Ich emergency!! Help with medication please!!!!

[4FordFamily]

As long as you are at or above 1.5 and not above 2 then you are good to go.

X2

 

[Humblefish]

As long as you are at or above 1.5 and not above 2 then you are good to go.

X3

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

Question.... say I do the multiple week treatment and run my display tank without fish. How do I know it won't come back ? Since ich is technically in all of our fish , what keeps it from not returning? Or what keeps the stress level down ? What if a fish decided to bully the whole tank and or any reason that normally causes ich ? Will I have to QT again ? Or how do I prevent it 100% so I do not have to worry about it anymore. Because I do plan on adding more fish

 

[Humblefish]

Question.... say I do the multiple week treatment and run my display tank without fish. How do I know it won't come back ? Since ich is technically in all of our fish , what keeps it from not returning? Or what keeps the stress level down ? What if a fish decided to bully the whole tank and or any reason that normally causes ich ? Will I have to QT again ? Or how do I prevent it 100% so I do not have to worry about it anymore. Because I do plan on adding more fish

You'd have to quarantine all future fish AND coral/invert purchases to avoid reintroducing ich, velvet, etc. into your DT. See links below.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine.232/

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine-coral-and-inverts.228/

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

You'd have to quarantine all future fish AND coral/invert purchases to avoid reintroducing ich, velvet, etc. into your DT. See links below.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine.232/

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine-coral-and-inverts.228/

I know you are supposed to QT all new fish , but my question is how does ich surface in our tanks in the first place ? Say no fish have ich for months and then bam! Outbreak happens... how does it happen ? How do fish get ich that didn't have an outbreak before? If that makes sense lol thank you for the response btw

 

[4FordFamily]

I know you are supposed to QT all new fish , but my question is how does ich surface in our tanks in the first place ? Say no fish have ich for months and then bam! Outbreak happens... how does it happen ? How do fish get ich that didn't have an outbreak before? If that makes sense lol thank you for the response btw

That happens because the parasite is present but being kept at bay by most of the fish's immune systems. This works for ich, but not for velvet. With ich, though it's a ticking time bomb. To answer your question, any stress event at all can trigger the parasite to get the upper hand and be prevalent to critical mass to where the fish cannot fight off the infestation.

 

[Humblefish]

I know you are supposed to QT all new fish , but my question is how does ich surface in our tanks in the first place ? Say no fish have ich for months and then bam! Outbreak happens... how does it happen ? How do fish get ich that didn't have an outbreak before? If that makes sense lol thank you for the response btw

I think I see what you're getting at. Many fish are capable of developing immunity/resistance to ich and/or the trophonts remain confined to the gills (out of sight.) However, it is only a matter of time before you buy a fish which does not enjoy such immunity (like an Acanthurus Tang). This "non-immune" fish allows the parasite's numbers to increase exponentially, which tests the immune system of resistant specimens. Sometimes their natural immunity stands up to the threat, sometimes fish start falling like dominoes. I suspect the latter happens when the no. of theronts in the water reaches epidemic proportions or possibly a new strain of ich has been introduced (by a new fish) that their immune system is not familiar with. Or if something environmental occurs which interferes with (stresses) the collective's immune response (ex. heater sticks, low oxygen level) that can trigger an outbreak as well.

Ich management only works when you are able to keep the overall number of parasites down, while simultaneously boosting the fishes’ immune systems to deal with the parasites that survived. If either one of those variables goes the other way, you could have a problem on your hands.

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

That happens because the parasite is present but being kept at bay by most of the fish's immune systems. This works for ich, but not for velvet. With ich, though it's a ticking time bomb. To answer your question, any stress event at all can trigger the parasite to get the upper hand and be prevalent to critical mass to where the fish cannot fight off the infestation.

So with that being said , say all fish are QT and introduced the proper and correct way into the display tank using copper and QT method. Does that mean there is still a chance for the fish to get stressed out enough to where ich will surface and attack again? Or ...?

 

[Humblefish]

So with that being said , say all fish are QT and introduced the proper and correct way into the display tank using copper and QT method. Does that mean there is still a chance for the fish to get stressed out enough to where ich will surface and attack again? Or ...?

Ich cannot surface unless it is present on a fish or coral/invert (as a cyst). Proper QT ensures the former does not happen, while going fallow takes the latter out of the equation. However, you must also "go fallow" with any new coral/invert in a QT for 76 days. Before placing it into your DT.

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

Ich cannot surface unless it is present on a fish or coral/invert (as a cyst). Proper QT ensures the former does not happen, while going fallow takes the latter out of the equation. However, you must also "go fallow" with any new coral/invert in a QT for 76 days. Before placing it into your DT.

That answered my question

 

[4FordFamily]

Ich cannot surface unless it is present on a fish or coral/invert (as a cyst). Proper QT ensures the former does not happen, while going fallow takes the latter out of the equation. However, you must also "go fallow" with any new coral/invert in a QT for 76 days. Before placing it into your DT.

Exactly.

 

[Humblefish]

Exactly.

Dude, I just gotta say that your daughter is adorable. I even showed my wife and she said: "I hope our daughter looks just like that." You should be proud.

 

[4FordFamily]

Dude, I just gotta say that your daughter is adorable. I even showed my wife and she said: "I hope our daughter looks just like that." You should be proud.

Aww, thanks, Bobby. She's my princess, I love her more than anything in this world. My son is a beautiful blessing as well, but he's a mommas boy. My daughter had some temporary special needs that were living hell and I was on the front line with her. I feel like we bonded a lot, she taught me a lot. Anyway,

Thank you. Here's my chunky son, too.

Your daughter will be beautiful, too, friend.

 

[Humblefish]

That's one chubby little guy! He's adorable too!

Sorry to hijack, OP.

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

Last question. .. when it's time to transfer the fish back to DT. Do I just net them and throw them in ? Or do I transfer into fresh salt made ? Then transfer after ? Or will I be ok to just throw in ? Will the copper go with ? Or what's the correct way to insure I don't transfer copper

 

[Maritimer]

One option is, at the end of 30 days in copper, to either transfer your fish to a new, clean QT - or do some water changes without replacing the copper. Possibly run some carbon in your QT filter, to help remove the remaining meds.

After an observation period of a few to a couple of weeks under that protocol, by the time you get around to reintroducing your fish to the display, the amount of copper clinging to the skin of a wet fish will be pretty negligible - unless you have a _really_ tiny tank.

~Bruce, who has got to agree that 4FordFamily's kids are pretty darned adorable . . . (>_<)

 

[Humblefish]

^^ Just to add; any residual copper on the net isn't enough of a concern to worry about.

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

So quick update everyone! All fish are still active and healthy. But just one thing concerns me now. I've done a water change every 5 days or so and did one last night due to cycle spikes. And my copper level is exactly where it should be as well. But I've noticed the fish yesterday and this morning... all of them are at the top of the water actively swimming against the current... and they all still eat and swim around, but they just stay in a single file line and swim against the flow at the top of the Water. What's the reason for this behavior?? And also my kole tang is very light color now. Until I feed, then her gets his color back when he is chasing food . After all has eaten, goes back to top and turns pale and swims with the others :/??

 

[JamesP]

Maybe low oxygen. Do you have good surface agitation? Aim your powerheads upward to ripple the water.

 

[Humblefish]

Swimming into flow and pale colors are typically signs of velvet. How many days have your fish been in copper thus far? And are you sure the Cu level isn't dropping below therapeutic when you do a WC? Even for a moment can be a problem.