Help! With ich!

[siavashv]

FOLKS,

I just re did my aquascaping this past weekend and noticed that ever since my flame angel has been kind of hanging in the back. I thought he was just a bit stressed and that he would come around. It has been three days and I noticed that he is not eating like he used to and then... I NOTICED THE WHITE DOTS! Then I noticed that they are also appearing on my new baby regal tang. and perhaps a bit on my yellow tang. My clowns don't show any signs but I got to get rid of this. Please help... What should I do?

 

[cr500_af]

No tone implied, but do a search. Literally dozens of threads.

The prevailing opinion is:

1. If the fish is eating, feed the heck out of it and keep stress to a minimum.

2. Removing the fish for treatment is sometimes more stressful than leaving it in the DT, but occasionally if it gets bad enough you have to remove it to a hospital tank and treat.

3. "Reef-safe" ich treatments are hokum.

 

[rjrgroup]

Don't worry...it won't help. Just keep trying to get him to eat, with garlic. If he's eating, he should be fine. Any pics to make sure it's ich? Don't medicate anything but metro with focus if you must. Seachem products...

 

[siavashv]

i don't know what my daughter did with my digital camera so this is from my iphone, quality is horrible. But it definitely looks like ich... one of the flame's eyes is like super white.. and he has white spots all over. but the regal just started getting the dots and has one or two on its eye.. I have read some stuff and people have all sorts of opinions like feeding, raising temp, and the focus stuff too. I just need this gone as the fish were quite pricey and I don't want them to infect everything else. I don't have a quarantine tank but catching these bad boys would be a lifetime achievement anyway... I have some medicated food that I am only going to feed for a few days... Dr. G's anti-parasitic banquet... they don't seem to like that as much as the garlic dipped pellets.. But I also have a cleaner wrasse and he is trying to eat some stuff off of them.. I have to go to the LFS tomorrow and seek some more remedy though.
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[hnguyen]

wow I'm sorry to hear this happening to you Sia. All I can say is just soak your food in garlic and pray they eat. I've had to deal with ick twice in two different tanks and it was no fun. Both times I've lost at least one fish. Just try to feed them as much as you can. Turn your pumps off when you feed so your fish have more time to eat their food before it gets taken to the sump. Don't over feed though because then your'll dirty your water but rather feed small bits multiple times a day. I feed my fish half the amount I normally feed them and I did that 3 times a day. Up your WC a little to help keep your params. in check when your feeding heavy. Best of luck to you my friend. Let me know if I can help.

 

[smoothie]

Soak the food in selcon, over feed, up the water changes and cut the lights back for a few days. It's in there now. Just have to get the fish healthy and stress free and keep them there

 

[texhorns98]

You've gotten some good advice here as it's really a challenge dealing with ich. However, you need to look at "why" you got it to begin with. Let me preface this by saying I've made about every mistake one can, so I'm not "preaching" here.

You got your tank right at two months ago. Assuming you set it up immediately and had a quick cycle, you've had a cycled tank for somewhere around 4-6 weeks tops. You've really rushed putting your fish in there and you also mentioned you don't have a QT. This is a double dip into the land of no-no. I don't QT either, but I'm very slow to add new livestock. I didn't used to be, but I learned the hard way eventually.

That being said, you've also crossed into the controversial tang zone. In reality, your tank is too small for one, much less two tangs. I'll assume they are juvenile, so you're OK for now if they are. Eventually you'll need to re-home them (stressful) or upgrade your tank size (stressful for you AND the fish ).

Again, just some thoughts here. We have all made mistakes and most of us continue to do so. I learn every day in this hobby and I've been at it for 5 years now.

 

[hnguyen]

I have to agree with the above statement. I've had my tank up 4 months now and I'm still scared to add a tang. Tangs are some of the easiest fish to catch ick and then spread it to others (they love to share). In my 2 previous tanks, I would get ick every time I added a tang. Mainly those small blue regal tangs, for some reason I can never keep the small ones. To me they seem to stress out a lot easier then their big brothers/sisters. I also agree to cutting back the lights a little bit but I myself have never done so because it pisses my coral off like nothing else. Good luck man.

 

[jennm]

Not all reef safe treatments are "hokum". You can spike the food with Seachem Focus and Metronidazole in addition to all of the above. That's "reef safe" (don't treat the water, just the food).

Garlic, vitamins, feed well, watch water quality and Focus and Met should give you the upper hand.

And yes, watch for stress - stress usually brings on the outbreak.

Jenn

 

[jmaneyapanda]

JennM;637607 wrote: Not all reef safe treatments are "hokum". You can spike the food with Seachem Focus and Metronidazole in addition to all of the above. That's "reef safe" (don't treat the water, just the food).

Garlic, vitamins, feed well, watch water quality and Focus and Met should give you the upper hand.

And yes, watch for stress - stress usually brings on the outbreak.

Jenn

Yes, this all depends on how you define "treatments". Feeding more can be considered a "treatment" too. Overall, though, I can say that, in my opinion, anything that claims to be a reef safe "cure" is garbage.

About metronidazole, bear in mind it is very insoluable. Focus is supposed to help bind it, but that certainly wont be 100% effective, so you WILL lose some to the tank water. Also, with ingested meds, dosing properly is the key to treating correctly. I have no idea what the correct dosing is off the top of my head, but it would be very diffficult to get a fish to eat the exact right dose, in my opinion.

 

[siavashv]

My Ich has subsided (knock on wood). The flame angel passed away on Friday and since I removed him from the tank and kept feeding like nuts, the ich seems to be gone. The Yellow tang and the Regal are much better and both are eating very well. They loved the brine shrimp that I have been giving them and actually have eaten flake food like a champ. Loving it. I have not touched the water in like 3 days and have installed my chiller and kept the temp really consistent (and low 77). Thanks to everyone's help.

 

[rjrgroup]

Sorry about your flame angel. That sux! Keep doing water changes otherwise you'll be posting about a cyano outbreak. Good luck with the tangs!

 

[hnguyen]

Be very careful Sia, although it looks like your kicking the ich, it's just passing through the first stage of its live cycle. You first see the ick on your fish, a week or two later you notice that theres no more ich on your fish, but what really is happening is that the ich has had it's feel with your fish and as detached itself and is now settling in your sand/rock to lay its eggs. Keep on feeding your fish like h3$$ because when the ich eggs hatch. They'll be looking to catch another ride with your fish. Hopefully this time around your fish are recovered and has built a good slime coat over themselves to prevent new ich babies from attaching to them again. If your fish can do that then the ich will die off without having the chance to lay more eggs which in turn will end their live cycle altogether. This can take up to a month or so depending on how bad you have it. So don't add new fish in for another 2 or 3 months just to be safe. I've learned it the hard way. I thought I had kicked the ich as well but it came back a week or 2 later after I started to slack off thinking my fish were healed and no more ich.

 

[siavashv]

Thanks for the heads up Hoang! Always a good piece of advice from a good friend. I am done with fish for a while anyway. I think the lessons have really kicked in to tell me that I need to chill out and let the ecosystem grow and mature. I thought I might have been a bit invincible since for a couple of months all my params were perfect and things were thriving. This was a wake up call. Plus I need to relax financially. I'm playing like I won the lottery. And obviously things are far from that. I want to come see the cube soon. Plus maybe this coming weekend you can come see my tank. Keep rocking dude. That tank looks sick as heck.

 

[hnguyen]

siavashv;639143 wrote: Thanks for the heads up Hoang! Always a good piece of advice from a good friend. I am done with fish for a while anyway. I think the lessons have really kicked in to tell me that I need to chill out and let the ecosystem grow and mature. I thought I might have been a bit invincible since for a couple of months all my params were perfect and things were thriving. This was a wake up call. Plus I need to relax financially. I'm playing like I won the lottery. And obviously things are far from that. I want to come see the cube soon. Plus maybe this coming weekend you can come see my tank. Keep rocking dude. That tank looks sick as heck.

Your always welcome at my place buddy, and I'd love to come see your tank as well. Its always nice getting to see a RSM. I love those things and I hate you for owning one. I don't think that ich has much to do with your params being in check, but more to do with you adding that tang. Tangs to me are one of the most easy fish to catch ich and with my luck, every tank that I have added a tang to, I get ich. Some how some where, when they stress out due to you transporting them from point A to point B, that stresses them out and BOOM!! ICH!!! I'm picking up a tang next week from a buddy of mines so I'm kinda scared myself. One of my fish was injured during my move from the 60 to the 93 so I may just have to hold off on picking up the tang for another week or so until my fish heals up. I want all my fish perfectly strong when I add this tang as a safely precaution. Also, try feeding your fish garlic about twice a week from now on. That way they'll be strong and healthy so if you ever add a new fish and you get ich again, at least you know that your older fish are ready to put up a good fight.

I hope this info helps, and sorry to hear about your flame angel, those things are beautiful.