the bigger the better. You could also run this small (or multiple) diatom filter to filter out the free swimmers: https://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Polishing-Internal-Canister-ML90770/dp/B01C8PH0OI

You'll also need to get some diatomaceous earth from a pool supply place, and show your fish sitter how to clean/recharge it. (It will clog every 3-4 days.)

@reefwiser put together a nice video here on how to use this filter: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...xternal-parasites.212429/page-16#post-4006893

 

[Wen]

Yes, the bigger the better. You could also run this small (or multiple) diatom filter to filter out the free swimmers: https://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Polishing-Internal-Canister-ML90770/dp/B01C8PH0OI

You'll also need to get some diatomaceous earth from a pool supply place, and show your fish sitter how to clean/recharge it. (It will clog every 3-4 days.)

@reefwiser put together a nice video here on how to use this filter: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...xternal-parasites.212429/page-16#post-4006893

Ok, largest uv I can afford or multiple diatom filters...
After watching video and considering diatom filter placement and cleaning/recharging, the caregiver couldn’t do it. Best bet will be the uv.

I appreciate your advice and all others who chimed in, thank you.

 

[Gmj4409]

Please keep us posted.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Best of luck with this... I am in the middle of a Fallow cycle and cupramine QT'ing my fish now... I cant imagine being gone 3 weeks. I check everything every single day like a old worried mother.

 

[Dr. Reef]

i would leave them in DT with a biggest uv you can put on it.
There is a 50/50 chance to survive in DT while there is hardly any chance for them to survive in a qt just put together or with someone with no knowledge on ich management. odd are better in DT.
once you are back then you can get them out to qt and treat.