This hobby is very discouraging.

[Sordfish]

So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

 

[Lps_lover12]

It can be discouraging at time for sure, we have all been there and it’s completly normal. I was the same when I first saw ich and freaked out and probably just caused more stress on the fish. There’s many people on here who know they have ich but just manage it with good water quality and good food. Many of them see it when they add a new fish or when something bad happens. Ich can seem very scary to a new reefer but it really isn’t in my opinion. I’ve dealt with it a few times and only once has it killed my fish, which was when I freaked out about it.

 

[billyocean]

So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

Tangs will show ich from time to time. Uv, garlic with some nori..it may just dissapear.

 

[Martym19]

Why did you use all of the medication when you got them? Were they sick when you purchased? If not the copper Probly stressed them out causing ick

 

[Gedxin]

Really sorry to hear about the potential ich outbreak. It's true, this hobby has numerous ways to knock you down a peg. If things are going great, it's probably because you aren't looking closely enough sure sounds like you did everything right in preparing for your fish.

I unfortunately do not have any advice, just condolences. Best of luck to you.

 

[bsquaredX2]

My blue hippo gets a few spots anytime I add a new fish. Still eats like crazy and just give more nori. None of my other fish have ever been bothered by it luckily. I think it would be harder on the fish trying to break the tank down and medicate it.

 

[pennied]

So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

That’s just the tip of the ice berg in this hobby! Buckle up for more bumps.

 

[Goaway]

Any pics of the hippo tang?

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I have lost quite a few fish fighting parasites in QT. What struck me with your writing though was going too fast - buying all the fish at one time. My suggestion is to get the remaining ones back into a hospital tank and treat for the disease they have. If you are not sure it is ich, post some pictures taken in white light on the fish disease thread. Ruby Reef Hydroplex has worked for me as a 10 minute saltwater dip before moving them to hospital. It is low stress and will kill the bugs on them. They still need the long term treatment though. Good luck!

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Darstar301]

My tang also got ich in my display. Ran a UV and Polylab Medic, also gave it alot of good food and after 30 days, all is good. Now the tang is over 3".

 

[XyPP]

Adding 13 fish at once to a freshly cycled tank is seriously pushing it. The tank was cycled I don't doubt it, but it likely did not have enough bacterial colonies established to buffer a 13 fish bioload. Tank probably went through cycle again and it stressed the fish out reducing their immune system.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Sorry to hear about it, but agree with above you broke the golden rule of adding too many fish at one time to a brand new system.

 

[Sordfish]

Why did you use all of the medication when you got them? Were they sick when you purchased? If not the copper Probly stressed them out causing ick

Yes, one fish showed signs of flukes and ich on day 2 in quarantine. It then died. At that point I followed Humblefish’s quarantine protocols since the rest of the fish were potentially exposed. No one else showed any issues during the 2 month quarantine after that.

 

[littlefoxx]

So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

My baby blue hippo scratches all the time. I feed him metro plex and focus in his food for a few days then he is fine. Repeats all the time. Blue hippos are stress balls Ive decided! My little one has nothing to be stressed about and isnt being bullied but he for some reason goes through phases where he hides every time he sees me and then he doesn't hide. Weird fish. I freaked out the first couple times this happened but now its kinda his norm. He is about to go in a 6 foot tank so maybe that will stop. Who knows, I keep my water perfect and feed him all good frozen food and nori on a clip all day!

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I waited 1.5 years to set up my Red Sea P500 - my ultimate dream tank (that I can afford). Bought the tank used and slowly gathered all the equipment I needed. In the meantime I ran a nano to learn reef-keeping, which had some corals and a coupe of fish.

2.5 months ago I set up a quarantine tank. Bought all the fish I wanted - about 13, all very small fish. I quarantined them for 45 days. First 30 days in copper, then 2 weeks in prazipro. Finally I observed them for 2 weeks after all the medication. Made sure they are all eating like pigs.

Meanwhile I set up my hardscape and cycled the display tank. 10 days ago I finally transferred everything to the Red Sea. The tank looked awesome to me. I was giddy with joy.

This morning I wake up and notice that the baby hippo tang is scratching against the rock work. Sure enough he has ich. How the heck? All that work with medication quarantine etc. and 2 weeks into setting up my tank I face loosing all my fish or breaking it all down and try to medicate once again.

Needless to say I could literally cry. This is a kick in the gut. I just don’t see what else I could have done. I do have UV of sufficient power and flow set up (according to BRSTV). I guess I’ll ride it out and hope the UV contains it (all the fish, including the hippo are active and eating well). Maybe it is wishful thinking but I just don’t have it in me to break down the tank.

After all that time money and effort this is so disappointing.

Thanks for letting me vent

What therapuetic level did you treat with copper and how did you test the copper level. Theront stage has the longest cycle up to 18 days and if copper was low, the life cycle may not have been interrupted but paused.
Please provide clear pics under white lighting for best assessment

 

[Sordfish]

Adding 13 fish at once to a freshly cycled tank is seriously pushing it. The tank was cycled I don't doubt it, but it likely did not have enough bacterial colonies established to buffer a 13 fish bioload. Tank probably went through cycle again and it stressed the fish out reducing their immune system.

I actually transferred all my rock and bio cubes from my nano tank into the Red Sea, along with 5 nano fish which were in my nano tank about a month before the quarantined fish. Also note that all the fish are 1.5” or smaller. They are almost lost in the tank. This is a process that I used in my freshwater tanks for the last 7 years with great success when upgrading tanks. I also check my parameters religiously. There was no mini cycle that could be detected.
However, I agree that it was the move to the display tank that caused it. What bothers me is that there was ich in the first place. I have thoroughly subjected everything to quarantine. That includes the corals (I keep the in a fish less tank for 10 weeks before moving them to a display tank). And still…

 

[Sordfish]

I have lost quite a few fish fighting parasites in QT. What struck me with your writing though was going too fast - buying all the fish at one time. My suggestion is to get the remaining ones back into a hospital tank and treat for the disease they have. If you are not sure it is ich, post some pictures taken in white light on the fish disease thread. Ruby Reef Hydroplex has worked for me as a 10 minute saltwater dip before moving them to hospital. It is low stress and will kill the bugs on them. They still need the long term treatment though. Good luck!

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

There was a reason to my madness. I introduced 8 baby chromis at once. They are each an inch, and I hoped that getting them from the same clutch would give the best chance for them to remain a shoal. I have done that with semi aggressive gouramis with success in the past. The remaining 5 fish were in my nano tank for over a year - and quarantined prior to that.

 

[Sordfish]

My blue hippo gets a few spots anytime I add a new fish. Still eats like crazy and just give more nori. None of my other fish have ever been bothered by it luckily. I think it would be harder on the fish trying to break the tank down and medicate it.

Thanks. I hope that is how it plays out.

 

[pennied]

There was a reason to my madness. I introduced 8 baby chromis at once. They are each an inch, and I hoped that getting them from the same clutch would give the best chance for them to remain a shoal. I have done that with semi aggressive gouramis with success in the past. The remaining 5 fish were in my nano tank for over a year - and quarantined prior to that.

Won’t happen as they will fight each other to death. Salt is nothing like fresh… so there’s really no reason to your madness as it will it work

 

[Sordfish]

It can be discouraging at time for sure, we have all been there and it’s completly normal. I was the same when I first saw ich and freaked out and probably just caused more stress on the fish. There’s many people on here who know they have ich but just manage it with good water quality and good food. Many of them see it when they add a new fish or when something bad happens. Ich can seem very scary to a new reefer but it really isn’t in my opinion. I’ve dealt with it a few times and only once has it killed my fish, which was when I freaked out about it.

Thanks for your encouraging words.