Preventing ich (for tangs/other fish)

[Matyasreeflover]

Hi, I have been a freshwater fishkeeper for more than 8 years.
But I have recently started a saltwater system. Prior to purchasing my first saltwater tank, I did as much research as possible (about a year long). And talked to a lot of experienced reef tank owners. Then when the time came, I set everything up. Made some RODI water (and added reefsalt ofcourse, my salt level is: 1,025). The tank has been cycling with live- and dry rock (with water for more then a month).
And I have been doing a lot of research on what i want to put in there. I don’t want to overstock, but I was thinking a pair of clownfish and a single tang along with a clean-up crew. With corals. But have been scared about getting a tang because of the ich. I wanted to ask what I could do to have the least possible chance on getting ich.

I was thinking of getting a cleaner wrasse or a cleaner shrimp, but I don’t know how effective those are at preventing it, and they would also add to the bioload. But since the tank is medium sized, it could be done.

But can anyone recommend something that has helped? Or should I just get one once the tank has been aged enough and has clownfish and corals and put the tang in quarantine prior to adding it?

Filtration wise, i have a sump: with filter media, a proteïn skimmer, overflow and a return pump.
And as biological filtration i ofcourse have the live- and dry rock with sand.

Can anyone recommend something?

 

[KrisReef]

I put a UV sterilizer on my tang tank when the Ich broke out after I had to move the tank, and stressed the fish, I failed them but the UV helped them heal.

If you are worried about ich, get the UV before you add fish.

The Clownfish and Tangs are naturally territorial, so I might add them together, with the UV, and feed them well to keep everyone fat and happy.

Others will insist on QT, and they will ask how many liters/gallons your medium sized tank is. Tangs can get very large so recommendations on one for your tank will depend upon the size & dimensions for swimming.

Welcome!.

 

[Sticker shock]

I can’t agree more with the UV suggestion. I’ve failed with every other treatment. I’ve had no signs of ich since my UV was added.

I’m sure copper in a QT would work, but it seems to be really hard on the fish. I’ve had very little success with it personally.

 

[Matyasreeflover]

Thanks so much for the quick responses, I don’t live in the US. But the tank is about 90 us gallons.
But I’m planning on keeping one of the smaller species. And I can upgrade later on if it gets too small. So definitely staying away from the naso’s and other huge tangs. Maybe one of the smaller acantharus (white cheek/ powder brown)/ zebrasoma (like scopas/ yellows) species. But most likely a bristletooth.

What UV-sterilizers do you recommend?

 

[Leon.NYC]

Quarantine will be your best choice, whether its tangs or any other fish. There are a number of guides/methods you can find on YouTube & Humblefish. For tangs in general i follow the 80/20 video by BRS & Eliott Lam from Marine collectors. For more sensitive & Juvenile fish, i prefer the HTTM (Hybrid Tank Transfer Method) from Humblefish. Keep in mind, some of the other things you'd want to keep out of your tank include Velvet, flukes, internal parasites, Brooklynella, Uronema, etc.

Another option is to purchase fish from vendors which quarantine the fish for you. There's a list here & other forums with recommendations. Due note, that this does come at a premium, typically doubling the price of the fish.
Personally, I've used Marine Collectors (preferred), Dr. Reef Quarantined fish & am in the process of ordering my first fish from Ocean Devotion.

As mentioned above, UV is also a good solution as an ongoing solution, but not introducing it into the tank should be the goal. Given, you can go down the rabbit hole & ensure everything gets quarantined - i.e. inverts, corals, etc. Its a personal choice.

 

[Matyasreeflover]

Thanks, I will look into it.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, you'll find a lot of conflicting info on this topic (QT vs. Ich Management, essentially):

That said, there are basically three camps that I’ve seen with QT:

-Full, medicated QT (the timeframe for this can vary, but Jay Hemdal’s 2023 protocols suggests 64 days); this is likely the most stressful option, but the thought for this is basically that disease can’t wipe out your tank if it isn’t in your tank. Some people believe this weakens a fish’s immune system and may lead to them dying relatively young.

-Observational QT (I generally see this from reefers in places where it’s harder to get fish meds); this option is probably still stressful for the fish, but it seems to be more about avoiding particularly deadly diseases (such as velvet) or knowing in advance what you’re allowing into the tank. This method carries a lot of the same risks as no-QT (see below), but it can give a heads-up about issues new fish may have/introduce.

-No QT; this avoids the stress of being moved between tanks, but I feel like Paul B’s comment above is a pretty accurate description here. The thought here is that a healthy fish with a healthy immune system won’t die except from old age. Basically, this method can work if you’re able to provide good water, good food, and a good environment for the fish. Most newcomers to the hobby are probably not capable of that when they start, and when the fish isn’t healthy/is too stressed (such as because of inadequate water, food, or environment), them any diseases they’re carrying flare up and can take them out (hence why the disease forum here is full of no-QT tanks getting wiped out by diseases). This method does carry the risks that 1) a deadly disease like velvet may come in and wipe some or all of the fish in the tank out unexpectedly and 2) if a stressful event (such as a bacterial bloom, for example) happens unexpectedly, you may face a disease outbreak in the tank at the same time. Jay Hemdal has some posts about other potential weaknesses of this method here on R2R too, but these are the most important in my mind for most people to be aware of.

So, for most people a properly done, full, medicated QT is probably the safer route to go with when just starting out - honestly, this is why I’m personally a fan of pre-QT vendors, as they have a pretty good track record of delivering disease-free fish (meaning that sub-optimal care like the average newcomer is likely to unintentionally give the fish is less likely to kill it), and it’s hassle-free for the buyer.

Again, all of these methods when done properly can work, and they all have some pros and cons, but those are my two cents on the matter.

For a little more info on camp 3 above:

If you never quarantined, then ich has probably been in your tank for years.

From what I've seen with ich management on here, ich will basically remain managed and under control (seemingly nonexistent in the tank) as long the fish are in excellent health (and as long as the outbreak doesn't get too bad for the tank - not necessarily for the individual fish, but for the tank as a whole). As soon as a fish gets stressed/weakened, however, there will be an outbreak like you just had with your tang.

To say it another way, your tang isn't really cured, it's just healthy enough to hold the parasites at bay at the moment. Your other fish likely have ich too and are just asymptomatic at the moment like your tang. So, if something stresses/weakens them, you'll have another outbreak that seemingly appears from nowhere. To prevent another outbreak, you have to keep the fish in great health - low stress, good food (LRS and macroalgae are great; some of Hikari's stuff is really good too - like their Mega Marine line - but some of their other marine-oriented food options aren't as good from what I recall), good water quality, etc. are key.

This is why I typically suggest for people who are considering not quarantining to look at some of Paul B's ich management stuff, as he talks about good care being necessary for good fish health too. (This is also why I typically suggest that newcomers to the hobby buy pre-quarantined fish if they don't want to do a full, medicated QT - fish that don't have diseases/parasites should be a lot harder to accidentally kill, as they won't have a potentially lethal disease outbreak every time the aquarist makes a mistake while learning the ropes).

As mentioned in the first quote, all of these methods seem to work if done properly, but you really need to commit to one and do it right to avoid a lot of major issues.