Ich in a tank with coral

[banghair]

My two clownfish seem to have ich, I noticed one acting funny last night so I did a freshwater dip, put him back and noticed he has white spots all over him, and they are showing up on my other clown now.

I have several corals, so I’m not sure the game plan? I have all inverts and coral and one goby.

4 questions:

1. Will I need to treat in a separate tank?

2. If I need to treat in a separate tank, how long?

3. Do I have to dig up my goby? (Or both my goby and pistol shrimp?)

4. What do I treat this with that I can find at LFS?

 

[Derrick0580]

The tank needs to go fallow for 70+ days to kill all the ich. It’s already in there so you might try metroplex with focus and feed them like crazy. Ich attacks stressed fish. If you can keep them happy and eating chances are the ich will drop off. You can also add a uv to the system to help control it.

 

[KrisReef]

Fallow period after Brook is like 70 ish days. At six weeks you might be 50 days since the last pair perished.

 

[Spare time]

The tank needs to be empty for 45 days at 81 degrees. 70 is not necessary. You would need to catch all the fish for copper treatment.

 

[banghair]

Fallow period after Brook is like 70 ish days. At six weeks you might be 50 days since the last pair perished.

I was told 6 weeks.

But it’s definitely not brook, it doesn’t look even remotely similar to brook, I am 100% certain it’s ich.

 

[banghair]

The tank needs to go fallow for 70+ days to kill all the ich. It’s already in there so you might try metroplex with focus and feed them like crazy. Ich attacks stressed fish. If you can keep them happy and eating chances are the ich will drop off. You can also add a uv to the system to help control it.

One was eating, one ate yesterday morning and stopped eating last night.
So I should set up a QT?

 

[banghair]

The tank needs to be empty for 45 days at 81 degrees. 70 is not necessary. You would need to catch all the fish for copper treatment.

So basically I’m gonna have to go through all the sand? Oy vey.

 

[Lavey29]

I was told 6 weeks.

But it’s definitely not brook, it doesn’t look even remotely similar to brook, I am 100% certain it’s ich.

Pics would help. Clowns are known for brook not ich

 

[IKD]

Good reference but @Spare time is correct with the shorter fallow period (article was written before the update from @Jay Hemdal

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[banghair]

Pics would help. Clowns are known for brook not ich

 

[banghair]

Pics would help. Clowns are known for brook not ich

Sorry I don’t know why the pictures are low quality, but it doesn’t have the same appearance of brook at all in person. There is no doubt in my mind that this is not brook. I thought they were air bubbles at first glance.

 

[banghair]

Good reference but @Spare time is correct with the shorter fallow period (article was written before the update from @Jay Hemdal

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you this was helpful!

 

[Lavey29]

Sorry I don’t know why the pictures are low quality, but it doesn’t have the same appearance of brook at all in person. There is no doubt in my mind that this is not brook. I thought they were air bubbles at first glance.

Probably brook, those fish will be dead in a few days without immediate treatment. Tank needs to be fallow for 45 days or longer. I gave had clowns with same symptoms so I know what to expect.

 

[banghair]

Probably brook, those fish will be dead in a few days without immediate treatment. Tank needs to be fallow for 45 days or longer. I gave had clowns with same symptoms so I know what to expect.

Like I said, I am 100% certain it is not brook. It does not even look remotely similar. They are small, almost sand like white dots that fall off and regrow as the same small little white dots in other places. There is no slime, or creamy white residue, there is no deterioration of any fins or any lesions, it didn’t start in any specific region of the body, and it appears sporadically on my fish. My previous clowns had brook, there was a 5 week fallow period, and this is not comparable in any way to the symptoms they had.

Either way, that’s why I made this post because I’ll be going to my LFS as soon as it opens and getting what I need to hopefully treat it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My two clownfish seem to have ich, I noticed one acting funny last night so I did a freshwater dip, put him back and noticed he has white spots all over him, and they are showing up on my other clown now.

I have several corals, so I’m not sure the game plan? I have all inverts and coral and one goby.

4 questions:

1. Will I need to treat in a separate tank?

2. If I need to treat in a separate tank, how long?

3. Do I have to dig up my goby? (Or both my goby and pistol shrimp?)

4. What do I treat this with that I can find at LFS?

I just saw this from overnight. Your description later on is pretty classic ich. Your best course of action is to move the clowns and the goby to a treatment tank and treat with Coppersafe for 30 days. Then, they will need to stay there for at least 45 days (60 is safer) to clear the tank itself of ich.
Jay

 

[banghair]

I just saw this from overnight. Your description later on is pretty classic ich. Your best course of action is to move the clowns and the goby to a treatment tank and treat with Coppersafe for 30 days. Then, they will need to stay there for at least 45 days (60 is safer) to clear the tank itself of ich.
Jay

I know others say 70 isn’t necessary but I think I’ll do it for that long to be safe. As soon as my LFS opens I’m gonna set up a treatment tank.

 

[Lavey29]

Like I said, I am 100% certain it is not brook. It does not even look remotely similar. They are small, almost sand like white dots that fall off and regrow as the same small little white dots in other places. There is no slime, or creamy white residue, there is no deterioration of any fins or any lesions, it didn’t start in any specific region of the body, and it appears sporadically on my fish. My previous clowns had brook, there was a 5 week fallow period, and this is not comparable in any way to the symptoms they had.

Either way, that’s why I made this post because I’ll be going to my LFS as soon as it opens and getting what I need to hopefully treat it.

A 5 week fallow period is not sufficient time to eradicate brook from a tank. 6 weeks is the minimum period of time needed so if you prior clowns had brook and died then you waited 5 weeks.....well..... it sounds like you know what you are doing....good luck

 

[Spare time]

Pics would help. Clowns are known for brook not ich

Eh they can pretty much get ich like anything else in the hobby.

 

[Lavey29]

Eh they can pretty much get ich like anything else in the hobby.

Actually they are very resistant to ich like a lot of other fish with their natural immune systems but you are correct they can still get it too in the right environment.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Actually they are very resistant to ich like a lot of other fish with their natural immune systems but you are correct they can still get it too in the right environment.

I don't see clowns being any more resistant to ich than most other fish. Some tangs will show it first, but clownfish are by no way immune. Plus clowns get Brooklynella, so that makes things worse - since the treatments are different and the fish can get them at the same time.

What you may be referring to is tank raised clowns, going from a breeder straight to a hobbyist, without getting mixed in with wild caught fish, almost never show with ich because the breeders do not have that parasite in their systems.

Jay