New fish with ich , how best to handle it ?

[tbub1221]

I brought home a new clown fish last week and although shy which is to be expected , seemed fine for the first few days but broke out in ich now for the last 5 days , I'm treating with ich meds but seeing no real improvement .
It is beginning to eat less and labor its breath it appears , I do not think this is a water quality issue because all my corals and shrimp and feather worms all seem fine and I usually think of them as more fragile.
My water parameters are as follows ph 8.2(am ph swings as low as 7.6) my nitrates are 0 ,phos is .25-.5 cal 430 mag 1300 dkh 10 salinity 1.024 temp 79.6-82 depends on room temp (its a Biocube . hot box)
I'm using Kent iodine and strontium/molybdenum as directed per instructions.
There are other fish in the tank but none with white spots or any other problems I see , no one is harassed him at all .
I do not have a quarantine tank at my disposal so I'm treating with kick ich and also lost a electric flame scallope last night , it came from nemos with the clown and has been open eating well then today dead , I read it could have been the ich and since there was no trama and h20 looks good chemically I think its related.
Would this fish benefit from a fw dip for 3-4 mins ? Or would it only stress him more at this point
Thanks -TERRY

 

[shanepike]

Are you 100% sure it's ich? I know I've seen at least one case where the fish was treated for ich and died because it wasn't ich.

When my tang got ich, I fed food laced with metro two or three times a day. Took a couple of weeks, and it was very</em> up and down during that time. Lots of great advice and experience in that thread:

 

[bycjoe]

First off are you using a copper based ich medication? If so that explains why your scallop probably died, they also need to be target fed as they are non-photosynthetic. A copper based ich medication will probably also end up killing the rest of your invertebrates and coral if that is what you are using.

 

[raz0945]

Terry, Metro and Focus by Seachem are the best meds for ick also add a little Garlic Guard to it, feed 3-4 times a day and do a water change every third day to keep the tank from getting too toxic. If you need a 10g with a heater and small filter I can lone you one. Holley

 

[nrao2k12]

freshwater dip can be stressful to fish

 

[dhmx220]

Metro nd focus is about the only option for an in tank treatment. If the fish stops eating you are out of luck...

 

[jj ocean]

For a clown, I would pull and treat in a qt tank with copper if it is ick. Clowns are easy to catch, especially at night. I know you said you don't have a qt tank, but for the price of the fish you will loose it will easily pay for itself.

You don't need much - 20g and a small overflow filter. Probably don't even need a heater until winter.

 

[tbub1221]

Bycjoe;883752 wrote: First off are you using a copper based ich medication? If so that explains why your scallop probably died, they also need to be target fed as they are non-photosynthetic. A copper based ich medication will probably also end up killing the rest of your invertebrates and coral if that is what you are using.

No copper in kick ich - it says active ingredients 5-nitroimidazoles , invrrt safe and safe to beneficial bacterial.
I have 3 types of feather worms as well as shrimp and none of them showed any signs of anything out of the ordinary , all my corals are eating regularly and the scallop was being spot fed.
I think its either he got sick / was sick from the ich (apparently there is much debate weather or not inverts can be carriers) or it may have been the ich meds were still strong for his delicate system .

Edit:

Raz0945;883759 wrote: Terry, Metro and Focus by Seachem are the best meds for ick also add a little Garlic Guard to it, feed 3-4 times a day and do a water change every third day to keep the tank from getting too toxic. If you need a 10g with a heater and small filter I can lone you one. Holley

Thanks Holley I may take you up on that , I cracked the glass on my qt a wile back an need to just get something I will let you know thought if I need it.
The sick clown was out of his safe corner this morning and for the first time eagerly awaiting his breakfast , he ate before the other fish as soon as it hit the surface , every thing else he's eaten lately was whatever small pieces hit him on the nose wile he hid in the corner so I'm in high hopes.
The amounts of ich I see looks less , and his breathing has slowed a bit.
I'll look in to the seachem meds

Thanks for all the replies , with any luck ill get past this without infecting my other creatures

 

[jennm]

Are you positive it's ich?

Kick Ich is "ok" if you have no other alternative...and IF it's ich... which may or may not be the case.

Brooklynella is my guess - time of year, and since it's the only fish showing symptoms... all your fish should be treated as others could be carrying it (whatever it is) and may reinfest treated fish.

QT new fish FIRST... treat if necessary.... keep the yuck out of the display. It doesn't work as well, the other way around.

Flame Scallops are usually temporary anyway. Most die in captivity within a few months. Probably a coincidence there.

Jenn

 

[tbub1221]

I looked at pics of Brooklynella , I'm certain its ich , and I see 4-5 specks on my watchmen now that I had not noticed previously

 

[heathlindner25]

we have a new in tank treatment for ick by poly-lab up at Pure Reef ,come on in and we'll talk about it.
we also have Dr.G medicated fish food, works great on ick.

 

[cj22009]

I have always had luck with soaking food in seachem vitallity to cure them of it

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[tbub1221]

So I went ahead with the fw dip wednesday mid day , I used a little mardel coppersafe in the dip as well.
Man my goby was pissed , he hid up in the slits of the overflow the rest of that day and yesterday but is back to his old self and eating today it seems , but he still has 2-3 spots on his side .
The clown has made a dramatic improvement , the fw dip seemed although a bit stressful to literally make the parasite die and the body forces it out , I saw the fish bump some knocking off the dead spots but the laboring of breath has stoed and he is eating good , I'm still treating the water though and I anticipate this is not the end but hopeing for the best.

 

[silver surfer]

You have ich in the system at this point. Either the fish is going to fight it off, stay sick or die. If they continue to eat and are healthy enough, they should be ok. Just know that they could breakout down the road if they stress.

Joys of reefing!