need advice for fish with ich

[sarinaruu]

i’m really stressed out and need some ich advice

my new coral beauty showed signs of ich, now 5/10 of my fish have a few spots just on their tails. i started a 10 gallon quarantine with copper power right before i noticed how many fish had it. (they are all about an inch but i have a coral beauty in there so i feel bad)

i was told that all my fish should come out to fallow the tank but that seems so extreme and i’d need to completely set up another QT tank that’s bigger. my main issue is i’m about to leave town for a week in 3 days, and my roommate is going to take care of them so i need to figure out a solution urgently.

should i move them back into my DT until i can do the fallow or keep them half my fish in QT for 14 days until it’s at least off of them, maybe slowing the spread enough for them to fight it off?

 

[UMALUM]

i’m really stressed out and need some ich advice

my new coral beauty showed signs of ich, now 5/10 of my fish have a few spots just on their tails. i started a 10 gallon quarantine with copper power right before i noticed how many fish had it. (they are all about an inch but i have a coral beauty in there so i feel bad)

i was told that all my fish should come out to fallow the tank but that seems so extreme and i’d need to completely set up another QT tank that’s bigger. my main issue is i’m about to leave town for a week in 3 days, and my roommate is going to take care of them so i need to figure out a solution urgently.

should i move them back into my DT until i can do the fallow or keep them half my fish in QT for 14 days until it’s at least off of them, maybe slowing the spread enough for them to fight it off?

The most important thing to do is keep them fed really well. High protein soaked in garlic will help. Shorten your light schedule or run it dim just enough for them to see the food. And start dosing h202 1ml per 5 gallons twice daily before lights on and after lights off.

 

[Lavey29]

Copper treatment for ich is 30 days in QT . Tank needs to fallow for minimum 45 days. If you are leaving town for a week then perhaps the prior post can buy you some time until you get back to treat your fish.

 

[sarinaruu]

The most important thing to do is keep them fed really well. High protein soaked in garlic will help. Shorten your light schedule or run it dim just enough for them to see the food. And start dosing h202 1ml per 5 gallons twice daily before lights on and after lights off.

i feed them twice a day with mysis or PE mysis and give them flakes or pellets as a snack. could you elaborate on dosing hydrogen peroxide? is it really safe to put in my DT and what does it actually do for pests?

i did shorten my light from 12 h to 8 h with the ai prime saxby schedule, im trying to control my hair algae and lowering phosphates.

what kind of garlic do you mix with the food?

 

[Lavey29]

i feed them twice a day with mysis or PE mysis and give them flakes or pellets as a snack. could you elaborate on dosing hydrogen peroxide? is it really safe to put in my DT and what does it actually do for pests?

i did shorten my light from 12 h to 8 h with the ai prime saxby schedule, im trying to control my hair algae and lowering phosphates.

what kind of garlic do you mix with the

Seachem garlic guard to soak food. H202 can be used in small amounts in your tank to offer temporary ich relief but it will not eliminate the parasite from the tank. It just buys you some time.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The most important thing to do is keep them fed really well. High protein soaked in garlic will help. Shorten your light schedule or run it dim just enough for them to see the food. And start dosing h202 1ml per 5 gallons twice daily before lights on and after lights off.

Sorry, but feeding fish well won't help once they have a moderate case of ich like this, and light has no effect on ich. Peroxide is a wild card, it shouldn't be used to treat ich unless you have a test kit to measure the residual amounts.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

i’m really stressed out and need some ich advice

my new coral beauty showed signs of ich, now 5/10 of my fish have a few spots just on their tails. i started a 10 gallon quarantine with copper power right before i noticed how many fish had it. (they are all about an inch but i have a coral beauty in there so i feel bad)

i was told that all my fish should come out to fallow the tank but that seems so extreme and i’d need to completely set up another QT tank that’s bigger. my main issue is i’m about to leave town for a week in 3 days, and my roommate is going to take care of them so i need to figure out a solution urgently.

should i move them back into my DT until i can do the fallow or keep them half my fish in QT for 14 days until it’s at least off of them, maybe slowing the spread enough for them to fight it off?

How many invertebrates/corals does your tank have? If none or few, you could move them out and treat the whole tank with the fish in it with hyposalinity.

If not, then moving the fish out and treating with coppersafe for 30 days and letting your tank lay fallow for 45 to 60 days is the best way to go.

Trying to treat fish with somebody else taking care of the tank is really tricky - with a ten gallon treatment tank, it is going to require ammonia tests and possibly partial water changes and copper redosing - difficult to do!

If I understand your plan - treat the fish with copper for 3 days then put them back into your display for a week until you return and then treat them again? That might work, but I bet the fish will be seriously sick by the time you return and then the copper may not have time to work.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

i feed them twice a day with mysis or PE mysis and give them flakes or pellets as a snack. could you elaborate on dosing hydrogen peroxide? is it really safe to put in my DT and what does it actually do for pests?

i did shorten my light from 12 h to 8 h with the ai prime saxby schedule, im trying to control my hair algae and lowering phosphates.

what kind of garlic do you mix with the food?

Peroxide is often ineffective and a short cut in which many believe is ich management and Garlic will boost immunity system but is Not an ich treatment.

 

[MnFish1]

I would (if possible) consider following one of the proven protocols mentioned above. it can be difficult for experienced people to manage fish disease, let alone someone coming over to your house.

Is there any chance that you could have an LFS hired to take care of this for you while you're away?

 

[sarinaruu]

How many invertebrates/corals does your tank have? If none or few, you could move them out and treat the whole tank with the fish in it with hyposalinity.

If not, then moving the fish out and treating with coppersafe for 30 days and letting your tank lay fallow for 45 to 60 days is the best way to go.

Trying to treat fish with somebody else taking care of the tank is really tricky - with a ten gallon treatment tank, it is going to require ammonia tests and possibly partial water changes and copper redosing - difficult to do!

If I understand your plan - treat the fish with copper for 3 days then put them back into your display for a week until you return and then treat them again? That might work, but I bet the fish will be seriously sick by the time you return and then the copper may not have time to work.

Jay

i first noticed the ich 20 days ago and it hasn’t gotten worse on any of the fish, just spread to them. so i can imagine they would be fine waiting another week since it’s still the early stages.

when i set up the QT i didn’t anticipate having to move all my fish into it so that’s why i got a 10 gallon

i have a pistol shrimp, a couple hermits, maybe 20 snails and 15 corals, and 3 BTA so that would be a little scary to move those into an uncycled tank.

my LFS doesn’t QT their fish and said most fight it off on their own, but i think also run their tanks at 1.013

 

[MnFish1]

i first noticed the ich 20 days ago and it hasn’t gotten worse on any of the fish, just spread to them. so i can imagine they would be fine waiting another week since it’s still the early stages.

when i set up the QT i didn’t anticipate having to move all my fish into it so that’s why i got a 10 gallon

i have a pistol shrimp, a couple hermits, maybe 20 snails and 15 corals, and 3 BTA so that would be a little scary to move those into an uncycled tank.

my LFS doesn’t QT their fish and said most fight it off on their own, but i think also run their tanks at 1.013

Let us know how it goes.

 

[sarinaruu]

i first noticed the ich 20 days ago and it hasn’t gotten worse on any of the fish, just spread to them. so i can imagine they would be fine waiting another week since it’s still the early stages.

when i set up the QT i didn’t anticipate having to move all my fish into it so that’s why i got a 10 gallon

i have a pistol shrimp, a couple hermits, maybe 20 snails and 15 corals, and 3 BTA so that would be a little scary to move those into an uncycled tank.

my LFS doesn’t QT their fish and said most fight it off on their own, but i think also run their tanks at 1.013

would hypo salinity actually be enough to kill ich? i could theoretically move everything into my old 30 gallon with some of the live rock and dirty filters to cycle and then run my DT at low salinity untreated. but then i guess they are still at high exposure for reinfection if that doesn’t work

 

[MnFish1]

would hypo salinity actually be enough to kill ich? i could theoretically move everything into my old 30 gallon with some of the live rock and dirty filters to cycle and then run my DT at low salinity untreated. but then i guess they are still at high exposure for reinfection if that doesn’t work

Yes - if you follow the hypo salinity protocol - it will kill ich.

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2021 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[UMALUM]

Sorry, but feeding fish well won't help once they have a moderate case of ich like this, and light has no effect on ich. Peroxide is a wild card, it shouldn't be used to treat ich unless you have a test kit to measure the residual amounts.

Jay

I took the time to read the ops thread and under the circumstances he faces these were my recommendations. Not once did I say food,lighting,or h202 were a complete cure for his predicament. These are things that have helped me in the past. As I've been in the hobby just as long as yourself but don't claim to be a fish doctor I feel all recommendations should be welcomed. Anyone who takes the time to debate someone else's recommendations before offering there own helps the situation in which way?

 

[sarinaruu]

I took the time to read the ops thread and under the circumstances he faces these were my recommendations. Not once did I say food,lighting,or h202 were a complete cure for his predicament. These are things that have helped me in the past. As I've been in the hobby just as long as yourself but don't claim to be a fish doctor I feel all recommendations should be welcomed. Anyone who takes the time to debate someone else's recommendations before offering there own helps the situation in which way?

she* don’t forget there are women in the hobby too!

but regardless i appreciate your suggestions. i’d prefer to do as little as possible at a time to not crash my tank. i bought the garlic you recommended and i’ll try that.

i think this might be the best route…

going to move my fish back to the display tank until i’m back home from vacation, and in the meantime i’ll start filling up my old 30 gallon with water from my DT, and fresh RODI until its 1.009. then i’ll throw in an old filter and a bunch of live rock so it cycles. i’ll leave the corals, lights, and inverts alone in the tank for fallow and move all my fish into the 30 gallon.

hopefully that would be big enough for my YWG, two clowns, bengai, flame hawkfish, royal gramma, coral beauty, talbot damsel, yellowtail damsel, and 6 line wrasse. wont be the best situation but hopefully manageable. i’ll do an update on how it goes!

 

[sarinaruu]

How many invertebrates/corals does your tank have? If none or few, you could move them out and treat the whole tank with the fish in it with hyposalinity.

If not, then moving the fish out and treating with coppersafe for 30 days and letting your tank lay fallow for 45 to 60 days is the best way to go.

Trying to treat fish with somebody else taking care of the tank is really tricky - with a ten gallon treatment tank, it is going to require ammonia tests and possibly partial water changes and copper redosing - difficult to do!

If I understand your plan - treat the fish with copper for 3 days then put them back into your display for a week until you return and then treat them again? That might work, but I bet the fish will be seriously sick by the time you return and then the copper may not have time to work.

Jay

thank you for responding btw, i’ve read A LOT of your posts about ich in the past few days. really appreciate what you are doing for the community.

 

[UMALUM]

she* don’t forget there are women in the hobby too!

but regardless i appreciate your suggestions. i’d prefer to do as little as possible at a time to not crash my tank. i bought the garlic you recommended and i’ll try that.

i think this might be the best route…

going to move my fish back to the display tank until i’m back home from vacation, and in the meantime i’ll start filling up my old 30 gallon with water from my DT, and fresh RODI until its 1.009. then i’ll throw in an old filter and a bunch of live rock so it cycles. i’ll leave the corals, lights, and inverts alone in the tank for fallow and move all my fish into the 30 gallon.

hopefully that would be big enough for my YWG, two clowns, bengai, flame hawkfish, royal gramma, coral beauty, talbot damsel, yellowtail damsel, and 6 line wrasse. wont be the best situation but hopefully manageable. i’ll do an update on how it goes!

My most sincere apology my lady.

 

[MnFish1]

I took the time to read the ops thread and under the circumstances he faces these were my recommendations. Not once did I say food,lighting,or h202 were a complete cure for his predicament. These are things that have helped me in the past. As I've been in the hobby just as long as yourself but don't claim to be a fish doctor I feel all recommendations should be welcomed. Anyone who takes the time to debate someone else's recommendations before offering there own helps the situation in which way?

Your recommendations are the same for any tank. - So Food, lighting are a good idea. There is not a lot of evidence that H2O2 cures parasitic disease as you proposed. So - though all recommendations are 'welcomed' - not all recommendations are correct - nor should they be considered correct. Yours are in my experience - which probably dates Jay's by years - though - years is the smallest data point to be considered - false. IMHO, you are doing the OP a disservice. Thats my experience and opinion

 

[UMALUM]

Your recommendations are the same for any tank. - So Food, lighting are a good idea. There is not a lot of evidence that H2O2 cures parasitic disease as you proposed. So - though all recommendations are 'welcomed' - not all recommendations are correct - nor should they be considered correct. Yours are in my experience - which probably dates Jay's by years - though - years is the smallest data point to be considered - false. IMHO, you are doing the OP a disservice. Thats my experience and

 

[UMALUM]

A disservice? Here we go again someone taking the time to debate someone else's recommendations when they have absolutely nothing to bring to the table. I replied to Jay as he replied to me. Now with that being said if your Mr Hamdels secretary I guess I can't help that.