110G and A tang with ich

[kilralpine]

So my juvenile regal blue showed signs for the previous 2-3 days of ich, the obvious white spots and itching. He was introduced to the tank about 3-4 weeks ago. I have a quite stocked tank at 14 fish, 3 of which being tangs. Today the spots of ich have started disappearing and he still looks happy just slightly stressed. Lately I have been slacking on water changes a little bit, however running biopellets my nitrates stay anywhere from 10-20ppm for LPS/softies (I intend to do a few heavy wcs). I have a 40G drilled breeder with sump set up as a quarantine SO. I have the ability to catch them all and quarantine but my question is this. Since the regal tang seems to be eatting, swimming, and acting fine outside of the scratching when he showed white spots; should I try metro/focus in the food before I start the long process of fallow + hyposalinity in quarantine? I should mention this will be the first signs of seeing ich in this tank since I started it up just over a year ago and NO other fish show signs. I understand that if I have seen ich, its not going to go away so long as fish are in the tank BUT does this mean that you cant live happily alongside ich if say all the fish were extremely healthy 24/7? If I start seeing symptoms on any other fish I will be putting them in quarantine. Thoughts on metro/focus in the food and should I be patient or go ahead and get rid of the ich the hard way? Also what to do with 14 fish in a 40G breeder, I can do waterchanges and keep it safe no problem but what about space?

Any other suggestions would be great!

110G Fish List and size
--------------
2 maroon clowns (adult young + juvenile)
1 diamond goby (adult)
1 firefish goby (adult)
2 stocky anthias (adult)
4 chromis (juvenile)
1 regal blue (juvenile)
1 yellow tang (3 inch)
1 sailfin tang (3 inch)
1 melanurus wrasse (adult young)

 

[jbdreefs]

I am not saying that you can't get away with it, but in my experience, including metro and focus, the ich just comes back to show its head.

 

[bcrueter]

In the life cycle of ich the parisite is only on the fish for a short time so just because the fish is not showing signs of ich now, does not mean it is not in the tank it means they are reproducing. people will fight left and right over QT or not to QT. there are benifits to both. I prefer not to QT at this point. To try and catch the fish and put it in a small new tank only stresses the fish more. I would up my feedings(lots of greens), add metro and focus, as JB said. and try to reduce any stress the fish may be occuring IE chemisty problem or bully. But I am not an expert or play one on TV. the only way to get rid of all ICH in the tank is to take all the fish out of the tank and run it empty for atleast 6 weeks. but I found happy fish will not get it. so I cure the fish, not the tank. You may also want to look into a UV filter for future help to minimize your rish(UV filter is not a cure all and will not cure the fish at this point tho)

 

[bcavalli]

bcrueter;1027407 wrote: In the life cycle of ich the parisite is only on the fish for a short time so just because the fish is not showing signs of ich now, does not mean it is not in the tank it means they are reproducing. people will fight left and right over QT or not to QT. there are benifits to both. I prefer not to QT at this point. To try and catch the fish and put it in a small new tank only stresses the fish more. I would up my feedings(lots of greens), add metro and focus, as JB said. and try to reduce any stress the fish may be occuring IE chemisty problem or bully. But I am not an expert or play one on TV. the only way to get rid of all ICH in the tank is to take all the fish out of the tank and run it empty for atleast 6 weeks. but I found happy fish will not get it. so I cure the fish, not the tank. You may also want to look into a UV filter for future help to minimize your rish(UV filter is not a cure all and will not cure the fish at this point tho)

+1 well said Brandon!

 

[jennm]

Agreed. It's there, you aren't likely to rid the tank of it, so mitigate the risk. Feed 'em well, do the metro and focus it will help, and try to keep water quality better (those nitrates are a bit high, IMO), and keep the stress level as low as you can.

Jenn

 

[kilralpine]

JennM;1027494 wrote: Agreed. It's there, you aren't likely to rid the tank of it, so mitigate the risk. Feed 'em well, do the metro and focus it will help, and try to keep water quality better (those nitrates are a bit high, IMO), and keep the stress level as low as you can.

Jenn

Agreed, I have been super busy as of late so I missed a few water changes. I have caught up and cleaned up the sump alot so they should start dropping. At the moment I am going the metro/focus route and keeping them fat as usual. Thanks for the advice!

 

[stacy22]

Water changes have nothing to do with Cryptocaryon</em> infections.. It is possible to have an ick-free tank regardless of what some think. It takes dedication and proper quarantine procedures for ALL livestock before putting them in a display tank.

Letting your livestock live with a known infection is not the best practice and I hate when folks advocate for that.

 

[shrimpy brains]

stacy22;1027542 wrote: water changes have nothing to do with cryptocaryon</em> infections.. It is possible to have an ick-free tank regardless of what some think. It takes dedication and proper quarantine procedures for all livestock before putting them in a display tank.

Letting your livestock live with a known infection is not the best practice and i hate when folks advocate for that.

+1

 

[kilralpine]

Can i fit this many fish in a 40B w/ overflow? I can do as many water changes as I need to maintain a safe environment. Also I have now dosed 2-3 times every other day with metro/focus and fed alot, his ich doesnt seem to be getting better? should i be more patient?