Ich Managment

[nlutfi]

I'm looking for some advice on managing ich in my tank. All my fish have been happy and healthy for about the past 9mo. About a week ago I had a heater mishap and my tank temp dropped to about 72 over night. I caught it right away in the morning and slowly raised the temp back up. Since then I've I have notice a few ich spots on my fish, nothing crazy but a few spots here and there. I know that stress events like this can cause and outbreak. Obviously ich has been in my tank this whole time and the fish must of just been able to resist it, can they they recover from it and again become resistant? I have been trying to feed more often and add selcon to their diet to help pump up their immune systems. My current fish are 2 saddle back clowns both showing minor spots, a yellow tank and a tomini tang also both only showing a few spots, blue jaw trigger just started showing a spot or two, a 6 line wrasse, starry blenny, target mandarin all showing no signs of ich. Let me know what you all think, I currently don't have anything set up for QT to treat all the fish, but want to be prepared if things get a lot worse. Could I use something like a large Rubbermaid stock tank to treat them in if need be? Maybe with a air stone and sponge filter? I do have a Hanna copper colometer and copper power on hand. TIA

 

[Humblefish]

A large tub or sterilite container will get the job done. However, you need biological filtration for ammonia control. The air stone + sponge filter is fine for aeration, but I would invest in a large HOB powerfilter (e.g. Seachem Tidal, Aquaclear, Bio-wheel) to hang on the tub. You can dose one of these bacteria in a bottle products to seed the biomedia found in the power filter:

Bacteria in a bottle, Myth or Fact

Call me old school, back in the day we placed a deli shrimp in a tank to kick start the cycle. When tank reached 1.5-2 ppm ammonia we pulled it out and waited sometimes weeks to months for bacteria to colonize and drop ammonia and nitrites down to 0 to make tank safe for livestock. With recent...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[nlutfi]

Thanks Humblefish, is it possible my fish can battle through this and I can live with the ich in my tank? Or is necessary to remove them and treat them all? My concerns are with the wrasse and more so the mandarin going through copper and the stress of the fish if it isn't needed. Like I said before obviously ich has been in my tank for this long and all the fish were healthy before. My clownfish had even started laying eggs regularly. I know the best thing would be to remove everything and let the tank go fallow for 90 days but I hate to lose fish during the process if it isn't necessary. My thought behind the stock tank/large tub would just be for the number of fish and the space to house them all together with out a bunch of aggression. I figured it would be cheaper then a large glass aquarium.

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks Humblefish, is it possible my fish can battle through this and I can live with the ich in my tank? Or is necessary to remove them and treat them all? My concerns are with the wrasse and more so the mandarin going through copper and the stress of the fish if it isn't needed. Like I said before obviously ich has been in my tank for this long and all the fish were healthy before. My clownfish had even started laying eggs regularly. I know the best thing would be to remove everything and let the tank go fallow for 90 days but I hate to lose fish during the process if it isn't necessary. My thought behind the stock tank/large tub would just be for the number of fish and the space to house them all together with out a bunch of aggression. I figured it would be cheaper then a large glass aquarium.

It is possible for fish to manage and live with Ich for an indefinite amount of time. Read this:

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

humble.fish

 

[Tamberav]

My tank is a ich management tank and the spots always go away after a stressor event. I do run a good size UV as well. I feed tons.

I would like to eventually hybrid TTM all my fish and go fallow but this is also a huge undertaking and stressful event for both fish, corals, and me.

Unless you plan to QT every fish moving forward and maybe even every coral and invert... I personally wouldn’t bother doing it.

 

[nlutfi]

My tank is a ich management tank and the spots always go away after a stressor event. I do run a good size UV as well. I feed tons.

I would like to eventually hybrid TTM all my fish and go fallow but this is also a huge undertaking and stressful event for both fish, corals, and me.

Unless you plan to QT every fish moving forward and maybe even every coral and invert... I personally wouldn’t bother doing it.

Thanks! Maybe I will look into UV. I don't plan on adding any new fish to my tank at this point. For right now I'm just going to keep an eye on everything and as long as it doesn't get out of controll leave it be. Thanks for all the help! I'll try and keep this updated.

 

[nlutfi]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but any advice a a UV sterilizer? My tank is roughly 100g total volume. What size would I need? And is it correct slower flow rates are better for parasites? And do I run it off my return pump or run it with a separate pump?

 

[Jessican]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but any advice a a UV sterilizer? My tank is roughly 100g total volume. What size would I need? And is it correct slower flow rates are better for parasites? And do I run it off my return pump or run it with a separate pump?

Here’s a good thread about that:

UV Sterilizers, which to choose and why?

Ever since BRS did a video on UV's and QT I have seen a lot more people talking about UV's. Naturally most purchase what BRS pushes / sells which is fine and dandy (I also love BRS) but I suggest everyone do their research. When selecting the right UV you need to determine what it is that you...

humble.fish

And tagging @Badilac, our resident UV expert.

 

[nlutfi]

Here’s a good thread about that:

UV Sterilizers, which to choose and why?

Ever since BRS did a video on UV's and QT I have seen a lot more people talking about UV's. Naturally most purchase what BRS pushes / sells which is fine and dandy (I also love BRS) but I suggest everyone do their research. When selecting the right UV you need to determine what it is that you...

humble.fish

And tagging @Badilac, our resident UV expert.

Thank you!