PLEASE advise......

[linuxguru]

Ok, I want to rid one of my tanks completely from ich. I have 7 fish and and then all my inverts and live rock. I have a 20 gal that I can set up for quarantine with a fluval 304 that contains all the bacteria that will start it. Just to be sure, ONLY the fish need to be taken out so ich wont have a host correct? Now will the 20 QT tank be ok for the fish for 6 weeks? Aslo after the 6 weeks do I add my fish back slowly to the main tank as not to cause an ammonia spike or all at the same time? Do I need to FEED my fishless main tank to keep it cycling? Now do I go Copper(Cupramine) or what brand reccomended, or do I go Hypo? I really want to do this one time and never have to do it again, so please give me some well learned, veteran advice.

[Poseidon]

Sorry, you can't use COPPER at all in the display tank. It will kill your inverts, soak into everything and make it impossible to keep a reef. Or were you going to use it in the Q tank? You say you have 7 fish, but what are they and how big? I have 6 fish in my 135 gallon tank, and I wouldn't dream of them in a 20 gallon! Do you have access to a bigger tank then the 20? Maybe a rental 55 or something?

[linuxguru]

I was thinking copper, hypo or both in the Q tank only. I have 2 firefish, 1 hawkfish, 2 true perc's, 1 lawnmower, and a yellow tail damsel. They are all relatively small, the biggest is the hawkfish at maybe 2", the firefish are probably 2" long also. I know the 20 is small, it is a 20 long so lengths wise it is the same as a 29. I dont know what to do now...........

[Peterock]

You should be ok with a 20 QT but again if you can find a 40 breeder that is the perfect tank for a QT. GET ready for a large headache because if you yellowtail is like mine then you will have to rip all the rock out of the tank just to catch him. You might can also try my medication feeding until you get the QT set up. PM me for the receipt I have had a few run ins with ich and this food has wiped it out until i got them to the QT.

[almostdiva]

Linux,



First of all -- do your fish currently have ich? Or did you have an outbreak previously and want to prevent a further problem?

When I first got started, I had some major problems, lost an entire tank and learned some lessons. I prefer Formalin to copper. It is less difficult to work with, IMO -- you don't have to noodle around with the crazy copper test kits, which are impossible to read, to make sure the level is high enough in the tank to have theraputic results. None of your current fish will be intollerant of the formalin -- just follow the directions EXACTLY so as not to overdose.

Your rock and critters will keep your main tank cycled. You don't have to add anything.

I would add your fish back in 2 week stages, starting with the blenny and firefish, then the clowns, then the hawk and damsel (most timid first, most aggressive last). If your fish do have ich, at the present, you can't start adding anyone back until you have been disease free in quarantine for 30 days -- that's 30 days from when your last sick fish got better. It's a pain, and you have to be patient, but hang in there.

Also, you have a fair amount of fish in a 20L. Make sure you test your water parameters weekly to keep everything in balance. You will also have to probably do a weekly 5G water change.

Good luck!

Rebecca

[jbicb3]

When I had an outbreak of ick in my tank, the LFS told me that ick dosen't survive well in lower SG. He suggested I lower the SG to 1.018, and feed my fish with garlic mixed in their food. The ick cycle is also excellerated by raising the temp, so I raised mine to 83-85, fed the garlic mixture, and did a water change to lower my SG to 1.018, and within 3 weeks I saw no sign of the ick. That was about 5 months ago, and I've seen no signs of ick. I still feed my fish with the garlic mixture, and try to keep my SG no higher than 1.020.

If anyone has comments on this method, please add them here.

[almostdiva]

When I had an outbreak of ick in my tank, the LFS told me that ick dosen't survive well in lower SG. He suggested I lower the SG to 1.018, and feed my fish with garlic mixed in their food. The ick cycle is also excellerated by raising the temp, so I raised mine to 83-85, fed the garlic mixture, and did a water change to lower my SG to 1.018, and within 3 weeks I saw no sign of the ick. That was about 5 months ago, and I've seen no signs of ick. I still feed my fish with the garlic mixture, and try to keep my SG no higher than 1.020.

If anyone has comments on this method, please add them here.

I would raise your SG to at least 1.022. Do you only feed the garlic mixture? Or do you mix it up. Where are you keeping the temp now? I would slowly (no more than a tenth a day) raise the SG back up to around 1.023 or so. I've never used the garlic mixture, so I can't comment. I would try to wean them off it though. If you haven't had any sign of ich in 5 months, there is no need to go ripping everyone out and plopping them in quarantine, IMO. CERTAINLY no need to medicate them.

Maybe someone else will have more to offer re the garlic.

Rebecca

[linuxguru]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

As for the moment I have not done anything to my 55 main yet. My fish do not currently have ich on them, but I did have a major outbreak about 2 weeks ago and all were affected except for my hawk it seemed, but it is certainly in my tank. I see no need to keep on "Treating" them for the ich when it will only come back again and again. I am going to go ahead and use the 20L for the quarantine. I believe I am going to follow Rebecca's advice and treat with Formalin and Malachite Green as I have used these in the past with great success. I did feed them mixed formula 1, 2 and frozen mixed with garlic juice when they had the outbreak and it cleared, but if i dont do the hypo it wil only come back. So what do you guys think?

[almostdiva]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

As for the moment I have not done anything to my 55 main yet. My fish do not currently have ich on them, but I did have a major outbreak about 2 weeks ago and all were affected except for my hawk it seemed, but it is certainly in my tank. I see no need to keep on "Treating" them for the ich when it will only come back again and again. I am going to go ahead and use the 20L for the quarantine. I believe I am going to follow Rebecca's advice and treat with Formalin and Malachite Green as I have used these in the past with great success. I did feed them mixed formula 1, 2 and frozen mixed with garlic juice when they had the outbreak and it cleared, but if i dont do the hypo it wil only come back. So what do you guys think?

I would use only the formalin, not the malachite green. Your firefish will have a hard time with the malachite green.