Treating Ich in a reef tank?

[Pass12345]

I have a new Achilles Tang with ich, when I added him to the system he seemed fine, he was beat up by my sailfin & yellow for 1 day and now there best friends, problem tho in that first stressful day he acquired ich. I got him 11/17, and the ich came out 3/4 days later 11/20. I have been treating with poly lab reef medic, heavy feeding, and garlic. Today is 12/1 and he’s still dealing with the ich. He is eating like a champ and seems to not be bother by it.

How long does ich usually last on a fish when treating it in the system?

Any other things I can do to speed this process up?

 

[Tamberav]

A huge expensive oversized UV perhaps? Like pond size? Vaccume the sandbed vigorously to try and get some of the parasites out?

Ich management with an Acanthurus can be a losing battle. There is an article on it actually...

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ich-and-acanthurus-tangs-years-of-experience-and-ich-management.106/
Ich can last until the fish is dead in some cases. There isn't a cure you can use in a reef to get all of the ich.

 

[Pass12345]

A huge expensive oversized UV perhaps? Like pond size? Vaccume the sandbed vigorously to try and get some of the parasites out?

Ich management with an Acanthurus can be a losing battle. There is an article on it actually...

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ich-and-acanthurus-tangs-years-of-experience-and-ich-management.106/
Ich can last until the fish is dead in some cases. There isn't a cure you can use in a reef to get all of the ich.

I added an additional UV also it’s a bare bottom tank.

 

[Tamberav]

I added an additional UV also it’s a bare bottom tank.

Even better, you can still vacuum the bottom to try and reduce the number of tomonts. Do it early morning.

However, some of the spots might be mucus plugs from the looks of it. I do see some small spots on the fins though which I would assume is ich.

 

[Pass12345]

Even better, you can still vacuum the bottom to try and reduce the number of tomonts. Do it early morning.

However, some of the spots might be mucus plugs from the looks of it. I do see some small spots on the fins though which I would assume is ich.

Should I attempt to catch him and put him in copper for 2 weeks. I just fear once he’s better if I add him back to my display it will just come back. He was also in copper at my LFS before adding him.

 

[Tamberav]

Should I attempt to catch him and put him in copper for 2 weeks. I just fear once he’s better if I add him back to my display it will just come back. He was also in copper at my LFS before adding him.

If there is no improvement and fish gets worse. I would catch him.. but you are right... it may/will probably come right back. The reason I say to catch if no improvement is... at some point, the fish is clearly losing the battle and I wouldn't want to watch it die.

 

[Pass12345]

If there is no improvement and fish gets worse. I would catch him.. but you are right... it may/will probably come right back. The reason I say to catch if no improvement is... at some point, the fish is clearly losing the battle and I wouldn't want to watch it die.

Is there nothing I can do? I treated my Blue hippo the same way and it worked great. I’ve seen no improvement in my Achilles.

 

[Tamberav]

Is there nothing I can do? I treated my Blue hippo the same way and it worked great. I’ve seen no improvement in my Achilles.

Seems you are already doing what you can do besides siphoning the bottom.

Blue hippos are easier. People grab those guys and put them in 20g tanks lol

Achilles tang is a expert only fish because it is so susceptible to disease.

Watch for spots on other fish.

 

[Tamberav]

The mucus cones are not really a problem but just a reaction... hopefully it is more of those and less of ich.

 

[Pass12345]

Seems you are already doing what you can do besides siphoning the bottom.

Blue hippos are easier. People grab those guys and put them in 20g tanks lol

Achilles tang is a expert only fish because it is so susceptible to disease.

Watch for spots on other fish.

Yeah the others are all good, my orange shoulder is a savage he got velvet twice and beat it both times. The second time was completely my fault bc I added him back to the tank before it was completely out. But all the other seems fine.

 

[Miami Reef]

I think achillies tangs are not good candidates for ich management tanks.