Hello, I’ve been running a 75 gallon for about 3 months and have a few fish and goby’s as well as a decent clean up crew. I also have a few beginner corals like GSP, Zoa’s and Xenia’s. About 4 days ago I noticed ich on my flame angel, and researched some treatments and cures. I learned about copper being the sure fire way to kill the parasites but it will also kill coral. Later I read somewhere that if the infected fish keeps eating it will live through the cycle. My flame angel was well fed and supplemented with peas and a little garlic. About an hour ago I noticed my sailfin tang is also infected and not doing well, floating on the bottom, on its side. I tried to feed it but no luck. It was even so weak it got stuck to a filter intake but I quickly saved it. I have to take some action before all my fish get ich. I don’t have a quarantine tank and there is a lot of stacked rock in my tank so catching the fish would be a pain. However, I have a lot less coral frags that I could take out, but I only have my two Fluval hang on filters and can’t spare them as they are essential. Could I take my corals out and put them in a storage bin with some tank water and an LED and power head while I treat my tank with copper? Thanks
New to hobby dealing with ich
- Thread starter StreetSquid
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Old Fritz
Valuable Member
You could do that for your corals. Or you can get an aquarium at petco as they are on sale for a dollar per gallon right now. The eating thing is in theory true but in practice its wrong. If the fish continues to eat and doesnt suffocate or get a secondary infection from ich it could survive if every bit of ich on it was on the same schedule and they all came off at once. However that doesnt happen as they come off at different times and if there are other fish its probably on the other fish
bluprntguy
Well-Known Member
No. Copper in your display tank will be absorbed by the live rock and sand. This makes it extremely difficult (almost impossible) to maintain therapeutic levels of copper because it is always dropping. It also will cause your your rocks to leach copper after the treatment is over, making it impossible to return your corals.
A quarantine tank for fish doesn’t have to be pretty. A tote or container will do. Take one of the hob filters off your tank. It can survive with one, especially without fish.
Yes, catching all the fish is a pain. Most people have been there with rocks strewn across the living room at 2 am while we go fishing...
A quarantine tank for fish doesn’t have to be pretty. A tote or container will do. Take one of the hob filters off your tank. It can survive with one, especially without fish.
Yes, catching all the fish is a pain. Most people have been there with rocks strewn across the living room at 2 am while we go fishing...
I had a feeling that was the case. I have 11 fish in the tank, including a six line wrasse and a couple of sand sifting gobies. Should I throw some new live rock and sand in there ? I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy in an empty ten gallon. With that amount of fish would you recommend a bigger tank? Also, do I only quarantine the visibly infected fish or all of them?
And as far as the main display I just have to wait like 7 days for the ich to die without a host right ? Sorry for the amount of questions, just wanna do this right.
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JenniferMcK
Active Member
Imo, I’d get a bigger tank like a 40 gal breeder for that amount of fish. Petco is having their tank sales right now. Don’t put rocks in it, use pvc pipes instead. For the sand sifters, use a Tupperware filled with sand in the qt. Maybe a large Tupperware or 2 smaller ones so the gobies don't fight over territory. It take at least 76 days for all strains of ich to starve out, ie: letting the encysted ich hatch and die off as well, so that's how long you will need to leave your tank fallow. Leave all rock, inverts, nems, etc stay in the dt as ich doesn't affect them. In the qt, you'll need some type of filter( I like sponge filters as they help keeping bacteria high enough to stay on top of ammonia), heater, powerhead for water movement, and airpump with airstone to make sure you have good oxygenation. Keep in mind with you 6 line, they are more sensitive to copper so bring you copper levels up a little more slower and also chelated copper such as copper power would be your better choice.
Thanks for the answer JenniferMcK, I just got all the materials together for the tank. Going to do a 15 gallon water change and use that water in the QT then filling the rest with RODI saltwater and adding one of my hang on filters with the existing sponge. That, coupled with Seachem Bio Boost is enough for a decent cycle to where I can add my fish today?
So in theory, the QT w/copper dosing should kill the parasites relatively quickly, but is there any way to decrease wait time to add the fish back to the DT? I’ve heard about PraziPro being totally reef safe. Could I dose the DT with that to reduce wait time?
Thanks
You are gonna have to wait out the DT. Prazi wont help with ich. There are lots of good threads.
Fallow periods: Going Fishless
Please see this updated information on fallow periods: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/45-day-fallow-periods.805213/ Jay Hemdal 7/13/2023 The reason to go fallow (fishless) is to eliminate a fish disease from your DT (display tank). Going fallow works because you are denying the disease a...
www.reef2reef.com
Also, I highly recommend copper power and the Hanna copper checker as well as the sea hem ammonia badge.
Another goodie
My Current QT Process
UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...
www.reef2reef.com
JenniferMcK
Active Member
I don't know what kind of bottled bacteria you can get where you're from, but I personally use biospira. But any bottled bacteria should work. I just get the big bottle and dump in the qt. As said above, if you can, get the seachem ammonia alert badge so that you can know without the hassle if you're ammonia is creeping up. With a big tank like 40 breeder, I'd personally get at least 2 sponge filters, or as much biomedia you can stuff into a hob filter. Prazi is said to be somewhat reef safe but it doesn't treat ich. It only treats flukes. There's nothing you can add to your dt to speed up the cycle of ich. You HAVE to wait the 76 fallow period to eradicate from the dt.
When you treat with copper power, you need to treat at a level of at least 2.00 for 30 days consecutively. Also as stated above, the Hannah checker is a good device to get to have an accurate reading of copper levels in the qt. Id definitely read the stickies in the forum to help you in the process. These wonderful people here help me all the time!
Zero1091
Active Member
Had an ich issue in my tank,
Lots of coral and impossible to catch fish without moving rock and disrupting the ecosystem.
I tried metroplex mixed with Focus in Mysis shrimp.
Allowed me to feed the fish while treating and only put in the tank a little food at a time near the surface and only added more until the food was eaten and gone.
1 week later ich was gone, and continued to treat to make sure it stayed gone for an additional week.
No coral loss (LPS, SPS, clams) no invert loss, heavily stocked tank. Tank went back to normal.
Its as if the ich was never an issue
Metroplex with focus is not safe for inverts, I had a skunk shrimp made sure it didn't eat the food and survived treatment.
Lots of coral and impossible to catch fish without moving rock and disrupting the ecosystem.
I tried metroplex mixed with Focus in Mysis shrimp.
Allowed me to feed the fish while treating and only put in the tank a little food at a time near the surface and only added more until the food was eaten and gone.
1 week later ich was gone, and continued to treat to make sure it stayed gone for an additional week.
No coral loss (LPS, SPS, clams) no invert loss, heavily stocked tank. Tank went back to normal.
Its as if the ich was never an issue
Metroplex with focus is not safe for inverts, I had a skunk shrimp made sure it didn't eat the food and survived treatment.
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