The dreaded ich… thoughts on DT approach

[SeaweedLife]

Hi all, I’m so depressed that this is my first post. I’ve been reading these forums since starting my tank up in June of last year and it’s been super helpful. Hoping to get some advice as there’s a lot of approaches I’ve seen for ich management and treatment.

I had a red Firefish goby that became stressed from tank changes (added 4 corals, 4 fish). It hid for a week and then became social again. It was super skinny but eating great at this point so I wasn’t concerned. This was 7 days ago. Two days ago I noticed sprinkles on the Firefish goby’s side, sigh. I also noticed my black cap Basslett and purple Firefish flashed on the sand a couple times.

the red Firefish goby is now gone, assuming it died after first dose of Metro soaked food and cleaned up swiftly. The basslett has 2 white dots now and still scratching, the remaining purple Firefish is flashing occasionally.

my goal is help these little guys make it through and then manage afterwards.

Current approach:
- 11W UV in the sump (started 2 days ago when I realized there was an issue).
- prepped 1 tbsp frozen food soaked in Metroplex + Focus, 6 drops Selcon, a bunch of Garlic Guard. Feeding 2 times a day carefully (all fish are coming to the top to eat luckily)
- feeding mysis once a day soaked in garlic for all of the tank so the non-fish still get some food
would you incorporate anything else? Considering changing 5 gallons water every 2-3 days??

tank size: 70 gallon w/ 10 gallon sump

Current tank stock: black cap basslett, purple Firefish goby, yellow clown goby, clownfish, Tanaka Pygmy wrasse, purple eyed cardinal fish, bangaii cardinal fish, 2 x scooter blennies

The sensitive fellas: 7 snails, 4 hermit crabs, 2 coco worms, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 electric flame scallops, red sponge balls, Kenya tree, leather cabbage, candy cane

 

[SeaweedLife]

After more reading I am thinking that using PolypLab Medic may be a good addition also… won’t be here for a week though

 

[cooltowncorals]

Google “humblefish hydrogen peroxide dosing” for ich thread by jessican.

Another strategy there for DT treatment.

It’s thought the PL medic is peroxide based.

Paul B. long timer around here believes a stable tank with solid ocean bacteria and great fish nutrition (whole clams sliced) will keep fish healthy enough to not get anything

I had good luck running a UV did peroxide dosing until spots really went down, fed a lot and added live sand from https://aquabiomics.com/



haven’t seen spots in along time. Fish are all healthy

 

[SeaweedLife]

Google “humblefish hydrogen peroxide dosing” for ich thread by jessican.

Another strategy there for DT treatment.

It’s thought the PL medic is peroxide based.

Paul B. long timer around here believes a stable tank with solid ocean bacteria and great fish nutrition (whole clams sliced) will keep fish healthy enough to not get anything

I had good luck running a UV did peroxide dosing until spots really went down, fed a lot and added live sand from https://aquabiomics.com/



haven’t seen spots in along time. Fish are all healthy

Thanks so much, I had seen reference of the peroxide dosing but wasn’t sure what people were talking about. Thank you for sharing the link, I’ll start this today!

Would you think feeding medicated food while dosing the peroxide is overkill?

 

[SeaweedLife]

3/24 update: it’s now been 3-4 days since first noticing ich in my mixed reef

still feeding Metro + Focus food, now with Selcon, Garlic Guard, and Vitachem added

feeding the medicated food 2x a day, then regular frozen mysis w/ garlic once a day for everyone to get a chance

11W UV still 24/7, exposed to 1/3 of my sump

it’s been almost 24 hours since starting hydrogen peroxide dosing. I am nervous about this so starting a little low at 6 mL 3x a day. Assuming 60 gallons of water

symptom check: basslett still spotted (3-5 spots) but not shuddering as much. In the morning it hangs out in the higher flow area of the tank. Purple Firefish flashing but no spots observed. All other fish normal

 

[kevgib67]

I had an ich outbreak Feb 2022. I did a similar approach, uv, polyp medic, fed heavy with Selcon, Vitachem and garlic extreme. Although I know it is still i there and could raise its ugly head if the fish get stressed, i didn’t lose a fish and they have been ich free.

 

[SeaweedLife]

3/24: Found one red scooter blenny dead this

he was missing an eye but otherwise looked normal. Wasn’t thin. Not sure of the reason, maybe something internal. I feel as though this isn’t from the H2O2 dosing, sensitive inverts are all still okay. Sigh.

 

[cooltowncorals]

That’s a bummer

 

[SeaweedLife]

3/26 update: purple Firefish isn’t scratching anymore. Hiding a bit but otherwise acting normal.

Basslett physically looks fine (dots are gone) but still scratching occasionally

No other fish loss yet, no other fish showing symptoms

continuing to treat, will give update at 1 week. Just want to post as I go so I can keep up with timeline

 

[SeaweedLife]

3/28 update: purple Firefish goby is dead.

what is this??? There were no spots/ signs on the goby. It scratched/ flashed occasionally which spoke to a parasite- was eating metro soaked food everyday.

I have now lost 3 fish in the last week that had no white spots. Am I dealing with ich and something else??

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

Do you have pics/videos of the fish before dying? Are they breathing fast at all?
Generally dragonets are rather disease resistant - but still possible.
The Paul B method may work for a 50 year old tank, but in a new tank it’s a recipe for disaster. It’s all about preventing disease, but once the infection actually takes hold, it will spread as usual.
The dosage that H2O2 is administered to he reef safe renders it ineffective against disease. Your best bet is to move all fish into a qt and treat with copper, and to fallow the dt for 60 days.

 

[SeaweedLife]

Do you have pics/videos of the fish before dying? Are they breathing fast at all?
Generally dragonets are rather disease resistant - but still possible.
The Paul B method may work for a 50 year old tank, but in a new tank it’s a recipe for disaster. It’s all about preventing disease, but once the infection actually takes hold, it will spread as usual.
The dosage that H2O2 is administered to he reef safe renders it ineffective against disease. Your best bet is to move all fish into a qt and treat with copper, and to fallow the dt for 60 days.

I unfortunately don’t have pictures of the dead ones - they were eating and improving so I was just happy and continued the process

the purple Firefish was not gasping. I did notice occasional yawning, and the flashing. Otherwise normal activity and normal eating. Was not hiding, etc

the red dragonets- I agree with you it’s strange. I did notice gasping with one of them and thought it may have been the h2o2 stressing it. Interesting enough, these two were in the same Petco tank that I got the red Firefish from (the one that first died). I had them 4-5 weeks. Maybe they were sick with something internal when purchased.

 

[Sharkbait19]

An internal parasite would lead to a decrease in appetite and finding the fish bone thin upon death.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

You might want to consider that the fish have gill flukes.
Jay

 

[SeaweedLife]

An internal parasite would lead to a decrease in appetite and finding the fish bone thin upon death.

Okay definitely no weight loss, one less think to consider at least

 

[SeaweedLife]

You might want to consider that the fish have gill flukes.
Jay

I read that stress from gill flukes can cause other illness to be visible… gosh what a nightmare I’ve gotten myself into.

I will pick up API general cure and swap to this for feeding instead of Metroplex. Thanks.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

No - do not feed general cure, it needs to be added to the water itself and is not reef safe. Feeding medications in foods must be done by carefully calculating the dose .
You can treat your display tank for flukes with prazipro - two treatments, with good aeration, 8 or 9 days apart.
Jay

 

[SeaweedLife]

No - do not feed general cure, it needs to be added to the water itself and is not reef safe. Feeding medications in foods must be done by carefully calculating the dose .
You can treat your display tank for flukes with prazipro - two treatments, with good aeration, 8 or 9 days apart.
Jay

Okay, thank you Jay

since PraziPro kills worms but is reef safe- thoughts on this with coco worms and a feather duster?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Okay, thank you Jay

since PraziPro kills worms but is reef safe- thoughts on this with coco worms and a feather duster?

I’ve cautioned people about this possibility, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for most people. Anemones and clams will often close up after a dose, but reports of invertebrates actually dying are few and far between.
Jay

 

[SeaweedLife]

Okay, thank you Jay

since PraziPro kills worms but is reef safe- thoughts on this with coco worms and a feather

I’ve cautioned people about this possibility, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for most people. Anemones and clams will often close up after a dose, but reports of invertebrates actually dying are few and far between.
Jay

thanks! Will dose when it arrives tomorrow.
I have an air stone in my sump, will add 2 more into the display also to increase aeration. Appreciate your advice and input!!