First battle with Ich!!! (1 Viewer)

[smithder]

Here is the history. I bought and moved this 105 gallon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyvZumMR8kc about three weeks ago. Its been setup for about 6 years. The blue balls shown in the video have been removed. I have a Yellow tang(2.5 weeks), a blue tang(1.5 weeks), and a false clown(3days). I got the clown Sunday and it has done nothing but swim in the corner of the tank. I noticed this morning that my fish have ICH. The clown is the worst and the blue tang has only a few spots so far. No evidence on the yellow yet. I have a UV light that needs a bulb and I was going to try and get that going today. I read to feed galic food additive. I was going to pick up a cleaner shrimp. What else should I do to try and save my fish???

THANKS

 

[chriskb3]

Ich outbreaks are caused by stress, so you must limit the amount of stress the fish receive. Check your water parameters to make sure they are fine, and feed them a variety of good food soaked in any of the garlic products from the fish store.

 

[smithder]

Thanks for the input. I will pick up a cleaner shrimp (is one enough in a 105) and some garlic extreme. I guess the stress of moving the Clown is what caused it. Do clowns normally just hang out in one spot or do that cruise the tank? This guys stays in a 10" x 10" area night and day only moving up and down. Whats the chances of these guys surviving? Water parameters check out great.

 

[chriskb3]

A cleaner shrimp wont actually take the ich off the fish, but they can help becuase they clean the dead skin cells off of the fish. One should be fine, and you can always add another later if you want.

Clowns are typically very territorial. They will guard their spot in the tank constantly. Chances are, thats what he is doing. Is there anything in the tank that he can try to host?

If your parameters check out fine, then the only other thing you can do is feed them well. In addition to garlic, there is another food suppliment called Selcon, which contain omega faty acids and a few other good things for a fish's well being.

I think, of your three fish, the blue tang is probably most susectable to illness in general. But for the most part they should be fairly hardy fish. Sometimes you just get a bad fish.

 

[smithder]

Will the uv be effective?

 

[chriskb3]

The UV can help kill off the Ich's waterborne stage but it wont kill it off completely as it can lay dormant in the substrate and even the fish itself (or so I have heard).

 

[Linden]

I am battling Ich right now as well. I have been using garlic, ZOE, and Vitamin C. I also bought a bottle of QuICK Cure. I dosed 50% of the suggested instructions and have been having some success. The QuICK Cure is not supposed to be safe for inverts.... but I have not noticed any problems(this is why I am dosing 1/2).

MY CB looks much better after 2 days. Tang.... about the same, maybe a little better.

 

[smithder]

UPDATE

Well I showed up at home after work with the cleaner shrimp an UV light in hand and I can't seem to find any indication of ich. Maybe it was a false alarm, or maybe it will be back in a week 10 fold. The night before the possible ich sighting my sump ran low on water and the return pump was pumping lots of bubbles into the tank. Maybe what I saw was bubbles on the clown fish??? I'll keep an eye out for the next week or so.

 

[Meyeronfire]

IMO, I would get a Quantine Tank, take the fish out, Treat them with hyposalinaty or copper and run the DT completely fishless for about 4 weeks, and heat it up to about 82 degrees. The parasites cannot live in this temperature nore will they have any fish as a host = death to parasites. I know most people donot QT their fish, and I was once one of those people. Im now a beleiver and every fish gets QT'ed for at least 4 weeks. I as well had and outbreak of ICH when I first started the hobby, but now everything seems to be going pretty well. You dont need much in a QT just a HOB filter, heater, thermometer, and a couple pieces of PVC pipe for them to hide in. Hope this helps.

 

[chriskb3]

LOL, if it went away that quickly, then it may have just been bubbles. But I have never seen bubbles stick to fish. The fish should be fine if everything remains stable and well fed. In any case, I'm glad all is well now.