major ich dilemma..advice needed

kimbertent · 11/25/2006, 12:00 PM

i have a major dilemma and would please like some advice:

about two weeks ago i purchased two fairy wrasses from a pet store (big, big, big mistake). well one of my other wrasses ended up harassing them in the big tank and we had to take them out. so we set up a 10g and then we saw signs of ICH, gha, so we bought some stuff adn they have been under hyposalinity..doing much better.

well..last night almost allll my fish in the 72g had ich on them. i dont know what to do now. i have like 4 different rocks of zoos, 2 different mushrooms, 1 colt tree, and then the usual shrimp, conch, sea hare and snails.

obviously i cannot do hyposalinity with the inverts. so wut should i do? i dont have anywhere to put the inverts to do hypo. but i dont want alll 9 of my expensive fish to die! gha.

please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

FishFatty · 11/25/2006, 12:41 PM

Most will say quarrantine is best, but when I had ich i used Kick-ich, and its safe with corals and inverts, and took the ich away. Make sure to say on schedule with that stuff though...the ich will disappear towards the end of the treatements. Hope this helps!

Sk8r · 11/25/2006, 12:53 PM

First, try garlic sinking pellets. That appears to help---BUT---I would walk on fire before I would medicate my main tank. There are too many horror stories.

Pull them all out to qt, and leave the main tank bare of fish for 8 weeks. That will do for the ich. UV has also been reputed to reduce incidences of ich.

kimbertent · 11/25/2006, 12:56 PM

thanks for the advice! however, i do not have another place to store them really..:-( maybe i will try kick-ich. anyone else try this stuff? (on the little tank i have een using ichattack)

any one have any other advice? thanks again

white1ce · 11/25/2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FishFatty
but when I had ich i used Kick-ich, and its safe with corals and inverts, and took the ich away.

When I had Ich in my tank I used Kick-Ich also. It killed the Ich really quickly... and my corals, and my inverts, and my clam. I had a horrible experience with it and will never ever recommend it to someone.

Sk8r · 11/25/2006, 04:32 PM

I sure wouldn't put it in with a sea hare. Look, I'm really worried you're going to lose your tank if you try a miracle cure. Try this before you do anything: get your water to these parameters: salinity 1.024. Temp: 80. Ph: 8.2-8.3; alk 8.3-10; calcium 400-450. And hold it there. Feed garlic. And get a UV unit on the tank. You might lose a couple of fish, even all your fish, though I would be surprised, but you won't lose your tank as a whole, or your inverts. And the UV will start reducing the parasite.

miracles38 · 11/25/2006, 05:28 PM

What Sk8r said and also feed the fish lots. Keep them fat and it will help them to fight off the parasite. Soak the food with Selcon/etc. I even use cloves of crushed garlic in the food and also some grated ginger.

billsreef · 11/25/2006, 09:25 PM

If you want to cure them for sure, set up a QT and treat with either hyposalinity or copper. Any of the so called "reef safe" ich treatments are unfortunately somewhere between snake oil and gambling.

kimbertent · 11/25/2006, 10:00 PM

thanx for the adivice everyone!

I just made some home-made fish food with garlic and they seem to like it. so ill keep feeding them that.

Im not going to QT them yet...I already have 2 fish in QT and its to much of a hassle. lol. I will wait and see how they do with garlic.

Quote:

Try this before you do anything: get your water to these parameters: salinity 1.024. Temp: 80. Ph: 8.2-8.3; alk 8.3-10; calcium 400-450. And hold it there.

What are reasons for having these specific params? mine are pretty close.

HAh and it sounds like i wont be using any meds.

and one more thing. How long can these suckers live with out a host?

Sk8r · 11/25/2006, 11:47 PM

Close is good.

Ich can live 8 weeks without a host. Then it dies.
The params I gave are the ones for sps corals, which is real growth-friendly to fish, too, and quite a stable config for your params, because alk and cal maintain an interlocked balance, along with magnesium [s/b about 1200-1300]. If your ph goes too low, [which can happen in low alk] it can irritate the fish's skin or reduce their slime coat, which lowers their defenses against the parasites or other skin ailments. The params I suggested will hold steady and keep the ph pretty steady too. Best thing I know to do for ailing fish is to get their water stable and as neutral to their skin as possible.

nemonick84 · 11/26/2006, 12:28 AM

I used Kick-Ich on my tank and it worked really well for me. It had absolutely no negative effects on my corals or inverts. You'll get a lot of mixed reviews on whether or not this stuff has any kind of effect - but it does. Just make sure to follow the directions to a 'T'. I used the Kick-Ich in combination with garlic. I soaked all the food I fed to my tank in garlic oil and then fed small pieces of diced garlic as well. Oh yeah, I raised my tank temp. to about 83, too.
HTH
Nick

11/25/2006, 12:00 PM	#1
kimbertent Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Orlando, Fl Posts: 162	major ich dilemma..advice needed i have a major dilemma and would please like some advice: about two weeks ago i purchased two fairy wrasses from a pet store (big, big, big mistake). well one of my other wrasses ended up harassing them in the big tank and we had to take them out. so we set up a 10g and then we saw signs of ICH, gha, so we bought some stuff adn they have been under hyposalinity..doing much better. well..last night almost allll my fish in the 72g had ich on them. i dont know what to do now. i have like 4 different rocks of zoos, 2 different mushrooms, 1 colt tree, and then the usual shrimp, conch, sea hare and snails. obviously i cannot do hyposalinity with the inverts. so wut should i do? i dont have anywhere to put the inverts to do hypo. but i dont want alll 9 of my expensive fish to die! gha. please, any advice would be greatly appreciated. __________________ Greg and Kim Current Tank Info: Looking to get back into the hobby

11/25/2006, 12:53 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	First, try garlic sinking pellets. That appears to help---BUT---I would walk on fire before I would medicate my main tank. There are too many horror stories. Pull them all out to qt, and leave the main tank bare of fish for 8 weeks. That will do for the ich. UV has also been reputed to reduce incidences of ich. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/25/2006, 12:56 PM	#4
kimbertent Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Orlando, Fl Posts: 162	thanks for the advice! however, i do not have another place to store them really..:-( maybe i will try kick-ich. anyone else try this stuff? (on the little tank i have een using ichattack) any one have any other advice? thanks again __________________ Greg and Kim Current Tank Info: Looking to get back into the hobby

11/25/2006, 04:32 PM	#6
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I sure wouldn't put it in with a sea hare. Look, I'm really worried you're going to lose your tank if you try a miracle cure. Try this before you do anything: get your water to these parameters: salinity 1.024. Temp: 80. Ph: 8.2-8.3; alk 8.3-10; calcium 400-450. And hold it there. Feed garlic. And get a UV unit on the tank. You might lose a couple of fish, even all your fish, though I would be surprised, but you won't lose your tank as a whole, or your inverts. And the UV will start reducing the parasite. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/25/2006, 05:28 PM	#7
miracles38 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,008	What Sk8r said and also feed the fish lots. Keep them fat and it will help them to fight off the parasite. Soak the food with Selcon/etc. I even use cloves of crushed garlic in the food and also some grated ginger. __________________ Kim Current Tank Info: 180 reef

11/25/2006, 12:41 PM	#2
FishFatty Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 135	Most will say quarrantine is best, but when I had ich i used Kick-ich, and its safe with corals and inverts, and took the ich away. Make sure to say on schedule with that stuff though...the ich will disappear towards the end of the treatements. Hope this helps!

11/25/2006, 09:25 PM	#8
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	If you want to cure them for sure, set up a QT and treat with either hyposalinity or copper. Any of the so called "reef safe" ich treatments are unfortunately somewhere between snake oil and gambling. __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

11/25/2006, 11:47 PM	#10
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Close is good. Ich can live 8 weeks without a host. Then it dies. The params I gave are the ones for sps corals, which is real growth-friendly to fish, too, and quite a stable config for your params, because alk and cal maintain an interlocked balance, along with magnesium [s/b about 1200-1300]. If your ph goes too low, [which can happen in low alk] it can irritate the fish's skin or reduce their slime coat, which lowers their defenses against the parasites or other skin ailments. The params I suggested will hold steady and keep the ph pretty steady too. Best thing I know to do for ailing fish is to get their water stable and as neutral to their skin as possible. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/26/2006, 12:28 AM	#11
nemonick84 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 329	I used Kick-Ich on my tank and it worked really well for me. It had absolutely no negative effects on my corals or inverts. You'll get a lot of mixed reviews on whether or not this stuff has any kind of effect - but it does. Just make sure to follow the directions to a 'T'. I used the Kick-Ich in combination with garlic. I soaked all the food I fed to my tank in garlic oil and then fed small pieces of diced garlic as well. Oh yeah, I raised my tank temp. to about 83, too. HTH Nick