Oh No! I have ich! What do I do?

no, because the point of QT is to kill any parasitic agents, which will survive in the same conditions the bacteria that process the waste can live in.
 
ok here is my update all fish have no ich on their bodies except for the foxface. Everyone swimming and eating as strong as ever. The majestic has been scratching every once in a while so I suspect he still has something. I treated with the kick ich per the instructions and today was the last dosage. I did last last weekend move some rock around and found a ton of juck under it. This was an area where stuff could settle due to little water movement but did create a mess for asbout two days because I tried to siphon junk. Probably messed up because foxface was so much better and the next day he got worse. Since then I added another powerhead to create more surface movement in that area. The question is since all my rock has algae can I try cleaning to help reduce nitrates? I would use the two bucket method describe in one of the threads with salt water. What does averyone think? I would do about a 25% of the rock.
 
I would remove as much algae as you can by hand, and then keep up with the water changes, reduce feeding when everyone is over the ich, and work on nutrient export.
 
It's not really like algae that you can remove by hand. It's just like a like tiny stubble covered rock. I think it would only come off my scrubbing with a brush.
 
If I do that do I risk killing off beneficial bacteria and starting a cycle? Can't afford to do that since I have been fighting off the ich? What do you think? Thanks by the way for the input I truly am grateful!
 
as long as you dont let rocks dry out, you wont lose a noticeable amount of bacteria. But i would be careful to not stir things up too much and cause a mini cycle. I would maybe do a couple pieces every few days.
 
little_fish said:
First, lets confirm you have ich. Marine ich looks like you have small white grains of salt sprinkled on the fish. Like the pictures below. Flashing can be sign that your fish is coming down with ich. (Flashing is when a fish will scrape themselves along the rocks or sand, like they are itching themselves.)

achilles_ick.jpg


Treatment Options:
1. Do nothing! Many fish are capable of fighting the ich off on their own if they have the correct living conditions (right sized tank, correct tank companions, and good water quality) and are being feed high quality food (and they are eating it, very important!) such as a rotation of different frozen foods. It is very important that they are in a STRESS free environment and they are still eating a healthy amount if you choose this treatment path. You also need to remember that the ich will always be in your tank with this method and could come back if the fish are subjected to stress.

For the next two treatment options you absolutely MUST do this in a quarantine tank. They will destroy the biological filter in your display tank, and in the case of copper will make it so that invertebrates can never live in your tank again. You also must treat ALL fish in the tank. If ich is introduced into your tank, you should assume that every fish is now carrying it, whether they are showing symptoms or not. If you only treat one or two fish that have visible signs of ich, it will just get passed back to them as soon as they are put back in the tank with the other fish.

2. Hyposaloinity. This means lowering the salt content of the water to levels where the fish can survive the parasite cannot. This treatment will also kill invertebrates because they are not as tolerant of different salinities as fish. A detailed description of how to do this treatment is in the link below.
https://www.livingreefs.com/hyposalinity-treatment-ich-t29672.html

3. Copper Treatment. Copper is fatal to the ich parasite, like most bacteria and invertebrates. This treatment should not be attempted without a copper test kit because the levels of copper in the water can be fatal to the fish you are trying to treat, especially if they are already stressed from having ich, and you need to keep the level of copper high enough to ensure totally kill off of the parasite. Below is a link that explains how to treat with copper.
https://www.livingreefs.com/copper-101-a-t29680.html

Methods 2 & 3 are the only proven methods of killing the ich parasite. The ich "cures" that are reefs safe only kill off one stage of the ich parasite's life cycle.

Also, invertebrates like corals, shrimp, crabs etc dont carry ich, but the water that you brought them home in might have it, so never put that water in your tank!

If you wish to remove the ich parasite fully from your display tank it must sit fishless for 8 weeks. The ich parasite requires fish to complete one part of its life cycle, so by leaving your tank fishless for 8 weeks you kill the parasite off by not allowing it to complete its lifecycle. Below is a diagram of the ich lifecycle.
C_irritansLifeCycle.gif


Every fish you introduce to your tank after leaving it fishless for the 8 weeks must be quarantined and treated to ensure that it wont carry in the parasite. You can safely assume that every fish you buy will have the parasite, unless it has already been treated (some LFS keep their fish in copper solutions). However they should be quarantined for a minimum of 3 weeks to be 100% sure they arent carrying the parasite. It they do show the parasite, you need to treat, and then AFTER the treatment watch for another 3 weeks. It is a very time consuming process but an ounce of prevention is worth several pounds of cure.

The quarantine tank doesnt have to be a full sized tank, just a moderate size for the fish you are quarantining. So a clown wont require the same sized tank as a full grown large angel. Most fish can be safely kept in 30 gal tank. Many people have success using large rubbermaid tubs. There should be some large PVC pipe pieces in there for the fish to hide in, along with adequate heating and water movement. The quarantine tank should not be plumed to your display tank! You will need to test the water daily for ammonia, nitrate and nitrites and when the levels get high should be changed with clean, newly made water (but at least 24 hours old, new saltwater is very caustic) and this water shouldnt come into contact with your display tank water. Anything that is in the quarantine tank (except the fish being treated) should stay in the quarantine tank so you dont cross contaminate. This includes nets.

Now that you have treated your fish you need to know WHY the fish got ich in the first place. I personally think this is the most important part of treatment. Fish normally fight the parasite off and it lives in a healthy balance with the fish. It is usually only when they are stressed that the ich can fish off the fish's immune system and you can see the clumps of parasites.

Possible reasons:
1. Tank is too small! This a very common problem, and usually results in the death of the fish because the stress never goes away for them to recover from it. You should look for a correctly sized tank ASAP! I recommend giving the fish to someone who has the correct sized tank, and then if you want the fish back you can get it when you have the correct sized tank set up. A good place to check out recommend tank sizes is below.
Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

(I also recommend checking out this site for the correct tank size before you purchase any fish. Research before you buy, dont always trust your LFS, remember they are here to make a buck, and avoid this common issue)

2. Tank is overstocked! Take careful stock of the fish you want and can adequately take care of. Then get rid of the extra fish.

3. Water quality isnt good! Do more frequent water changes and watch how much and what you are feeding. This can also result from an overstocked tank.

4. Poor tank mates! This can result from incompatible fish being put together (for example, triggers and butterflies or tangs and morish idols) or some sort of bullying going on. If in the case of incompatible fish, pick which one you like better, and remove the other. In the case of bullying there are a few tricks you can try. A few day blackout, rearranging rocks, or taping a mirror to the tank so the bully fish has some else to pick on.

5. New fish in the tank! This is the easiest case to solve, and will likely go away on its own, just make sure they are eating, no bullying, tank isnt overstocked and water quality remains good.



Good Luck!
Click to expand...
A good Ultraviolet filter system works well to control many micro-parasites like Ich.
 
It also kills all the good stuff and IMO people end up using it like a crutch when they should instead be keeping their fish stress free. Its not hard to keep your fish stress free.
 
Alright so here is what I'm still facing. My foxface still has ich and is eating great like usual. It appears that in the morning he is covered with ich. By the evening a slime coat seems to come off him in pieces along with the white parasites and he looks much better. I have decided to stop using the kick ich because there is really not much of a change and at $35.00 a bottle every week it starting to not make sense so I stopped the treatment last weekend. Why would he appear better as the day goes on and I turn the lights on? Would anyone suggest I start the skimmer and carbon back on? Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated.
 
I read that Ick is a form of Velvet...or vise versus.....i have velvet on one of my clowns this morning, and one of them is dead and being consumed rapidly by my hermits....is the cure for velvet the same as ick?
 
WOW!!!! I thought VROD actually had ich!!!!!! I was going to suggest you eat a lot of garlic....some nice scampi would be good....and then soak in a hyposalinity solution....say for instance a hot tub.....always made me feel better when I'm feeling ichhy.....
 
ok i have since monitored this little clown. It looks like a white slime almost on him, but it is only on him. I took him out yesterday and treated him with this ick/velvet "copper" treatment? It seemd to work and he was good, but then this morning he had it again....i hope he lasts till i get out of work to do it again. Anyone think this might be something else?
 
Ick and velvet are two different parasites with two different presentations. Ich has many pinhead white spots, look at the first photo posted in this thread. Velvet has much much smaller white dusts, like fine powdered sugar. However, the treatment for both parasites are the same

The white slime you see is probably an increased slime coat due to irritation from the parasite.


But either way, one treatment isn't going to cure anything. You need to pull the fish and treat for at least a month with either hypo or copper. But that doesn't mean your tank is cured of the parasite, it's still in there waiting for your fish to become stressed again.


I highly suggest you actually read the original post, it will address how you should be treating this.
 
Thanks i id read it, my issue is the second tank. I dont have one, ive been using a goldfish bowl to do daily treatments for the clown. I dont want to kill my inverts either so curing the whole tank is going to be tough too.
 
Pulling out your clown daily wont cure the parasite and will only make things worse by stressing out the clown. Stress is the #1 killer of fish, because it takes out their immune system and leaves them open for a parasite to come in a taken them out.

If you cant set up a proper QT tank to treat your fish the best thing you can do is keep your fish from being stressed so that hopefully their immune system can deal with the problem. Feed your fish a high quality diet, dont over stock your tank, dont put them in with aggressive fish, dont put them in a tank too small for them and most importantly keep excellent water quality!

Clowns are tough, as long as they are still eating they have a chance of beating this parasite on their own.
 
ok thanks, yes he is eating, I feed him the Mysis, it is only he and the 2 firefins in my tank along with the inverts. I would say i am very far from being overstocked and through the advice here i wont be putting any more fish in until I have more rock in the tank.
 
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