So I am at total loss.

[Triggerpuller]

I got a new tang for my coral tank, inspect it very closely, and in 2 days its starts to show signs of ich. This is in my coral tank, which up until now has had zero ich. The tank is over 6 years old.. I removed him after I saw it and placed him in a 5 gallon bucket (my QT has two large triggers in it so he wouldn't have survived long in there) which I plan on using copper to speed up the drop off and doing the tank transfer method. My question... Is my Coral tank completely infected with ICH or did I get him out quick enough? Day one from the LFS he was clear, active and no signs of stress. Day 2 he was showing signs of ich, I know I should have put him in the QT first, but I rushed the process and the fish looked clear. Man I know better by now, but I guess confidence in being able to spot anything got the best of me.

 

[sc50964]

Yes your coral tank is infected. Do you have other fish in there? If so, keep up the water quality, keep them well fed, and run an UV. As to the tang, what is it and how big is it? That 5g bucket solution isn't good. At least get him a large 40g brute bin. Not seeing spots on a fish from LFS doesn't mean the fish won't get ich when stressed. How did you acclimate him?

 

[Triggerpuller]

I did a drip acclimation, but still doesn't there have to be Ich to get Ich? Also if he just showed signs of ich and the tank was not infected before introduction of the fish, wouldn't it take 3 days at the min before the ich would reach free swimming stage? The fish is only maybe 1-2inches. The bucket/ heater and water pump is being used so I can do the tank transfer method without using 200 gallons of water to achieve it. Its a temp process to get the ich to drop off quickly and effectly illuminate it. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers. The coming weeks will tell.

 

[miyags]

No fish in your coral tank for 3 months,or your fish will be reinfected

 

[Triggerpuller]

I still don't see how its possible for Ich to exist in the tank. The life cycle dictates that they have a host stage (which obviously happened before the fish hit my system, most likely at the LFS) which last up to a week, with a min of 3 days. Then a free swimming stage where they form cysts. Then 28+ days later they go back to free swimming to look for a host. So how would they have infected my tank during this 2 day period? No signs of the infection until day 2. He didn't get it from my tank as my two fish in there are over 3 years old and show no signs of Ich. I am honestly curious and trying to understand more about this.

 

[sc50964]

I did a drip acclimation, but still doesn't there have to be Ich to get Ich? Also if he just showed signs of ich and the tank was not infected before introduction of the fish, wouldn't it take 3 days at the min before the ich would reach free swimming stage? The fish is only maybe 1-2inches. The bucket/ heater and water pump is being used so I can do the tank transfer method without using 200 gallons of water to achieve it. Its a temp process to get the ich to drop off quickly and effectly illuminate it. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers. The coming weeks will tell.

Is it possible that the either the fish itself had ich or the water it came with had ich, and you didn't notice it during the transfer?

 

[Humblefish]

The problem is you have no idea how far along with ich the fish was when you bought it. The white spots you are seeing is just excess mucous which builds up around the insertion point, where the trophont burrows in. The trophont itself is invisible to the naked eye. Most of the time, white spots/excess mucous always forms whenever a trophont is attached/feeding on a fish. However, this is not always the case. Also, there is often a delayed reaction from when the trophont burrows in/white spot forms, and also when the trophont drops off/white spot goes away. The two are never perfectly in sync.

 

[NanaReefer]

Great read on ICH life cycle and how it is transferred.
http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/saltwater-conditions/marine-ich.aspx

 

[Triggerpuller]

The problem is you have no idea how far along with ich the fish was when you bought it. The white spots you are seeing is just excess mucous which builds up around the insertion point, where the trophont burrows in. The trophont itself is invisible to the naked eye. Most of the time, white spots/excess mucous always forms whenever a trophont is attached/feeding on a fish. However, this is not always the case. Also, there is often a delayed reaction from when the trophont burrows in/white spot forms, and also when the trophont drops off/white spot goes away. The two are never perfectly in sync.

Thank you for the clarification, I should have thought about that. I was figuring since the fish has been at my LFS for 3 days and just now showed signs, it was from the stress of acclimation at the LFS and my LFS may have ICH (since there is no possible explaination for Ich to be in my Coral DT, it is 3 rooms away from my QT and 2 rooms away from FOWLR. I also use diff equipment for all tanks). I guess The thing I have going for me, is I only have 3 fish (counting the tang in question) in my coral tank. My QT has my two triggers that are going into my FOWLR, they will be ready for my DT in about 2-3 weeks, if my timing is right I may have my QT cleared out by the time the next cycle of ICH kicks off in my Coral DT... This will be some crazy juggling but I may manage it. I will do the Tank transfer method on the Tang and once he is cleared up I will put him back in my coral until my QT is clear. I just don't have enough space or time... to have two QTs up and running right now. Poor planning on my part. I guess lesson number 907879 risks in this hobby don't pay off.

Is it possible that the either the fish itself had ich or the water it came with had ich, and you didn't notice it during the transfer?

Nope, during transfer and when I bought the fish, I inspected it with a fine tooth comb. Saw nothing, no sign of distress or visible signs. It looked like a perfectly healthy fish. I was actually impressed with his activity and grazing habits, which is why I got him the first place. BTW Thank you to everyone.

 

[Triggerpuller]

Great read on ICH life cycle and how it is transferred.
Marine Ich

According to that article though, it states that the cyst are the transfer method of the free form of Ich. If this is the case, by removing the fish once I saw visible signs, I may ( I stress MAY) have avoided complete contamination. I did not transfer any of the LFS water into my tank and I did a freshwater dip to ensure lack of worms. That should have washed off any free form that may have been on the fish. But then again, that's a lot of assuming... and that's what got me here in the first place.

 

[Humblefish]

(since there is no possible explaination for Ich to be in my Coral DT, it is 3 rooms away from my QT and 2 rooms away from FOWLR.

If you buy corals/inverts, tomonts can encyst upon those for up to 72 days. The risk increases if the corals/inverts you buy are housed with fish.

 

[Triggerpuller]

If you buy corals/inverts, tomonts can encyst upon those for up to 72 days. The risk increases if the corals/inverts you buy are housed with fish.

Yeah my LFS has a separate system for Coral, but not sure how the supplier deals with them. One day there needs to be a reef safe 100% effective chemical made.... One can hope I guess.

 

[reefwiser]

One must always assume that the the new fish has been exposed to ich. There is just no way a fish during transportation has not been exposed. I have been to many Importers of fish and corals over the years. If would see what conditions that the fish come in to the importers you would make sure every fish you buy is QT before it goes into a Display tank.