Severe Ich outbreak

[Nerdist Aquarist]

I'm dealing with my first widespread outbreak of Ich. I had every intention to QT every fish but I couldn't keep ammonia under control, so I panicked and moved some fish into main tank too early. Now I have 3 tangs and other fish absolutely covered in white spots, they are looking in really bad shape. I don't think I can prepare a large enough hospital tank for 20+ fish for copper treatment in the next few days. I'm hoping my fish can at least make it to the point where the Ich falls off, so they can get some relief soon.

My question is can I expect all the Ich to fall off at the same time. Isn't it possible that a fish can be in a constant cycle where as some fall off, new Ich is attaching the same time?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm dealing with my first widespread outbreak of Ich. I had every intention to QT every fish but I couldn't keep ammonia under control, so I panicked and moved some fish into main tank too early. Now I have 3 tangs and other fish absolutely covered in white spots, they are looking in really bad shape. I don't think I can prepare a large enough hospital tank for 20+ fish for copper treatment in the next few days. I'm hoping my fish can at least make it to the point where the Ich falls off, so they can get some relief soon.

My question is can I expect all the Ich to fall off at the same time. Isn't it possible that a fish can be in a constant cycle where as some fall off, new Ich is attaching the same time?

Once an ich infection gets ramped up, the spots will be there all the time and not come and go.

Can you post pictures/video? I could give you a better assessment that way.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm dealing with my first widespread outbreak of Ich. I had every intention to QT every fish but I couldn't keep ammonia under control, so I panicked and moved some fish into main tank too early. Now I have 3 tangs and other fish absolutely covered in white spots, they are looking in really bad shape. I don't think I can prepare a large enough hospital tank for 20+ fish for copper treatment in the next few days. I'm hoping my fish can at least make it to the point where the Ich falls off, so they can get some relief soon.

My question is can I expect all the Ich to fall off at the same time. Isn't it possible that a fish can be in a constant cycle where as some fall off, new Ich is attaching the same time?

As a separate treatment tank will become necessary now or at some point, I would check second hand stores, craigslist or even walmart which sells a starter tank kit which has most of the essentials for a QT setup

 

[Nerdist Aquarist]

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. Since I don't yet have any corals, I've added some Kordon Rid Ich to the tank. I know it's not going to really cure anything, just looking for anything that may help get me through a few days minimizing fish death. Not sure if that product is any good or not.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. Since I don't yet have any corals, I've added some Kordon Rid Ich to the tank. I know it's not going to really cure anything, just looking for anything that may help get me through a few days minimizing fish death. Not sure if that product is any good or not.

If you don’t have invertebrates in the tank, I would skip the Rid Ich and go with hyposalinity.

Jay

 

[Nerdist Aquarist]

Things escalated really quickly. Over the last 48 hours I lost the 3 smallest fish (ruby red dragonet, scooter dragonet and yellow clown goby). I've also lost my white tail bristletooth tang and powder blue tang. I knew the powder blue looked bad this morning, by the time I went to get a bucket of salt and came back he was gone.

The white tail bristletooth was unresponsive but still breathing, he was also gone in another couple hours. You could see the discoloration on the skin.

As for the rest of the fish, they are now in a 40 gallon storage container I setup for a QT. I'm going to start copper power treatment. I hope my baby Achilles tang makes it, he wasn't cheap. He's also discolored, a gray instead of almost black. The rocks you see in the container was extra rock I had in the sump, I don't plan on reusing those.

Now I'm debating if I want to go through a fallow period in the main tank, or just start over. I figure I could get it recycled in around 4-6 weeks. Any ideas the best way to nuke the tank? How would I handle the rocks and sand? Would running fresh water alone do it, or would I need to add bleach or something? Would the rocks still be safe for corals later on?

 

[JGT]

Looks more like velvet than ich to me and given the quickness of the fishes demise would also correlate to velvet.

 

[Nerdist Aquarist]

Looks more like velvet than ich to me and given the quickness of the fishes demise would also correlate to velvet.

That crossed my mind too. Either way, I think I'm on the correct course of action. Finger's crossed

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry to hear about the losses.

Velvet does not commonly cause spots on fish, and certainly not spots this large. The visible spots here are ich.

It is possible, but very rare, for fish to develop concurrent infections of ich AND velvet. That's why I asked for videos last night - if I can get a clear view of the fish's respiration rate, I can rule out velvet.

Ich is typically a slowly progressing disease - to a point. then, the cells multiple with geometric progression and the fish start dying pretty quickly.

Jay

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Sorry to hear about the losses.

Velvet does not commonly cause spots on fish, and certainly not spots this large. The visible spots here are ich.

It is possible, but very rare, for fish to develop concurrent infections of ich AND velvet. That's why I asked for videos last night - if I can get a clear view of the fish's respiration rate, I can rule out velvet.

Ich is typically a slowly progressing disease - to a point. then, the cells multiple with geometric progression and the fish start dying pretty quickly.

Jay

would it be to late for OP to get a UV?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

would it be to late for OP to get a UV?

Based on the number of spots, and the cloudy eyes, I would say it is past the point where UV can help, but if a really strong UV was combined with other ich management techniques, such as strong mechanical filtration (micron range), siphoning off the sand/gravel every night, really good diet and perfect water quality - *maybe* it would work.

Jay

 

[Nerdist Aquarist]

As I understand it, invertebrates don't get Ich, but can transmit it. How long should one quarantine snails/crabs? Is it the same guidelines as with fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

As I understand it, invertebrates don't get Ich, but can transmit it. How long should one quarantine snails/crabs? Is it the same guidelines as with fish?

Ich has a resting stage that can live in tanks without fish for some time. Fishless tanks need to be held for 45 days at 81 degrees F. as a the minimum time, 60 days is safer.
When buying new invertebrates, suspected of coming from an infected tank, you need to follow that timeline. If they are coming from a clean tank, 30 days isolation is still a prudent idea. Some dealers hold their invertebrates in fishless systems - those can be added right away.
Jay