Aqua Girl Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 So my little clown has a case of ich. I noticed it about 4 days ago after my other clown lost his life. Since then, I have been making sure he is well fed with garlic and vitamin c soaked mysis. I bought Kents Marine C and have also been dosing the tank. I have noticed the ich on him moreso today compared to a few days ago. Maybe Im going crazy and seeing spots that aren't really there, or maybe it is not getting better. So I am worried that my current treatment is not enough to keep the ich at bay so I wanted to see if anybody had a small quarantine tank set up that I could borrow for ich purposes just in case over the next few days his prognosis worsens. I just want to be prepared and have a plan of action in case I notice a dramatic decline in his behavior. He is a juvenile fish so a small tank would be adequate and preferred. I am a student and although I understand that a quarantine tank is something that every reef keeper should have, I just can't really go out and buy a complete other set up at this moment. Thanks for all of y'alls help and advice. Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Even if the fish seems to get better you are best off adding him (and your other fish) to a QT with nothing in the bottom but some PVC elbows to camp out in. Itch shows up on the body, drops off into the substrate to multiply and then comes back for another round. The second time is usually the fatal one since the fish have a compromised immune system from the first 'infestation'. Pardon my cross linking to another forum but this is the best description of ich I've found: http://reefcentral.c...d.php?t=1992196 PetCo is still running their $1/gallon sale. You could pick up a 10 gallon tank from there, buy some PVC from Home Depot and borrow a small powerhead/airstone to circulate/aerate the water. In the present climate a heater is not needed, and my fish have been in QT 6 weeks without any additional lighting other than ambient in the household. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Of course, the hardest part is having your QT cycled instantly. Best you can do is remove any sort of mechanical filtration from your display tank into the QT and add new filter media to your DT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Thanks! Ive actually already read that thread on reef central to help educate myself. So if I went with the 10 gallon, what methods of filtration are needed for fecal matter or do you just have to do a partial waterchange once a week as usual and that would take care of it? Is a powerhead all I would need to aerate the water? Do you start the QT tank off with brand new saltwater or do you use some from the DT? And you are telling me that no other lighting is necessary... interesting... well that could cheapen things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Well, lighting wouldn't HURT .. but you don't need anything but your typical tube lights. The things that get expensive in saltwater tanks are the high end fixtures that help corals grow. Fish for the most part require considerably less lighting (think freshwater). In your case, yes you could use some of the tank water to help kickstart your biological load in the QT tank but with that could bring water born ich parasites. If it were me I'd put together a 10g with a powerhead OR small HOB filter for water circulation/aeration. The HOB filter might be ideal here since that will help with detritus. (poop/etc) but will add more expense. IF you wanted to provide any lighting a small wattage clip on reading lamp would be more than enough, but as I said my QT tank is NOT lit (the bulbs are burned out) and the fish are fine (the tank is near a window with the shade mostly closed). As for treatment either Cupramine or Hyposalinity. Hypo would be the way I'd go but with a 10 gallon tank you are going to need to watch evaporation closely, because you need to keep your salinity at 1.009 and small fluctuations can bring it up to 1.010 and above pretty easily. Cupramine doesn't have that drawback but you'll need to be able to test for it to keep it at the recommended dosage for the recommended period of time. If you chose the Cupramine route and you use a HOB filter for filtration and circulation you'll need to be able to remove the carbon from it otherwise it'll take the cupramine right out of the water. These are just my two cents on the issue after facing Brooklynella with my clownfish. I have 3 more weeks to fallow my display tank before I can move them back. Also since the tank is not truly cycled watch closely for ammonia spikes. Water changes will help here. If you can find them (I haven't found them locally) you can get ammonia alert badges. Stick one inside the tank and it'll change color as ammonia rises. They're good for 6 months I believe. Once you've used your QT for the recommended treatment time and fallowed your display tank for ich, giving the empty/fishless QT tank a little bit of fish food regularly will help keep the tank 'cycled' by giving the bacteria stuff to consume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I think Mindflux has some great advice. 10 gallon tank from petco cheap hang on the back filter (can usually borrow from someone - I've got tons - you'd just have to drive out to pville hyposalinity - cause it doesn't cost anything I agree that there is no real need for a light. If you run the filter with carbon, you can probably get away with 1-2 water changes per week. The purpose of having a cycled tank is so there is bacteria present to take care of the ammonia and other dangerous ions - or is that atoms? I don't know chem . In any case, carbon and water changes should help keep those levels in check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Also while in QT I feed daily to keep them fat and happy. I add Garlic Extreme at random intervals (due to laziness) and Selcon. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I've got a 12g eclipse tank and pvc elbows that I use for QT, it sits empty when not being used. You are welcome to borrow it. In terms of being cycled, it isn't. QT tanks are usually treated with medications so you don't want to re-use any media or use live rock in it as the medication will usually kill it. You can add your existing tank water to fill the QT tank when you do a water change, and then just continue to do new water changes into the QT tank as long as you are running the quarantine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I for one am going to be very paranoid and put every new item of livestock in QT before going in my display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 I'm at school right now but my husband just informed me that our little clown lost his battle with ich this morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well that just sucks... Do you have any other fish in your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 (edited) I for one am going to be very paranoid and put every new item of livestock in QT before going in my display. Let me tell you guys that dipping your coral is not enough. I have dipped (Coral RX) every frag that I have put in my display and still ended up with AEFW. The truly only way to protect yourself is to QT your corals. I literally have thousands of dollars of SPS corals and now have a big problem on my hands. If I would have spent the few hundred to build a small QT, I would not be in this situation. Keep in mind that I'm fairly certain that I got these little critters from this community, so be careful. Edited September 14, 2011 by BBMarlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I for one am going to be very paranoid and put every new item of livestock in QT before going in my display. Let me tell you guys that dipping your coral is not enough. I have dipped (Coral RX) every frag that I have put in my display and still ended up with AEFW. The truly only way to protect yourself is to QT your corals. I literally have thousands of dollars of SPS corals and now have a big problem on my hands. If I would have spent the few hundred to build a small QT, I would not be in this situation. Keep in mind that I'm fairly certain that I got these little critters from this community, so be careful. Amen! It's scary but anything has the potential of transferring parasites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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