Ich killed almost everything

[bashierr]

So I added a powder blue tang. Looked good during qt. Within 12 hours of adding him, my powder brown broke out in ich. Then he looked better and the powder blue broke out a week later. Powder blue died and 24 hours later, the powder brown died. A week goes by. My other fish looked good until last night. This morning my clowns died and my dwarf angel died. Ammonia is 0. Nitrite is 0. Nitrate is 5. I couldn't get all the fish that died out, but I'm not worried about ammonia because I have like 300lbs of rock and a 40 gallon refugium overgrown with 12 different species of macroalgaes connected to the system.

So I'm not posting to see how to treat the ich. I realize I need to be fishless for several months. Problem is, there are two fish I don't think I can get out. My lawnmower blenny looks great, but I've never been able to catch him. My engineer goby looked good when I saw him this morning, but I probably won't see him for another month. He always hides. I also have mollies that spawn like crazy, so I doubt I can catch all the babies. The ich doesn't seem to touch the mollies either. Maybe because they are a freshwater fish too? I don't know. Will the ich be eradicated if I add a uv and don't add fish and just leave the blenny, engineer, and mollies?

 

[theMeat]

Oh boy, you’re going to get all sorta answers here.
How old is tank, what size? What are you feeding? Did you use meds in qt?
A UV is a good idea

 

[bashierr]

It is connected to a system... 90 gallon DT, 40 gallon macro tank, 50 gallon frag tank, and about 30 gallon sump.. it's a trigger systems ruby something... I'd say about 3 months old technically... I had to break down my 65 gallon so I drained the water into this system, added about 80lbs of live rock, and about 80 lbs of sand from that system. Was about 2 years old.
I feed a lot because I have trouble keeping Nitrate and phosphates up for my ornamental macroalgaes. I feed 1-2 mysis cubes, 1 spiralina/mysis cube, 2 garlic soaked nori, about 2 tsp of reef roids, and a few pinches of pellets (same company as reef roids) per day. Sometimes I throw in another nori if I wanted to watch the tangs go crazy. I also put a few drops of garlic concentrate in per day.

I didn't treat the qt. I did dose reef medic as per directions for a 200g system for 10 days.

I think in the future I'll just dose store bought hydrogen peroxide. I might even just set it up with my dosing pump.

Oh... I dose magnesium, iron, and a mix of trace elements. I also have kalk on my auto. I run two protein skimmers. The bubble magnus ones that are for like heavily stocked 100gallons. I can't remember the model.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Were these deaths sudden? Or did you slowly notice these spots? If the clowns and angel died that quickly without much notice I'm leaning more towards a possible velvet outbreak.

 

[Jimmy88]

I'm curious to see the answers. I'm currently in the same situation got everything out to qt except for a diamond goby. The goby looks fine and unaffected by ich and it will be dang near impossible to get it out without taking everything out of the tank.

 

[bashierr]

Were these deaths sudden? Or did you slowly notice these spots? If the clowns and angel died that quickly without much notice I'm leaning more towards a possible velvet outbreak.

When I get home I will try and get a picture

 

[JumboShrimp]

Be prepared... and maybe be sitting down. I think most answers here are going to say that to effectively go fallow you will have to truly be fishless. So sorry for what happened to your pets!

 

[bashierr]

Be prepared... and maybe be sitting down. I think most answers here are going to say that to effectively go fallow you will have to truly be fishless. So sorry for what happened to your pets!

I'm starting to think that's going to be easier than I imagined it. My lawnmower blenny is breathing really hard right now... I can't get at him with the net... He is in a hole in the rock, but he looks like he is stressed out big time.... I'm guessing my engineer goby is dead. I had one clown in the system that was still alive, but covered in spots. I came home to get a picture of him, but it looks like my bubble tip ate him. I never knew bubble tips to eat clowns that died. I think I saw part of a fin in the bubble tips mouth as it was closing up on whatever it was. I'm guessing all fish are dead at this point. I can't even see a single mollie. heartbroken. @Sharkbait19 I think you were right, leaning towards velvet... I just looked at a bunch of pictures of velvet and it was definitely more like powdered sugar or some sort of fine white powder as opposed to the salt grain description of ich.

I know almost nothing about velvet. Is it worth trying to save the blenny? He looks bad right now. Once he passes should I wait a week and assume the engineer goby died too and then start the clock on going fallow? How long do I need to go fallow. Is it ok to leave my bubble tip in? He really hates being moved. Moved him to the 90 a while back and he was ticked for a bit.

Can I keep up the same feeding schedule with being fallow? I have to feed my bubbletip mysis. He gets cranky if I try clams or silversides. He hates trying to be fed them and will hide in his rock hole for a week. My ornamental algaes are hungry boys too. Once all my fish are dead the livestock in the tank will be:

1. Caulerpa Prolifera
2. Codium
3. Flat branch gracilaria
4. Halimeda
5. Shaving bush
6. Ulva
7. Blue hypnea
8. another miscellaneous breed of gracilaria
9. dragon's tongue variety of gracilaria... It's a bit different looking than the flat branch.
10. about 3-4 other varieties of some kelp like macros. probably is kelp.
11. chaetomorphia
12. Torch coral (2 heads with a third head forming I think)
13. A few varieties of mushrooms, all of which are in the process of splitting
14. one hammer coral about the size of a softball
15. 1 bubble tip anemone
16. a montipora digitata frag
17. some sort of shelf montipora the size of a baseball card
18. a few other various frags.
19. A bunch of different snails, 3 mithrax crabs, a cleaner shrimp (he is an idiot. I'm pretty sure the anemone would love to eat him, but he just sits all day right next to him), hermits, a pencil urchin (he ate the entire powder blue tang). When I woke up and found the blue tang dead, he was on the sand bed and the pencil urchin was on top of him feasting for like 3 days.

I had more frags that should be going into the frag tank in a few days, but I'm not sure I should add them :\

I have probably 200-250 pounds of dry rock. Tank has a 6-8inch deep sand bed. Sump has a 6in deep sand bed. 1in of sand in the macro tank, and frag tank is bare bottom with live rock on top of a few of the egg crates.

 

[bashierr]

I'm curious to see the answers. I'm currently in the same situation got everything out to qt except for a diamond goby. The goby looks fine and unaffected by ich and it will be dang near impossible to get it out without taking everything out of the tank.

the struggle

 

[bashierr]

Anyone have a suggestion on a good uv sterilizer and pump for it? I'm guessing there is close to 200g in my system. 90+50+40+20ish maybe a hair over 200g.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I'm starting to think that's going to be easier than I imagined it. My lawnmower blenny is breathing really hard right now... I can't get at him with the net... He is in a hole in the rock, but he looks like he is stressed out big time.... I'm guessing my engineer goby is dead. I had one clown in the system that was still alive, but covered in spots. I came home to get a picture of him, but it looks like my bubble tip ate him. I never knew bubble tips to eat clowns that died. I think I saw part of a fin in the bubble tips mouth as it was closing up on whatever it was. I'm guessing all fish are dead at this point. I can't even see a single mollie. heartbroken. @Sharkbait19 I think you were right, leaning towards velvet... I just looked at a bunch of pictures of velvet and it was definitely more like powdered sugar or some sort of fine white powder as opposed to the salt grain description of ich.

I know almost nothing about velvet. Is it worth trying to save the blenny? He looks bad right now. Once he passes should I wait a week and assume the engineer goby died too and then start the clock on going fallow? How long do I need to go fallow. Is it ok to leave my bubble tip in? He really hates being moved. Moved him to the 90 a while back and he was ticked for a bit.

Can I keep up the same feeding schedule with being fallow? I have to feed my bubbletip mysis. He gets cranky if I try clams or silversides. He hates trying to be fed them and will hide in his rock hole for a week. My ornamental algaes are hungry boys too. Once all my fish are dead the livestock in the tank will be:

1. Caulerpa Prolifera
2. Codium
3. Flat branch gracilaria
4. Halimeda
5. Shaving bush
6. Ulva
7. Blue hypnea
8. another miscellaneous breed of gracilaria
9. dragon's tongue variety of gracilaria... It's a bit different looking than the flat branch.
10. about 3-4 other varieties of some kelp like macros. probably is kelp.
11. chaetomorphia
12. Torch coral (2 heads with a third head forming I think)
13. A few varieties of mushrooms, all of which are in the process of splitting
14. one hammer coral about the size of a softball
15. 1 bubble tip anemone
16. a montipora digitata frag
17. some sort of shelf montipora the size of a baseball card
18. a few other various frags.
19. A bunch of different snails, 3 mithrax crabs, a cleaner shrimp (he is an idiot. I'm pretty sure the anemone would love to eat him, but he just sits all day right next to him), hermits, a pencil urchin (he ate the entire powder blue tang). When I woke up and found the blue tang dead, he was on the sand bed and the pencil urchin was on top of him feasting for like 3 days.

I had more frags that should be going into the frag tank in a few days, but I'm not sure I should add them :\

I have probably 200-250 pounds of dry rock. Tank has a 6-8inch deep sand bed. Sump has a 6in deep sand bed. 1in of sand in the macro tank, and frag tank is bare bottom with live rock on top of a few of the egg crates.

An important tip for going fallow is to feed your corals (especially those mushrooms and lps). Without the fish, they'll be starving for higher nutrient levels. So sorry for your losses. I too experienced velvet in my aquarium and it sucks. Please keep us updated on how your fallow turns out.

Here’s how some of my fish looked with velvet. It’s never fun to deal with.

 

[greetl01]

I'm starting to think that's going to be easier than I imagined it. My lawnmower blenny is breathing really hard right now... I can't get at him with the net... He is in a hole in the rock, but he looks like he is stressed out big time....

I have a royal gramma that did this. I got out a big plastic container and set it next to my bucket of saltwater. Then I took the whole rock out. Just waited until she ran out of air and jumped out of the rock, scooped her up and plopped her in the waiting bucket.

 

[Arabyps]

I had a similar situation where I was unable to catch 3 chalk bass after all the other fish had died from velvet. It was not feasible to break-down all the rock work. My solution was to drain the tank into my mixing containers (to save the water). With the tank water very low I was able to easily catch the chalk bass. I then refilled the tank with the saved water and started my fallow period. Coral and inverts all survived. (NOTE: Keep in mind you have to sterilize the buckets you used to save the DT water before using again for saltwater mixing or other use.)

 

[Jekyl]

With the quickness of the death are you sure it wasn't velvet? My fish get ich all the time and it just falls off.

 

[Qasimja]

yea im leaning towards it being velvet as well its a very fast killer

 

[theMeat]

Would be most concerned about the lack of tank maturity and stability. Would feed fresh food like clams, worms, and install a sufficient uv
Good luck

 

[greetl01]

With the quickness of the death are you sure it wasn't velvet? My fish get ich all the time and it just falls off.

This only works if u have a mature tank. My tank is only about 3 months old and ich almost took me out.

 

[Sharkbait19]

This only works if u have a mature tank. My tank is only about 3 months old and ich almost took me out.

It still definitely seems too quick spreading to be ich.

 

[greetl01]

It still definitely seems too quick spreading to be ich.

I was responding to the comment about them falling off. Wasn’t suggesting that it was ich, however, if the ich had been falling off before he could notice its possible that they had been multiplying to the point where they could be as deadly as velvet. That’s what happened to me. I noticed them about 4am. By 12 noon my gramma was on his back. It was so quick I thought it was velvet too. Had I not happened to be up that time of morning I wouldn’t have caught it the next day. That’s how quickly they were falling off.