Cwg14 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 So I have probably had 3 different topics on this sorry for spam but here is my problem I bought a foxface that had been with store a good time and was healthy I brought it home and quarantined it (not long enough long story but I had good reason) for two weeks I then introduced it to my 90 gallon tank and noticed after a few days it had white spots. I wasn't sure if it was inch so I put it back in qt . It was in quarantine for a week observing and then it took 30 days for treatment to work and the ich to be gone (I was on vacation last ten days of treatment ) and after getting back I noticed it was cleared and watched it for another few days. About 4 days ago I put it back in the 90 gallon and and today I noticed it had white spots on it . What is happening I'm taking good care of it I healed it and it is a beautiful color and acts health and another thing I should note is this ich isn't normal I've had ich in freshwater and every fish was covered in less than a week and my fridmani and clownfish are completely fine and the foxface behaves normal and only gets like 10 spots at a time thanks for your help so far Cwg14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwg14 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Sorry for the long read I'm just so baffled could it be salt or sand sticking to the skin cause the ich I've experienced killed every fish and was awful this type of ich seems non contagious non harmful and the fish does no scratching or rubbing and acts normal most of the spots are on the fins .... I would post a pic but I don't know how lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 The issue is that you'v got ick in the tank itself and the foxface is just apparently susceptible to it. you would need to put all your fish in quarantine treat them there and let the tank sit for at least 72 days with no fish in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent-Thai Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 You have to leave the tank empty with no fish at all for 72 days just like jimbo says . Sucks but we all have to learn to be patient Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I'd just keep him fat and healthy and don't worry about the Ich. But that's me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwg14 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Ok I feared that was the case I'm just still so puzzled on 1 how could it get in the tank the only two fish I've had in their were my clown and fridmani who I've had for 1 and 5 years and 2 why isn't it completely attacking the fish like my past experience in freshwater it's literally 1-10 spots falls off comes back 1-10 spots and the fish seems healthy as can be . Would this be a valid option for me to just let the ich ride out while treating food with garlic and hope it goes away and if the fish don't make it then leave it empty for the full time? The only reason I ask is cause my quarantine isn't really capable of holding 3 fish for a long period of time not to mention the hassel of catching them and then I'd probably be doing a 50% change a day for 70 days I'd prob go broke on salt and honestly one of my fish is so small and can fit in every piece of live rock and is fast as lightning I would never catch him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwg14 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 That wasn't meant to sound like I don't care about my fish and I'm taking the easy route I love my fish but after 2 months of battling this to hear a total tank shutdown makes me depressed lol and I really appreciate yalls help I would be stumped without it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Ich probably came in with your foxface. Even though he may not be showing symptoms at the time, doesn't mean he didn't have it. At that point, it got into your system. The only way to remove it is the 72 days of running your tank fallow. Juiceman and I subscribe to ich management, it's in the system but just keep everyone well fed and stress free and none will probably ever die from it. They may get relapses of ich from time to time when stress is high or just seasonally but life will go on and as long as they are healthy, they will live. When you see the periodic spots on the fish, it's the ich going through its different life stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwg14 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Ok thank you very much it sounds like I have a big decision the no fish in the tank is the better option but knowing that I could leave it empty for 72 days and a year from now get a fish with ich and have it all start again is a worry or I could just let the fish ride it out and keep them fat and just know I will likely deal with this in the future if I get a fish that's susceptible I will keep researching and decide on what's the best option I'm still a little optimistic it might not be inch because 1 hour ago he had 5-6 spots on his fin and I came back in room 30 minutes later and he only has 2 spots and one of them looks almost like hanging on than attached Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Here's a good paper on "Ich" by University of Florida: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa164 As they point out there are strains with different degrees of virulence and the cycst stage of some strains take over 10 weeks to release the larval stage. I have seen aquariums with strains that have a low level of virulence where most fish don't show signs and new arrivals just get a few spots then recover. I've also seen tanks where most inhabitants are resistant to it but a new fish that is particularly sensitive allows the parasite to do well enough that it spreads to the fish that have a higher resistance. "Ich" is a blood sucking parasite and IMO tolerating it is like tolerating fleas and ticks on our cats and dogs. With a reef tank we can hope for a spontaneous cure (feeding corals will be catching and eating larva) but I would recommend using a properly sized and properly installed UV sterilizor. If you do a search in the main Reef Keeping forum with the words "Hydro UV quarantine" you'll find several good threads that discuss this problem and the use of UV sterilizors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHALAKO Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 You could use Ozone to help kill the ich...I have one for sale, cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inland Reef Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Out of curiosity. I have been fortunate in that I haven't gotten 'Ich' in any tank "yet". I say "yet" as I've always heard it's just a matter of time, if you keep tanks long enough. Anways. Over the years I've acquired several tanks that came with various Ich medications. The last tank I got had some organic solution that cures ich, and some frozen food that is organic and intended to treat ich. Is it possible to treat the tank with the medication or medicated food for the 72d+ period, and potentially knock it out? Other question or thought. Would one or more cleaner shrimp help the process of either keeping the outbreak down, or helping to eliminate it by helping to keep the fish clean and healthy (assuming the fish go in for regular cleaning). Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 No on all fronts. Medicated food generally uses chloroquine phosphate or some derivative of it, which has a metallic taste and is usually not favored by most fish. Assuming you get a fish to eat it, which I have, there are no studies to show that ingestion of chloroquine phosphate would inhibit infection from ich. That and, potentially to be effective, you'd have to maintain a certain concentration in the bloodstream and that would be difficult to achieve or to maintain. I've treated with chloroquine phosphate as a treatment for the water in a separate hospital tank before and that was effective. What you might be able to achieve is what most refer to as ich management. Where you assist in the immune response to ich and keep the outbreaks low. The population will stay small in the tank and though it will always reside in your tank, flare ups will be infrequent and really only when the health of a fish has been compromised or stressful situations. The medicated food may assist in that. Cleaner shrimps do nothing for ich as the parasite is actually under the skin. Once you see the spots, it has more than likely broken the skin and moved out of the host to encyst on live rock or other hard surface to repeat the life cycle. The shrimp will clean up the broken skin or scales. I've actually read a study where the contents of cleaner shrimp stomachs were examined and they have yet to find ich parasites within them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 The best way to have no ich in the system is strict QT of all additions and if you want to be sure, remove all fish and treat them for ich while leaving the tank fallow 76 days. I will be employing a modified version of the tank transfer method (TTM) for treatment. Quick summary, you basically move the fish every 72 hrs from one tank to the other, doing your best to minimize water transfer and not use any of the same equipment between the two tanks. Once transferred to the other tank, the original one is dried, cleaned with bleach or vinegar, and then reused for the next tank transfer. You do this every 72 hrs for 12 days and presto, no more ich. It interrupts their life cycle so once the parasite drops off the fish and starts to encyst, you would have removed your fish to the other tank by then and so there are never any hosts left to continue the life cycle process. My modified version will include my giant UV sterilizer and instead of using new water each time, I will be passing all water through the UV to kill any ich and save time/trouble/money in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inland Reef Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thanks for the info Ty. Sounds like a complete PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thanks for the info Ty. Sounds like a complete PITA. No problem sir. The TTM method is actually pretty easy as far as treatment goes. You just move the fish 3 times in 12 days and don't use any of the same equipment. No chemicals at all. I'll let you guys know how it goes. I'll be doing this after the January meeting at my place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.