Treating Ich in fowlr DT questions.

[SoCalReefanatic]

I am about to treat my DT fowlr tank for ich with Cupramine. I have removed all inverts to my Nano reef, and into a newly set up 10 GA . My question is, should I treat all my fish or only the ones that have shown signs of ich? Currently, only my powder blue tang is showing light signs of it. Two days ago she was looking a lot worse. I have a Lunar wrasse, and two clowns that have never shown any sings of ich. I also have a Tomato Clown, blue Damsel, and a Sailfin Tang that have shown very minimal signs of ich, and currently, they are showing no sing of it.

All fish are eating fine multiple times a day, are active, and swimming normally. Any and all advice is welcome, and greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions.

Questions:
Treat all fish, or only the ones that have shown signs of having ich?
Why does it appear to be going away, and some fish no longer show signs of having it?

 

[Tony616]

I wouldn't treat copper in dt because
1. Your rocks would absorb it and it would be hard to keep copper at therapeutic level.

2. You won't be able to add corals or inverts later on.

I would treat ALL fish in a separate qt tank and run dt fallow for 76 days.

Hanna copper tester is highly recommended.

BTW, Do not use seachem prime while running copper it would be toxic for your fishes. Good luck.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I am about to treat my DT fowlr tank for ich with Cupramine. I have removed all inverts to my Nano reef, and into a newly set up 10 GA . My question is, should I treat all my fish or only the ones that have shown signs of ich? Currently, only my powder blue tang is showing light signs of it. Two days ago she was looking a lot worse. I have a Lunar wrasse, and two clowns that have never shown any sings of ich. I also have a Tomato Clown, blue Damsel, and a Sailfin Tang that have shown very minimal signs of ich, and currently, they are showing no sing of it.

All fish are eating fine multiple times a day, are active, and swimming normally. Any and all advice is welcome, and greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions.

Questions:
Treat all fish, or only the ones that have shown signs of having ich?
Why does it appear to be going away, and some fish no longer show signs of having it?

You really should treat all of the fish. The reason you see it come and go is due to its life cycle, and the fact that your fish have a minor case...some people are able to "manage" ich at this point and just continue to operate. I think that is risky. If anything tips things in favor of the parasite, you end up with a full blown infection.

I wonder if you should consider using hyposalinity on your DT? It won't risk any copper absorption in your live rock. You'll still need to move all your inverts out. Basically, you just lower the specific gravity of the tank down to 1.009 over three days, using a very accurate measuring device. Hold the fish there for at least 30 days after the symptoms abate. Monitor the pH during this time and buffer if needed. Then, bring the fish back up to full salinity over 5 days and then observe them for 2 weeks to ensure they are cured. This will give the invertebrates time to clear any ich that they may have carried with them.

Jay

 

[SoCalReefanatic]

Jay,
Thank you very much for the advice. I will do this along with power feeding and adding in some garlic guard, and powder ginger to help their immune system.

All the fish look fantastic today, their bodies and fins are clean, not a single spec on them. Inch is really strange, the way it is present one moment and gone the next.

At this point hypo is a much better treatment than dosing the coper, due to all the side and after effects. Going to start the hypo today, ill post updates every few days or upon event.

Thanks again for the instruction, wish me and my little fishies luck!!!

 

[SoCalReefanatic]

You really should treat all of the fish. The reason you see it come and go is due to its life cycle, and the fact that your fish have a minor case...some people are able to "manage" ich at this point and just continue to operate. I think that is risky. If anything tips things in favor of the parasite, you end up with a full blown infection.

I wonder if you should consider using hyposalinity on your DT? It won't risk any copper absorption in your live rock. You'll still need to move all your inverts out. Basically, you just lower the specific gravity of the tank down to 1.009 over three days, using a very accurate measuring device. Hold the fish there for at least 30 days after the symptoms abate. Monitor the pH during this time and buffer if needed. Then, bring the fish back up to full salinity over 5 days and then observe them for 2 weeks to ensure they are cured. This will give the invertebrates time to clear any ich that they may have carried with them.

Jay

Lost my Powder Blue yesterday, He was covered in ich, I hate this stuff!!!


Tank is just about down to full Hypo now, one last batch of RODI to introduce when I get home, and we will be down to 1.0009

Remaining fish in tank / current status.
Lunar Wrasse - no signs
(2) Ocellaris clowns - no signs
Tomato clown - Minimal signs
Neon Velvet Damsel - Minimal signs
Sail fin Tang - Minimal signs of ich & swimming directly into flow of wave maker often.

Hope the list is the same after its all over.

Any recommendations for the heat of the tank during Hypo? Currently running between 78 & 82, typically runs @ 78, but due to the heat its been fluctuating.

 

[CJ13]

I am about to treat my DT fowlr tank for ich with Cupramine. I have removed all inverts to my Nano reef, and into a newly set up 10 GA . My question is, should I treat all my fish or only the ones that have shown signs of ich? Currently, only my powder blue tang is showing light signs of it. Two days ago she was looking a lot worse. I have a Lunar wrasse, and two clowns that have never shown any sings of ich. I also have a Tomato Clown, blue Damsel, and a Sailfin Tang that have shown very minimal signs of ich, and currently, they are showing no sing of it.

All fish are eating fine multiple times a day, are active, and swimming normally. Any and all advice is welcome, and greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions.

Questions:
Treat all fish, or only the ones that have shown signs of having ich?
Why does it appear to be going away, and some fish no longer show signs of having it?

I had ich from a fish I setup a quarantine tank and took all the fish out and put in QT tank and treated to QT tank and the DT I had crabs shrimp and snails only in there for about 76 days says for around 72 but I went a bit longer to be safe and just followed directions on copper medication and noticed no ich on fish and once I put everyone back in DT have not seen any signs of ich and I just did all this around the middle to the end of January this year

 

[Bpfor3]

So this is not a sure fire cure. But had the same issue with my fish in a reef tank. Powder Blue was always the culprit, and i am convinced he played a big roll in keeping the infection going. I bought a 150W UV sterilizer and put it on the tank and kept it on for 4-5 months. No fish showed signs of ich after that except for the PB, who only got it when i experimented and turned the UV off. I had to remove the PB bc he went nuts on me and started beating the other fish. Since then, no fish has had any spots, even after the UV was removed. I know it has to still be there, but no issues. Even with the 2 tangs i added after the PB.

 

[CJ13]

I had ich from a fish I setup a quarantine tank and took all the fish out and put in QT tank and treated to QT tank and the DT I had crabs shrimp and snails only in there for about 76 days says for around 72 but I went a bit longer to be safe and just followed directions on copper medication and noticed no ich on fish and once I put everyone back in DT have not seen any signs of ich and I just did all this around the middle to the end of January this year

Go to your LFS and by something like this and put in DT for about a week or so then put in QT tank just to help it cycle quicker and do not put any rocks or sand in QT I just put PVC piping in there for the fish to hide

 

[Uncle99]

Lost my Powder Blue yesterday, He was covered in ich, I hate this stuff!!!


Tank is just about down to full Hypo now, one last batch of RODI to introduce when I get home, and we will be down to 1.0009

Remaining fish in tank / current status.
Lunar Wrasse - no signs
(2) Ocellaris clowns - no signs
Tomato clown - Minimal signs
Neon Velvet Damsel - Minimal signs
Sail fin Tang - Minimal signs of ich & swimming directly into flow of wave maker often.

Hope the list is the same after its all over.

Any recommendations for the heat of the tank during Hypo? Currently running between 78 & 82, typically runs @ 78, but due to the heat its been fluctuating.

I’ve never changed the heat when doing hypo, to me, it’s added stress on top of stress with with hypo, I’m trying to reduce.

It is my understanding, hypo is a relatively quick death for ick as the lack of salt in the water screws with their water processing activity and they can take in water, but not out so they kinda explode.

I’ve had good luck with hypo on tangs.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Lost my Powder Blue yesterday, He was covered in ich, I hate this stuff!!!


Tank is just about down to full Hypo now, one last batch of RODI to introduce when I get home, and we will be down to 1.0009

Remaining fish in tank / current status.
Lunar Wrasse - no signs
(2) Ocellaris clowns - no signs
Tomato clown - Minimal signs
Neon Velvet Damsel - Minimal signs
Sail fin Tang - Minimal signs of ich & swimming directly into flow of wave maker often.

Hope the list is the same after its all over.

Any recommendations for the heat of the tank during Hypo? Currently running between 78 & 82, typically runs @ 78, but due to the heat its been fluctuating.

Sorry to hear about the PBT. Don't change the water temperature, raising the water temp is a treatment for FW ich (not a closely related species). For marine ich, raising the water temp just puts the parasite in its "sweet spot" and makes it harder to control. 78-79 F. is best.

Jay