Help!!!

reichartc · 01-01-2008, 11:58 AM

This morning we are seeing the first signs of a pretty major outbreak of ich. It is all over both of the blue tangs and on one of the naso tangs. The second naso looks okay and I don't see anything on the other fish (2 percs, 1 firefish, 1 diamond goby and 4 green chromis).

This is a well established 90 gallon reef setup with many corals and inverts and I don't know what to do. None of the LFS in the area ore open yet because it's new years day. I do not have another tank where I can give them a copper treatement. All water parameters check out and are in good shape.

What do I do now?

Nereaga · 01-01-2008, 01:47 PM

Hello there,

Well with NOT having a QT/HT in arms reach.... There is very little you can do medication wise... You DO NOT, IMO, want to treat your display tank with ich medications, MOST are harmful to bacteria colonies and harmful to small/large marine organisms. That being said, I would try and keep water quality as HIGH as possible in hope that they can bounce back and fight it off. A few questions for you.

What do you usually feed? Do you soak your food in a garlic or a vitamin enriched additive? If not, I might pick that up tomorrow or ASAP, and start soaking their food in it, prior to feeding. This will help boost immune system function and again, MAYBE they can fight it off.

The worst part about seeing the ICH on the fish is that you are seeing this parasite in its LAST stage of its life cycle. The ICH life cycle takes about 6-8 weeks to complete. By you seeing them, this parasite is already starting to reproduce in the tank and look for a host. The only host in the aquarium is a fish. As long as you have ONE fish in your display the ICH life cycle will continue. It is recommended to remove ALL fish for a time frame of 6-8 weeks, to let the parasite die off.

This is NO fun by any means. I had aquired ICH myself and had to wait out the life cycle.... 8 LONG weeks... I have since added fish and have NOT seen ICH since. I of course do quarantine all new arrivals....

Hope some of that helps you out. Even though its not good news.

Brad

reichartc · 01-01-2008, 03:32 PM

I usually feed either dry food or frozen mysis. No, I've never soaked in any kind of additive, but I'll get some and try it. I've been through the difficult cycle of waiting for parasites to dye and it is no fun. I just bought the two blue tangs three weeks ago. That must be where I got the ich.

I wonder if a UV Sterilizer will help?

Nereaga · 01-01-2008, 03:51 PM

It might, Ich attaches to things rather than floating through the water... I guess it couldnt hurt. Lets hope someone else can join in with some thoughts.

reichartc · 01-03-2008, 10:19 AM

I treated with Kick Ich last night, unplugged the protein skimmer to allow the Kick Ich to work, bought some vitamins to soak my frozen food in, bought some food with garlic in it and bought a new heater to help keep a constant temp in the cold.

Now I'm just waiting this out. We'll see what happens.

Tommy Gun · 01-03-2008, 03:22 PM

Do you have any cleaners in your tank right now? While I am sure it is not going to solve the problem entirely, perhaps a cleaner shrimp or two would help keep the problem from totally exploding in your face. I have been having a somewhat similar problem in my tank....sudden, short bursts of ich showing up on my fish and I have used cleaners, UV, and Ich-Attack to help slow things down with my fingers crossed that I can get my fish healthy enough to fight it on their own again. However, I do have a q-tank ready if that doesn't happen. In fact, IME it seems like marine ich is quite a bit slower than its FW counterpart, so I would think that you still have time to pick up a q-tank - doesn't have to be anything special, I have used the 30 dollar, 10 gallon "kit tanks" found at walmart because light and to some extent, filtration isn't all that big of a concern because meds prohibit bacteria growth anyways....so you basically just do a lot of water changes. You would also need to use a q-tank if you want to employ a hypo salinity treatment because most corals aren't going to do well under those conditions. When dealing with fish that are this expensive, a q-tank is really a minimal expense that provides a lot of security.

reichartc · 01-03-2008, 08:07 PM

Yes, I have a cleaner shrimp in the tank.

I got home today and water temp seems to have stabilized and the fish are looking better. Only one treatment of Kick Ich, but I'll do another one tomorrow (per the directions for excessive breakouts). If things keep going well, I think I'm in good shape. If things get worse, I'll take your advice on the Q-tank.

I really think the garlic food has helped, but mostly I think the water treatment and temp stabilization has been the biggest help.

Tommy Gun · 01-03-2008, 11:39 PM

Quote:

I really think the garlic food has helped, but mostly I think the water treatment and temp stabilization has been the biggest help.

Even though I haven't really used it because of an Ich problem, I have read/heard that garlic can really help out in many ways so if you think it is worthwhile, you may want to stick with the garlic on a long-term basis. I usually add some at least once a week.

Keep in mind that the vast majority, if not all treatments you can employ will NOT have a huge impact on the Ich you see as a white spot right now since they are very well protected through the actions of the parasite and through the protection the fish unintentionally provides on its own. This means that any treatment you use, whether it is via chemicals or not, is really only working to harm the parasites that you cannot see right now ---- point being, keep treating for Ich long after the last white spot has disappeared. However, it is my understanding that it is much more difficult to have a completely 'ich-free' saltwater aquarium, so your main focus really should be to keep your fish healthy enough to fight it off on their own; or in other words, prevention is the best 'cure', especially in marine tanks since it is more likely that we can see ich even if it has been months since we last added anything new to the tank....if and when your fish become stressed or less healthy.

reichartc · 01-04-2008, 10:20 AM

Thanks for the advice Tommy Gun. I'll definitely include the garlic and vitamins as a part of the regular diet.

All the fish, except for the blue tangs, have been in the tank for months or years. The blues were added in early December and have been doing great. I had a water temp change of about 5 degrees in one day (my fault) and I think that stressed them out. Even when the ich showed up, the fish seemed healthy and continue to have excellent appetites. As of last night, I see almost no signs of the ich at all on any fish. But, like everyone has pointed out, it's still there, I just have to keep the fish good and healthy.

That was scary for a while. I'll continue the Kick Ich treatment through it's duration as a precuation, but as of last night, I think all is well.