Ich epidemic apparently under control, what now?

[ScubaGuy]

Guys,

I recently had an epidemic of Ich and, unfortunately, most of my fish died. I was able to save a couple though; my corals, though, seem to be doing just fine. My question is, now what? When would I be able to add new fish minimizing the risk of having them catch any "remaining" ich in the tank and die too? The remaining fish seem to be healthy and ok, but how can I know that is really the case? How long do I need to wait?

By the way, I do have a QT, but it seamed like when I put fish there, instead of getting better they just wen there to die faster. I used copper-based medicine in the QT.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Dowtish]

Technically you should run your DT for about 9 weeks without any fish at all. But this is speculation IMO. I have read that some strains of Ich can lay dormant for up to 36 weeks. But those that survived probably have developed a resistance to this particular strain of Ich. Meaning you probably have Ich in your system, but these fish will never show signs. But you could add fish, and they could come down with it, or already have it. I would QT any fish you plan on adding and would make sure the order in which your fish go into the tank to help with any unnecessary stress.

I pulled all my fish out and Qt'd them and ran my tank fallow or fishless for 9 weeks, then Qt'd the new fish for 4 weeks before adding them. Once i put the first batch of new fish in, they still broke out with Ich anyways. But the 2 tangs that had it, fought it off, and I havent had any issues since. I am not sure how I feel about the possibility of a tank being completely Ich free, but I think if you =can keep the stress down, and feed them a varied diet, fish can and will beat Ich on their own.

 

[ScubaGuy]

Thanks Dowtish. I will continue to monitor my fish and wait some time to add any new ones. I will quarantine any new additions prior to adding them to my DT.

On a different note, the sand on my DT is getting this red coloration in some areas. I have scoped up some of it, but then it "grows" back. Is this algae?

 

[Dowtish]

That is cyano, from the sound of it. It is technically a bacteria. What is happening is that since you had a certain bio-load, and now that you have lost some fish. The bacterial balance in your system is a little out of whack. I would suggest getting some nitrifying bacteria that you can dose to the tank. It will help balance things out again.

Microbe Lift 'Special Blend' is what I use. You can find it at any Petco.

 

[ScubaGuy]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, it looks like cyano; I checked some imagen on the net and it is exactly what it looks like. I went ahead and bought the Micro-Lift "Special Blend", it is quite smelly I will go over the treatment and hopefully the cyano will get under control. Thanks for your help!

 

[Dowtish]

No problem man. Yes, I failed to mention that you will want to leave your house right after dosing it. LOL