When can I start adding new fish after an ICH outbreak

[bimmerman]

Hi all,
My reef tank (DT) just survived an ich outbreak that started when I bought an AT, which started to have velvet / ich after a few days. Sadly, it didn't make it after a few days. I quickly treated my tank with Polyplab Medic but it did not prevent other fish from getting velvet. I lost a few fish, but persisted with the Polyplab treatment and after 15 days, the fish with velvet at the beginning are now healthy and active and visually ich free and I stopped treatment. So far so good, but I know the the surviving fish could still be carriers of ich. Today is the 5th day I stopped treatment and so far, no sign of ich or its symptoms. Assuming I got an ich-free AT (which I know to be highly susceptible to ich), when is it safe to add it to my DT? Is a UV absolutely necessary to wipe out most of the remaining ich in the tank before adding new ich-free (assumed) fish? Thank you!

 

[blaxsun]

Short of removing all the fish, treating separately and running your DT fallow for the required period - there's no guarantee that you've don't still have any ich or velvet in your tank. A UV sterilizer will certainly help and can potentially eliminate the parasites (or at least keep them at minimal levels).

If you're not going to setup a QT, then I'd invest in a good UV sterilizer and then wait at least 30 days before adding any more fish.

 

[bimmerman]

Thanks Blaxsun. Yes Ich management is the strategy I'm using, given no QT and my DT is a reef tank. Any recommended time for a 36w UV before adding new fish?

 

[bimmerman]

Thanks Blaxsun. Yes Ich management is the strategy I'm using, given no QT and my DT is a reef tank. Any recommended time for a 36w UV before adding new fish?

 

[bimmerman]

Apologies, made some goofed replies earlier. Thanks so much. Appreciate any other useful advice too!

 

[vetteguy53081]

After full 30 day treatment at therapeutic levels with copper based medication and 45-60 days fallow/fishless in display tank at 80.5 degrees and a siphoning of display tank to remove any dead cysts

 

[Geebs19]

I would read up on jays post about ice management.

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

After full 30 day treatment at therapeutic levels with copper based medication and 45-60 days fallow/fishless in display tank at 80.5 degrees and a siphoning of display tank to remove any dead cysts

Hate that that's the case but it could always come back if you don't follow this. Especially depending on the fish you keep...for example tangs are really vulnerable to ich if you were to put one in there...

 

[Geebs19]

I would be hesitant to put any new fish into a tank that’s going through ich management. But I’ve unfortunately been wiped out twice in my hobby due to non quarantined fish.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I was too anxious to wait as well a while back and added fish while supposedly "managing"...long story short the fish didn't do well

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It's not such a long time man....it'll give you a chance to focus on your corals!

 

[MnFish1]

Hi all,
My reef tank (DT) just survived an ich outbreak that started when I bought an AT, which started to have velvet / ich after a few days. Sadly, it didn't make it after a few days. I quickly treated my tank with Polyplab Medic but it did not prevent other fish from getting velvet. I lost a few fish, but persisted with the Polyplab treatment and after 15 days, the fish with velvet at the beginning are now healthy and active and visually ich free and I stopped treatment. So far so good, but I know the the surviving fish could still be carriers of ich. Today is the 5th day I stopped treatment and so far, no sign of ich or its symptoms. Assuming I got an ich-free AT (which I know to be highly susceptible to ich), when is it safe to add it to my DT? Is a UV absolutely necessary to wipe out most of the remaining ich in the tank before adding new ich-free (assumed) fish? Thank you!

First - I'm assuming 'AT' means achilles tang - which is not really a common abbreviation.
Second - I'm not a big believer in this type of medication (i.e. one where the ingredients are not known). Ich can come and go whether you do nothing - or whether you put in a 'medication'. I'm not sure (and I looked). for the exact ingredients.
Third. Because of the above - I don't ever think you can 'be sure' unless you take out all of your fish, (sick or not) - treat them for 30 days with an appropriate regimen - while leaving your display tank fallow using either the 45 or 76 day protocols.

If you have no corals, inverts in your tank you could also consider hypo salinity.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

it's better to take the fish out alive than nearly dead from an I'll advised experiment

 

[MnFish1]

PS - This may sound a bit 'harsh' but its not meant to be at all. FWIW - after 5 days you cannot say 'your tank survived an ich outbreak. It could easily break out again tomorrow. Every additional fish you add to your tank (becasue each new fish can act as a host) - increases the likelihood that the next 'outbreak' will not be managed. (i.e. the more fish, the more surface area, the more surface area the more parasites, the more parasites the more quickly multiply.

Ich Management strategies SEEM to work best in well established tanks (?becuase there are predators in there that eat ich) - and also in tanks with low stocking density. To answer your question more directly - I would say - I would ignore the fact that you used the polyp lab medication (my opinion only) - and not add any more fish for 6-9 months unless you decide to treat as recommended

 

[bimmerman]

Thanks for all the advice so far, they all make a lot of sense. Yes, by AT, I'm referring to an Achilles Tang, known to be an ich magnet. I'll definitely hold off getting any new fish and for now, I'll be giving the UV Sterilizer a good shot for at least a month before thinking of adding any more fish.

Appreciate your useful comments!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thanks for all the advice so far, they all make a lot of sense. Yes, by AT, I'm referring to an Achilles Tang, known to be an ich magnet. I'll definitely hold off getting any new fish and for now, I'll be giving the UV Sterilizer a good shot for at least a month before thinking of adding any more fish.

Appreciate your useful comments!

Along with the UV, have you considered H2O2?

 

[bimmerman]

Along with the UV, have you considered H2O2?

No, how is it applied please?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

No, how is it applied please?

Just buy a bottle of regular 3% hydrogen peroxide and the instructions to dose were given by Humblefish...it's something like 1ml per gallon to start and you slowly increase the dose...I don't remember the exact regiment so you'll have to read his instructions but it's really effective at controlling an outbreak and even more effective when you use UV with it because of a chemical reaction it undergoes...just search for hydrogen peroxide in the search bar and the member is Humblefish...lmk if you can't find it and I'll track down a link for you

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

No, how is it applied please?

Hydrogen Peroxide bath

Hydrogen Peroxide bath (updated 1-31-23) What It Treats: Provides temporary relief for Marine Velvet Disease and Brooklynella. After a 30 minute H2O2 bath, the fish should be transferred into a Quarantine Tank (QT) for followup treatment. How To Treat: (The following is needed) 3% Hydrogen...

humble.fish

 

[Lavey29]

PS - This may sound a bit 'harsh' but its not meant to be at all. FWIW - after 5 days you cannot say 'your tank survived an ich outbreak. It could easily break out again tomorrow. Every additional fish you add to your tank (becasue each new fish can act as a host) - increases the likelihood that the next 'outbreak' will not be managed. (i.e. the more fish, the more surface area, the more surface area the more parasites, the more parasites the more quickly multiply.

Ich Management strategies SEEM to work best in well established tanks (?becuase there are predators in there that eat ich) - and also in tanks with low stocking density. To answer your question more directly - I would say - I would ignore the fact that you used the polyp lab medication (my opinion only) - and not add any more fish for 6-9 months unless you decide to treat as recommended

What predators eat ich?