Tank has Ich

[Sleepingtiger]

After doing so much to prevent ich, my tank is now infected. After adding the borbonius which i thought was ich free after qt, somehow the tank is now infected. The borbonius caused a imbalanced, the two wrasses begin to fight and the squareback is chasing the borbonius. After 3 days, the sailfin wrasse, checkerboard wrasses, borbonius and the large squareback anthias has ich. I was able to catch the borbonius and sent to QT. Unable to catch the wrasses and the squareback.

Fish are still very aggressively feeding. The borbonius is as active as ever feeding in QT.
Big issue is I ordered fish before the ich outbreak and now I have inbound fish. I already received a majestic angel and it is currently in QT with the borbonius. I still have an asfur angel inbound.

I have another tank I plan to setup next month which I am considering doing right now.

current livestock in main display:
copperband butterfly
4x firefish
checker board wrasse
sailfin wrasse
gold nugget wrasse
scopas tang
designer clown
diamond goby
2x squareback anthias
black cap basslett
2x cleaner shrimp
2x pistol shrimp
sps and lps

Should i:

- take out all fish and let tank go fallow for 45days. QT fish in a 100g trough with copper.
- treat the tank with polylab Medic
- leave tank as it is. Keep water pristine and hope fish will survive the outbreak.

opionions please

Thanks

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Ick may have already been in the tank and adding the (clean) new arrival may have indeed set off an outbreak Ick management vs eradication is a decision You need to make first.

Both have their upside and downside and there are a lot of resources to help on either.

My vote is eradication if at all possible. Fallowing a tank and medicating all inhabitants is zero fun, but 45 days at 80° is completely manageable.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Some of your fish do not tolerate copper as well as others. If you do pull them out for treatment, then Tank transfer is the safe bet. You could also look into @Humblefish dosing peroxide method in the display tank as an alternative to pulling everything out and running fallow.

I have had decent success with PolyLab Medic but had to triple the dose on the box to see positive results. I did not see any negative impact to inverts or corals by going so heavy on the dose. I also continued treatment for a full month after no visible signs of ich were seen on the fish or rock rubbing.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I have had Ich in my 200g tank for 2 years. I treated all fish with metroPlex and only lost 1 during the initial outbreak. I added a UV sterilizer and all fish have been fine. When i add a new fish, i also treat them with MetroPlex for 2 weeks and also haven't had any issues. It's a lot easier than going fallow and more practical IMHO

 

[KrisReef]

I have been amazed at people wearing masks for the last 2 years, how many of them still got sick?

If your tank was working ok with ich (it was there, just managed) before the borbonous I would have left him in and started feeding the heck out of the tank with fresh clams, mussels ( I get these FREE off the wharf) and only removed a fish if the battle over space was going to kill it. Once the turf battle is over the fish should recover if they are fed well, ime.

Since you caught the Borb, get that new tank going and put him in it with the new shipment. The current tank is maxed out based upon the response it gave when you added your last fish. By the way, I have waited quitly on the sidelines waiting for someone to start a thread on "The last Fish Addition." We plan these things as best we can and then the last fish happens....

Good Luck, I hope the fishes pull through. It sounds like they have a decent chance. @Paul B

 

[flourishofmediocrity]

I have been amazed at people wearing masks for the last 2 years, how many of them still got sick?

If your tank was working ok with ich (it was there, just managed) before the borbonous I would have left him in and started feeding the heck out of the tank with fresh clams, mussels ( I get these FREE off the wharf) and only removed a fish if the battle over space was going to kill it. Once the turf battle is over the fish should recover if they are fed well, ime.

Since you caught the Borb, get that new tank going and put him in it with the new shipment. The current tank is maxed out based upon the response it gave when you added your last fish. By the way, I have waited quitly on the sidelines waiting for someone to start a thread on "The last Fish Addition." We plan these things as best we can and then the last fish happens....

Good Luck, I hope the fishes pull through. It sounds like they have a decent chance. @Paul B

I keep asking this question: “how do you know?“ And every time I’m told it is “disrespectful“. It’s an honest question, how do you know that next fish you add will or will not cause an outbreak if you have a parasite in your tank? How do you know that your heater is not going to break next week and cause an outbreak? How do you know? The point is nobody knows, and the only logical and rational thing to do is to try to eradicate the parasite before it gets in your tank to begin with.

 

[KrisReef]

I keep asking this question: “how do you know?“ And every time I’m told it is “disrespectful“. It’s an honest question, how do you know that next fish you add will or will not cause an outbreak if you have a parasite in your tank? How do you know that your heater is not going to break next week and cause an outbreak? How do you know? The point is nobody knows, and the only logical and rational thing to do is to try to eradicate the parasite before it gets in your tank to begin with.

"Not knowing!" Agreed. I had that same conversation yesterday, it is our situation.

The OP tried to QT and it seemed to be working until it wasn't. That is frustrating, challenging, etc. Once the pest shows it can beat a persons best effort they either have to improve their game, quit, or try something different. Can't hurt to feed the sick fish well, with live foods and see if they improve? Or double down on QT and protocols and hope for a different outcome.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Thanks for the replies, I am still unsure at this point where eradication or management is the way for me. From my experience, ich comes in waves. First waves fish are always healthy. The second and third waves is when tires hit the road. I will wait until next week and see if the tank improves. If the tank improves, I might go with ich management, however if tank turns for the worse, I will be forced to go with eradication.

that means setting up now tank. Allow tank to go through cycling process. slowly quarantine the several fish at a time using ttm every two days for 12 days. Then add them to the new DT. After 50 days or so, move live rock and corals to new tank.

Biggest issue is the new tank is going where the current tank is. I might have to move the current tank first to allow me space for the new DT.

I am beginning to think ich has always been in my tank. No way after three days does ich spread that quick.

 

[k2reefer]

So here’s a question for ya. If your fish show no signs of ich for the said 76 days, is the ich eradicated??

 

[vetteguy53081]

So here’s a question for ya. If your fish show no signs of ich for the said 76 days, is the ich eradicated??

Its actually now 45-60 days. If no signs, should be clear.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ick may have already been in the tank and adding the (clean) new arrival may have indeed set off an outbreak Ick management vs eradication is a decision You need to make first.

Both have their upside and downside and there are a lot of resources to help on either.

My vote is eradication if at all possible. Fallowing a tank and medicating all inhabitants is zero fun, but 45 days at 80° is completely manageable.

Any pics of fish under white lighting to confirm its ich, and not velvet or other protozoan?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Any pics of fish under white lighting to confirm its ich, and not velvet or other protozoan?

@Sleepingtiger

 

[vetteguy53081]

After doing so much to prevent ich, my tank is now infected. After adding the borbonius which i thought was ich free after qt, somehow the tank is now infected. The borbonius caused a imbalanced, the two wrasses begin to fight and the squareback is chasing the borbonius. After 3 days, the sailfin wrasse, checkerboard wrasses, borbonius and the large squareback anthias has ich. I was able to catch the borbonius and sent to QT. Unable to catch the wrasses and the squareback.

Fish are still very aggressively feeding. The borbonius is as active as ever feeding in QT.
Big issue is I ordered fish before the ich outbreak and now I have inbound fish. I already received a majestic angel and it is currently in QT with the borbonius. I still have an asfur angel inbound.

I have another tank I plan to setup next month which I am considering doing right now.

current livestock in main display:
copperband butterfly
4x firefish
checker board wrasse
sailfin wrasse
gold nugget wrasse
scopas tang
designer clown
diamond goby
2x squareback anthias
black cap basslett
2x cleaner shrimp
2x pistol shrimp
sps and lps

Should i:

- take out all fish and let tank go fallow for 45days. QT fish in a 100g trough with copper.
- treat the tank with polylab Medic
- leave tank as it is. Keep water pristine and hope fish will survive the outbreak.

opionions please

Thanks

Any pics of fish under white lighting to confirm its ich, and not velvet or other protozoan?

 

[Sleepingtiger]

This is u set cool and warm white only. You can clearly see two white dots on his heat at the start of the dorsal fin. The borbonius is free from ich after two tank transfers

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is u set cool and warm white only. You can clearly see two white dots on his heat at the start of the dorsal fin. The borbonius is free from ich after two tank transfers

Pics a little fuzzy but looks like lymphocystis
Is it the head area only with dots or entire body?

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Pics a little fuzzy but looks like lymphocystis
Is it the head area only with dots or entire body?

I would say around 20 dots through out the body and fins. The white dots are highly visible under blue lights.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would say around 20 dots through out the body and fins. The white dots are highly visible under blue lights.

If possible, please add a couple more pics. Assure camera lens and tank glass are clean

 

[Sleepingtiger]

If possible, please add a couple more pics. Assure camera lens and tank glass are clean

I attempted to take the pics last night. When changing the lights over to warm and cool white, the white dots are no longer visible. However, the white dots are visible when under intense blue. What does that mean?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I attempted to take the pics last night. When changing the lights over to warm and cool white, the white dots are no longer visible. However, the white dots are visible when under intense blue. What does that mean?

You likely have something brewing such as flukes or parasitical and you can’t see it under whites which is sometimes normal and when you do see it under white… it has reached another stage
Keep your eyes on this fish
I know I mention this product a lot but it does treat an array of symptoms- you can add ruby rally pro to the tank as a precautionary measure

 

[Sleepingtiger]

You likely have something brewing such as flukes or parasitical and you can’t see it under whites which is sometimes normal and when you do see it under white… it has reached another stage
Keep your eyes on this fish
I know I mention this product a lot but it does treat an array of symptoms- you can add ruby rally pro to the tank as a precautionary measure

hmmmm, never used this before. I know it says its reef safe, but I assume you have used it before without and side effects on your reef? any special treatment plan you recommend other than what the instruction says?