My tank has ich please help😭

[ghostfacedclown]

So I’ve lost about 10 fish already including 2 tangs, 5 clownfish, algae blenny and an anthias.

I have 2 wrasse left, 2 chromis and a goby with no signes
All the inverts you can get basically and loads of coral.
All permittees are stable and lights are dimmed down, I’ve put the temp up to 26.8 degrees centigrade.
I have a uv running 24/7 now but didn’t have it until about 7 days into the ich catching and I’ve done one 3 day treatment of esha oodinex.
It’s going to be near impossible to catch the fish out and I need this sorting out any advice will be helpful?
Should I just wait 8 weeks now until adding fish again or am I cooked?

 

[MikeReefs]

Only real way to treat ich is to QT all fish and run the display with no fish for min 4-8 weeks, inverts can stay in. To catch fish you probably would have to remove all rock and lower water to make it easier to catch. Once in the QT copper would have to be added at therapeutic level of 2.25-2.5 for 30 days. Do not let it get lower than 2.0ppm or you would have to start over. I know this is a lot of work but QT is the only way to rid the parasite.

The fish that survived may have been strong enough and the uv is keeping them at bay. This is called ich management but the ich will most likely always be in the tank until the qt is performed. Any new fish added would be infected and who knows if they would survive

 

[ghostfacedclown]

So if I took them out at qt for 30 days then I put them back in the tank or is that too soon? Or should I keep them in the qt for an extra 12 after the 30 is up then put them back in?

 

[edsbeaker]

Hi, so sorry about ich in the tank. Unfortunately, if you really have no way of removing the fish for treatment and allowing the tank to run fallow for the time needed you cannot irradiate ich, you can only manage it.

Here is the current Quarantine protocol.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/
You can not shorten the fallow period. The disease progresses in stages, and those all have to happen during the fallow period to eradicate ich.


If the fish are kept stress free, and their immunity is strong, the disease has been known to be manageable.

 

[MikeReefs]

So if I took them out at qt for 30 days then I put them back in the tank or is that too soon? Or should I keep them in the qt for an extra 12 after the 30 is up then put them back in?

No once the copper treatment is complete they can stay in the QT without copper. They then can be added to the display tank after the display tank has been without fish for 45 days

 

[Sam7]

So I’ve lost about 10 fish already including 2 tangs, 5 clownfish, algae blenny and an anthias.

I have 2 wrasse left, 2 chromis and a goby with no signes
All the inverts you can get basically and loads of coral.
All permittees are stable and lights are dimmed down, I’ve put the temp up to 26.8 degrees centigrade.
I have a uv running 24/7 now but didn’t have it until about 7 days into the ich catching and I’ve done one 3 day treatment of esha oodinex.
It’s going to be near impossible to catch the fish out and I need this sorting out any advice will be helpful?
Should I just wait 8 weeks now until adding fish again or am I cooked?

What size tank are we talking about? How long have you had all these fish? Is it a reef or just mostly just fish.. I was just wondering if the tank has been running long time or its fairly new and you just been adding more fish and problem has arised.

 

[edsbeaker]

If you are able to take the existing fish out for treatment using the above quarantine protocols, the display tank will still need to remain fallow.

Hopefully one of the fish medics will chime in to give you some concrete advice!!!

 

[ghostfacedclown]

The thing is the only qt I have it about 1 gallon and I have a yellow wrasse a naoki wrasse an orange prawn goby and 2 chromis. I mean they’re all very small as they’re juvenile but that’s to small? Can I qt them in a plastic tub or?

 

[ghostfacedclown]

What size tank are we talking about? How long have you had all these fish? Is it a reef or just mostly just fish.. I was just wondering if the tank has been running long time or its fairly new and you just been adding more fish and problem has arised.

It’s a 450 I’ve recently upgraded from a 200 that was set up for about 6 months they’re all young fish, I added a powder blue tang and it all want down from there everything was fine before hand. And it’s reef I have loads of coral and inverts

 

[Sam7]

powder blue ich magnet....thanks for the updated info on your setup. I know not every one can or wants to Quarantine but its often a costly mistake not to. Take it slow

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I’ve lost about 10 fish already including 2 tangs, 5 clownfish, algae blenny and an anthias.

I have 2 wrasse left, 2 chromis and a goby with no signes
All the inverts you can get basically and loads of coral.
All permittees are stable and lights are dimmed down, I’ve put the temp up to 26.8 degrees centigrade.
I have a uv running 24/7 now but didn’t have it until about 7 days into the ich catching and I’ve done one 3 day treatment of esha oodinex.
It’s going to be near impossible to catch the fish out and I need this sorting out any advice will be helpful?
Should I just wait 8 weeks now until adding fish again or am I cooked?

Quarantine will be essential and UV does not erase ich which is pre-existing but what is free swimming and will pass through the unit. There are products advertised as reef safe for tank but is also reef safe for parasites as they rarely if ever work. Hypo-salinity is not for all fish, with recommended treating with coppersafe at 2.25ppm for a full 3o days (do not interrupt this 30 day period) monitored by a reliable Copper Test kit such as Hanna Brand- No API brand. Also monitor Ammonia levels while in quarantine with a reliable test kit and add aeration during treatment using an air stone.
The display tank will have to be kept fishless (FALLOW) for 6-8 weeks to assure the existing parasites go through their life cycle without a host fish and die off and with occupants exposed, they too should go into quarantine
A quarantine tank can be as simple as a tank from a second hand store, Rubbermaid type tub or a starter kit from Walmart which most of the needed essentials.

 

[exnisstech]

If you don't have coral you could sacrifice the inverts and run the tank in hypo salinity.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hyposalinity.880546/

 

[Baldyreef]

Maracyn2 also helps with ich

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So I’ve lost about 10 fish already including 2 tangs, 5 clownfish, algae blenny and an anthias.

I have 2 wrasse left, 2 chromis and a goby with no signes
All the inverts you can get basically and loads of coral.
All permittees are stable and lights are dimmed down, I’ve put the temp up to 26.8 degrees centigrade.
I have a uv running 24/7 now but didn’t have it until about 7 days into the ich catching and I’ve done one 3 day treatment of esha oodinex.
It’s going to be near impossible to catch the fish out and I need this sorting out any advice will be helpful?
Should I just wait 8 weeks now until adding fish again or am I cooked?

esha oodinex ingredients are mainly acriflavine and malachite green. That really is NOT effective against marine ich, despite what their advertising might say. Because it is "safe" to use in aquariums with invertebrates, it also will not control ich, Cryptocaryon.

Once fish loss from ich has begun, immediate treatment is required to stop the infection, but because even the best treatment can take 3+ days to work, that may not stop the infection in time - sorry!

Moving all the remaining fish into a treatment tank and running either coppersafe or hyposalinity is really the best course of action. You probably cannot get coppersafe in England though.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hyposalinity.880546/

 

[ghostfacedclown]

Okay il have to take them out and qt them, I just don’t want to add more and have the same problem and have to do it anyway. It’s just going to be a nightmare catching the goby as he lives in a burrow with the pistol shrimp, can I take the same water out the tank then put it back in or?

 

[ghostfacedclown]

So il have to use hyposalinity as I’m in England?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So il have to use hyposalinity as I’m in England?

Most likely you'll need to try hypo - I live in the US, but I have a formulary for the EU, and really, none of the products available are really effective against active ich infections. There are restrictions in the EU and England that keep the most effective medications from being available....

 

[vetteguy53081]

So il have to use hyposalinity as I’m in England?

Im not a fan of Hypo while effective is hard on certain fish causing them stress In EU, try CopperPower at 2.25ppm for 30 days or Avloclor available in your region.