Why use a hosp tank for ick

[feefer2]

Hello All , Iwas wondering why some people are saying to take your fish out of you main tank if they get ick and treat them in a hosp tank This is my tought on this tell if iam wrong if you move a fish from tank to tank and they have ick that just stresses them out more and could make then to the point of not wanting to eat and get worse and then death ,so what I am getting at is thatmoving them from tank to tank would make it worse for that sick fish .the second point is if they make products like kick ick that is reef safe and it is then why move them just treat the main dp tank . thanks

[Michael]

there are only 2 reconised treatments for itch, hyposalinity and copper treatment, if living rock is present in the tank, lets face it most reefers now know to use it as the prime biological filteration then copper treatment is out of the question as any living organisims will perish and the rock will always leach copper and become completely usless, if hyoslainity is used then no inverts can be kept in the tank as the reducion in the salinity would kill them, this is why a seperate tank is required to treat itch

[Sk8r]

Second that. Treatment would kill your live rock and sand.

[kau_cinta_ku]

Originally posted by Michael
there are only 2 reconised treatments for itch, hyposalinity and copper treatment, if living rock is present in the tank, lets face it most reefers now know to use it as the prime biological filteration then copper treatment is out of the question as any living organisims will perish and the rock will always leach copper and become completely usless, if hyoslainity is used then no inverts can be kept in the tank as the reducion in the salinity would kill them, this is why a seperate tank is required to treat itch

+1 those reef safe treatments like kick ich and such are not a proven cure of ich. as stated the only proven ways to cure ich are hypo, copper, and tank transfer. all will need to be done in a seperate tank.

BTW there were some tests done using those "reef safe" treatments and they can actually so harm to corals. I beleive Steven Pro did a test with xenia.

[Michael]

i stand corrected, i completely forgot about the tank transfer system, i know nothing about it but i have seen the capn mention it before, so there are only 3 methods, i also totally agree with sam 100%

[tmz]

+3 Tank transfer involves moving the fish to a new clean tank of water every 3 days for a total of 4 transfers.This method leaves the parasites behind as they leave the fish. SO called reef safe cures, are not reef safe and have limited effectiveness if any against the parasite.

[snorvich]

I agree with all of the above (although I have never done tank transfer) there is ne additional thought. Treatment adds stress to a fish and you don't want to treat fish that don't need it.

[otrlynn]

Have you looked at the thread at the top of this forum, "New-First time on RC"? If you go to it and scroll through the topics you will find some great information on ich. I think you will find your question answered in full.

[phragman53]

As a firm believer in using a quarantine tank from personal experience let me address your two concerns. First, the moving fish from tank to tank part. While this certainly can stress a fish my experience is that done right it isn't that much of a problem. A relatively healthy fish will recover. I've transferred fish two or three times with no ill effect. The second is that if left untreated ich will eventually claim your fish and possibly spread to others. Let me give you a personal example on why quarantining is worth it. Recently I purchased a fish - a chalk bass - and placed him in quarantine. After two weeks he still had no signs of ich and I was getting ready to put him in my main tank. Then I saw several white spots on him that was a sign of ich. I treated him in the QT with several known cures including Copper sulfate to no avail. I finally resorted to hyposalinity and lowered the tank to a sg of 1.010 for 3+ weeks. The ich cleared right away. He's been in my main tank for over a month with no signs of spots. You couldn't do this in your main tank. That's why I use a QT.
As for reef safe cures there are ALWAYS exceptions to general cures and it's impossible to cover everyone's particular set up. I've learned to be careful on using these types of cures. Much better to treat the ailment with the proper cure.
Hope this helps.

[feefer2]

Copper is bad for fish yes it will get rid of ich but it's also is bad for there insides you dont see anything wrong with them after tratment but what do you think happen to them down the road ,think of it like this if you ate something that was bad and got food poison you will get sick you could die same go for fish .

[feefer2]

One thing is if you are worried about dropping sal in your tank is a bad thing you are right to a point but it also is natural ..Ps. dont have all the answer just looking for more!

[whitleyjb]

Ich requires fish to host / survive. By removing all (yes all) fish from the display for 4 or more weeks, it will allow ich to run its cycle and die off.

Use the 4 weeks to QT / treat as mentioned above. Unless the fish is already too sick, transferring them to the QT should be fine. Just make sure it is properly sized and the water params are correct.

[tmz]

Originally posted by feefer2
Copper is bad for fish yes it will get rid of ich but it's also is bad for there insides you dont see anything wrong with them after tratment but what do you think happen to them down the road ,think of it like this if you ate something that was bad and got food poison you will get sick you could die same go for fish .

This is just not true. Copper treatment is relatively short term and a lot less harmfull to most fish than infestations and perhaps even long expsoure to low salinity enviromnments.

[tmz]

Originally posted by feefer2
One thing is if you are worried about dropping sal in your tank is a bad thing you are right to a point but it also is natural ..Ps. dont have all the answer just looking for more!

There is nothing natural about subjecting the organisms in your tank to hyposalinity. It will kill most everything except the fish which have the ability to osmoregulate.

Th most natural treatment in my opinion would be tank transfer. In a way it mimics what would happen in the vastness of the sea in that the parasites in the ocean would be washed about, the fish would move and hosting would be much more difficult than itis in the confinement of a tank.

[otrlynn]

I think what it comes down to again is that there are three documented, well-researched methods of treating ich. ALL involve removing the fish from the display tank; copper-based medication, hypo-salinity, and the tank transfer method. From my reading, all seem to have their pros and cons and all must be done carefully and correctly. From my limited experience all involve WORK and water testing, whether you are monitoring ammonia levels, salinity levels, or maintaining the correct level of medication in the tank. I suppose that any treatment is un-natural in the sense that in the ocean the fish would either live, or not. Most of us choose to manipulate the fish's environment to increase the chances that it will live, along with all the other fish that are in that same artificial environment.