Need some help on next steps for ich in a big tank...

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I have a 240g tank with lots of live rock in it that has just hit its stride (6 months old). After adding some supposedly treated fish to the DT (lesson learned, don't trust anyone), I'm now seeing ich on one of my fish and I'm concerned it's a short matter of time before the other fish are infected.

Current stock:
Blue Tang
Tomini Tang
Firefish x2
Ocellaris clown x3 (2 very young)
Chalk bass
Bluethroat trigger (fish with ich)

All of my fish are fat and healthy and in a low-stress environment (not a lot of fish to have to share an 8' tank). FWIW the ich doesn't appear extreme on the trigger and he is still fat and seemingly healthy. All other fish are fat and healthy.

I'm looking for advice on next steps. I plan to make changes to my regimen for adding fish: At the very least, observational QT for a significant amount of time (prefer to avoid prophylactic treatment due to bad experiences from vendors). But what do I do about my existing fish? The fork in the road is ich management vs ich eradication. As much as I'd love to 'eradicate' ich, I have a few concerns:

1) I have no idea how I'm going to get these fish out of this huge tank. Especially since it's an acrylic tank, so there are braces which obstruct movement with a net. I've ordered some big nets but I'm doubtful. No way I'm getting the chalk bass or those firefish -- they're pretty shy and won't go near a trap even if there's food in it.
2) Is it really feasible? AFAIK I'd have to QT pretty much everything coming in right (ie inverts as well) since their shells/plugs can carry the parasite? The odds of introducing ich back into the tank seem so high that it doesn't seem worth the stress to the fish (catching them is going to be a very stressful event for everyone).
3) Catching these fish will definitely involve moving the aquascape around to get them. Feels bad to unsettle this tank which has finally gotten out of the super ugly phase.
4) I'd need a sizeable QT tank and this would definitely add to the complexity of my life right now (but willing to do it for the animals of course).

These concerns point me to ich management. I've already started soaking food in vitamins, and I already feed a healthy frozen-only diet. I've plumbed my tank so a UV sterilizer can be added, but wow that's going to be an expensive, energy-consuming sterilizer! I could also figure out how to add a DE filter but I haven't researched that path.

I'm not sure what the right answer is here and although I'm leaning towards trying to manage ich, I'd like to keep an open mind and hear people's opinions here (preferably people with bigger tanks).

 

[anemoneanatomy]

I'm assuming you have a more manageable hospital tank where you could run ich treatment? If so, I'd remove the trigger and get him into treated water that eradicates free-swimming ich so that more parasites don't try to get their hooks in while he's already infected. For the rest of your fish, management does indeed make more sense than dosing such a big tank for treatment, especially since to truly eradicate all free-swimming ich, it would take 60 days of treatment, and could very likely lead to other problems depending on what all is in your display.

 

[lilithereefer]

you can always look for the reef safe treatment on amazon. feeding kent garlic increasing your temp and making your light spectrum more blue will help

 

[nereefpat]

I would just observe at this point. If everyone is "fat and healthy" and behaving normally, I wouldn't start removing fish.

Do not increase your temp. That's for freshwater, and it is just another stressor. Blue light spectrum is a new one.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

That's the immediate pinch I'm in, aside from the more existential question. Do I catch the trigger and risk stressing him even more or just closely monitor? There are tradeoffs there, more than I understand as someone less experienced with treating fish.

 

[Frogspon]

i'm sure i'll get flamed but just let him be.. might go away on its own. I would wager 90% of aquarist have ich in their tank and don't know it

people act like if you have ich it will stay on the fish forever, which isn't always the case. it will probably come and go, but not be a problem aside from being unsightly during an outbreak.

Like you said, unless you fallow QT any inverts/corals that goes in your tank for 70 days, it can always come in. I see people fallow QT and halfway through they throw something else in the QT tank and don't start over the fallow period.. it's just unrealistic even for people trying.

Soak the food in selcon or garlic to help boost the immune system and call it a day.

 

[Jekyl]

FWIW I know ich is present in my tank. Has been for quite some time. I've never lost a fish due to it. Healthy diet and environment and ich is no match.

 

[anemoneanatomy]

I disagree with the above, but Frogspon is right that ich is present in almost all aquarium systems. I'd wager it's actually closer to 99%. Fish have immune systems just like we do, and they do an admirable job of fighting off bacterial infections, fungal infections, and parasites just like ours do. The problem here is that you already have an infection, and that means the balance in your aquarium is about to be upset.

If there are visible spots on your trigger, he is basically swimming around your DT shedding free swimming ich parasites that will either die, be eaten by something else in your tank, or attach to one of your fish (including potentially re-attaching to your trigger). This is why I'd recommend removal to a hospital tank where you can treat the water (I'd recommend Kick-Ich, but I'm sure everyone has their favorites) and get rid of the free-swimming ich. It will prevent re-infection hurting your trigger when he's already hurting, and keep the ich that is likely present in your tank to a level where it is known your fish are handling them just fine.

 

[dedragon]

is this a fowlr or a reef tank? because that would change how things can be treated.

 

[ZoWhat]

Do this:

 

[ru4serious]

Look into dosing hydrogen peroxide, humblefish forum has a great write up on it, I used it and while it may not have completely eradicated it, it did by my fish time to either destress or build up some immunity, not sure of final outcome but I haven't seen it in 6 months

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Look into dosing hydrogen peroxide, humblefish forum has a great write up on it, I used it and while it may not have completely eradicated it, it did by my fish time to either destress or build up some immunity, not sure of final outcome but I haven't seen it in 6 months

How much were you dosing per gallon per day?

 

[ru4serious]

1 ml per 10 gallons twice a day, once in morning before lights came on and once before bed when lights go out, apparently it stays active longer in the dark, hence why it is packaged in dark bottles , my zoas and anemone sulked for a short period after dosing but bounced back , lost one of my 2 cleaner shrimp and a birdnest frag died but it wasn't doing great previously,

 

[ru4serious]

1 ml per 10 gallons twice a day, once in morning before lights came on and once before bed when lights go out, apparently it stays active longer in the dark, hence why it is packaged in dark bottles , my zoas and anemone sulked for a short period after dosing but bounced back , lost one of my 2 cleaner shrimp and a birdnest frag died but it wasn't doing great previously,

Regular 3% from Walmart, less than a dollar

 

[ru4serious]

Regular 3% from Walmart, less than a dollar

Twice a day every day for 6 weeks

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Wanted to update here. Within a week of introducing Selcon any ich on the Trigger went away completely. No ich or signs of ich on my other fish. Selcon FTW!!

 

[dedragon]

healthy fish usually just fight it off, but it is forever still in there. Wait til u get a new fish and it will probably flair up again, just being honest about that. im in the ich management camp too, its def in my tank but hasnt killed a single thing (knocking on wood)

 

[trainbob]

Diatom filters are hard to find in the aquarium business if you choose to use one as part of your ich management program for a tank your size you may need to look at swimming pool suppliers. I have a Marineland polishing filter that I use de powder but it is only for a 100 gallon tank