Ich is still in tank even after going full cycle

[StartingATank]

I am just simply overwhelmed with this at this point because I have already lost 2 fish due to problems with ich, one to ich and one that died from something else that ravaged its body since its immune system was lowered due to copper and stress. I had the tank go FALLOW, I think is the term, where I didn’t have any fish In there for 72 days. Two days ago that ended and I moved the tang into the main tank into an acclimation box to see if my tank still had ich in it. First day tang was healthy and happy, but when I woke up this morning, beginning of third day of tang being in there, I noticed it had the spots of ich. I am now making water so I can clean my quarantine tank and so I can move the tang over into it and will restart the cycle and copper treatment

 

[dereksiz]

hi there,

what tank temperature did the fallow period run at? did anything wet move between QT and display (nets, magnets, hands, frags, snails, a shared ATO)? also, was the tang was fully cleared in QT before it went back? since most times spots on day 3 in a sterile system are just as consistent with the fish carrying it in.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am just simply overwhelmed with this at this point because I have already lost 2 fish due to problems with ich, one to ich and one that died from something else that ravaged its body since its immune system was lowered due to copper and stress. I had the tank go FALLOW, I think is the term, where I didn’t have any fish In there for 72 days. Two days ago that ended and I moved the tang into the main tank into an acclimation box to see if my tank still had ich in it. First day tang was healthy and happy, but when I woke up this morning, beginning of third day of tang being in there, I noticed it had the spots of ich. I am now making water so I can clean my quarantine tank and so I can move the tang over into it and will restart the cycle and copper treatment

If inverts doing well, points to water but suggested is to quarantine fish first before introduction

 

[W31Olds]

Can you post a couple of Pics and a Video of your Tang using white lighting. If you Fallowed your Tank and maintained Biosecurity Ich should have been long gone. Was your Tang QT'd in Copper before adding him back into your DT?

 

[oxo]

important to note that fish can carry ich in the slime coat without the visible white spots / trophonts. the freeliving stage likes to adhere to surfaces, and you wouldn’t be able to see that (same way inverts can bring in ich — that said, if you added any non-QT inverts or non-dipped coral in your fallow period it may have reintroduced ich parasite as well). If the tang didn’t get a full disease treatment beforehand, or the copper was low dose (with the amount of copper-resistant ich out there, at this point i’d only bother personally with chloroquine or TTM) it may have already been with the fish. sorry you’re dealing with this now though, it really sucks. if you have the space for 2 clean tanks I’d look into HTTM or otherwise TTM style parasite prevention for the tang. without killing it chemically or taking advantage of its life cycle to starve it out, a lot of disease vectors can persist on fish just until it gets stressed enough its immune system can’t beat it out anymore

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I am just simply overwhelmed with this at this point because I have already lost 2 fish due to problems with ich, one to ich and one that died from something else that ravaged its body since its immune system was lowered due to copper and stress. I had the tank go FALLOW, I think is the term, where I didn’t have any fish In there for 72 days. Two days ago that ended and I moved the tang into the main tank into an acclimation box to see if my tank still had ich in it. First day tang was healthy and happy, but when I woke up this morning, beginning of third day of tang being in there, I noticed it had the spots of ich. I am now making water so I can clean my quarantine tank and so I can move the tang over into it and will restart the cycle and copper treatment

I agree - a clear video under white light is needed here.....

For ich to show up on a fish in 3 days is really too fast for it to have come from the fallow tank. More likely, the YT was either carrying ich (as mentioned) and the stress of the move cause it to outbreak, or the issue isn't ich at all....

 

[StartingATank]

Hi there. Sorry I have been late with the replies as I have been a little busy, but here is a video of the tang

 

[StartingATank]

hi there,

what tank temperature did the fallow period run at? did anything wet move between QT and display (nets, magnets, hands, frags, snails, a shared ATO)? also, was the tang was fully cleared in QT before it went back? since most times spots on day 3 in a sterile system are just as consistent with the fish carrying it in.

Well the tank temperature is kind of the problem, as every day my temperature fluctuates from 78ish to 80ish, and that is the glory of Texas. I have been able to cool down the tank whenever it overheats with a fan. I did have the tang running a full copper but then I was able to catch another fish that had been surviving in the main tank and added it into there, and forgot to increase the copper again. The only thing that I can remember that was ever shared was a net.

 

[StartingATank]

important to note that fish can carry ich in the slime coat without the visible white spots / trophonts. the freeliving stage likes to adhere to surfaces, and you wouldn’t be able to see that (same way inverts can bring in ich — that said, if you added any non-QT inverts or non-dipped coral in your fallow period it may have reintroduced ich parasite as well). If the tang didn’t get a full disease treatment beforehand, or the copper was low dose (with the amount of copper-resistant ich out there, at this point i’d only bother personally with chloroquine or TTM) it may have already been with the fish. sorry you’re dealing with this now though, it really sucks. if you have the space for 2 clean tanks I’d look into HTTM or otherwise TTM style parasite prevention for the tang. without killing it chemically or taking advantage of its life cycle to starve it out, a lot of disease vectors can persist on fish just until it gets stressed enough its immune system can’t beat it out anymore

I did add a peppermint shrimp somewhat recently, I am unsure if it was quarantined or not at the lfs. I also added some snails about 2-3 weeks into the cycle, but at that time, I was still unable to catch the damsel.

 

[StartingATank]

I think the mistake was forgetting to put the copper back up.

 

[Euphyllia97]

From the video I am not so sure this actually is ich. It looks a bit like a mucus plug which is not uncommon in tangs. But I will leave that conclusion to the experts.

 

[StartingATank]

I have noticed that the spots do come and go

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have noticed that the spots do come and go

I don’t see ich on the tomini and minimum off 2.2 copper level recommended

 

[dereksiz]

I think the mistake was forgetting to put the copper back up.

this is probably it. the copper went to sub-therapeautic levels. even if levels drop slightly out of range, the 30-day clock restarts unfortunately. and the fish came from an infected display, so you seeded the qt with a fresh parasite population while the copper was diluted.

so the tang most likely carried it back in, which fits spots showing up on day 3.
the 78 to 80 swing i wouldn't worry about much, that's a normal range and more of a mild stressor than a cause. shared net is worth eliminating going forward too, but the copper lapse alone explains it.

 

[StartingATank]

I have noticed that the spots do come and go

I don’t see ich on the tomini and minimum off 2.2 copper level recommended

These are the places on the tang where I am seeing the dots

 

[StartingATank]

So do you think I should move the tang back into quarantine?

 

[SebM]

Looks like mucous plugs to me but will leave to the experts. My regal gets them, often after she squeezes into too tight a rock!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have noticed that the spots do come and go

Sorry, I viewed the video multiple times and I can only make out the one spot on its left side. In person, can you see any spots on the fins? That's one way to rule out ich from mucus plugs.

 

[StartingATank]

You are right. I did notice that there aren’t any on the fins. I am going to keep him in here to see if he happens to develop any on them. Also, if it helps, his breathing rate is ~90

 

[StartingATank]

Well, this morning I woke up and he had a spot on his fins, specifically his right side.