Fish have ich

[purpletanglvr]

Have an ich problem. I have a fairly new setup, a 72 gallon tank that has been runing for about 5 weeks. I have 45 lbs of fiji in this Fish-Only setup. The fish list includes: 1 purple tang, 1 regal tang, 1 banana wrasse, 1 cleaner wrasse, 1 flame angel, 1 cleaner shrimp and 6 astrea snails. I am using a filstar XP3, Emperor 400 and a bakpak 2R skimmer. Rio 600 for circulation. I use D/I water mix my salt in it for 4 to 6 hours before adding when doing water changes. Anyway, my purple tang and flame angel show some white spots and I have been treating with quick cure. I am not sure if it is working and I dont know what else to use. Suggestions would be great on a medication to use. thanks

terry

[rshimek]

I am moving this to the Marine Fish forum where you will get much good information.

[hcs3]

hi terry

rather than solving the sickness, it is better to prevent it. and it seems like in your case, a little prevention can go a long way. no flame intended in the following, just my honest perspective on your situation...


The fish list includes: 1 purple tang, 1 regal tang, 1 banana wrasse, 1 cleaner wrasse, 1 flame angel

WAY too many fish for a 5 week old tank. not to mention none of the fish listed are hardy, first entry animals. if i'm correct, a 72g bow front is 3 foot long (correct me if i'm wrong). a regal tang can do fine in this tank until it reaches 4" in legnth. at that point, a larger tank is more suitable. a purple tang does not belong in a 3' tank, nor do 2 tangs of any species belong in a 3' tank. tangs should also be the last fish added into a tank do to their delicate, yet nasty nature. the flame angel is a delicate fish best left until after the tank is atleast 6 months of age. the banana wrasse is a good choice for a 72g tank, though at 5 weeks of age, it probably should be the only fish in the tank.

I am using a filstar XP3, Emperor 400 and a bakpak 2R skimmer. Rio 600 for circulation.

the BP2 skimmer, for this size tank, is marginal at best. the emperor is probably best left unplugged, and what is a filstar? for filtration purposes, all you need is a nice sandbed, liverock, and a skimmer. nothing more. a 72g tank is gonna require much more circulaiton than a rio 600 can provide.

I use D/I water mix my salt in it for 4 to 6 hours before adding when doing water changes.

24 hours is better, and be sure to match up the temperature.

Suggestions would be great on a medication to use.

in cases of ick, i use either hypo-salinity or treat with cupramine copper. there are numorous threads in this forum that discuss the proper methods of both treatments. however, in your situation, i don't think treatment is the best option. it might be the quick cure that is needed to save these fish temporarily, but i think you need to slow down and invest some of the money you spend on fish on more LR and better equipment. if not, no amount of medication will solve the problem.

HTH

henry

[purpletanglvr]

thanks, i think. a 72 bowfront is 48" long. The banana wrasse was added after the water got finished cycling. the purple tang was added due to an emergency, my other tank has an extreme nitrate problem that i have yet to figure out. i then added the flame and the cleaner wrasse. The regal tang was added because of the price i got it for. I am not going for a reef here. I am using argonite and crushed coral, not sand. A filstar is a canister filter. I use the emperor for wet/dry biological filtration and for carbon. I think i am starting to agree that the bakpak 2r might not be the right skimmer, but it seems to be doing the job. It creates a nice amount of bubbles and the collection cup is cleaned out weekly, so it is working. I have been looking at maybe a berlin hang on skimmer, but cash flow can be a problem.

I have also considered some more live rock, but i want ample room for my fish to swim in. eventually i want to add one more fish. perhaps a few months from now if we get past the current events. I have a maxijet 600 that i use for mixing my seawater with, i guess i could put it in the tank when not in use for more circulation. all fish are eating and look very healthy other than a few spots. I think i will do a water change on my other tank, get the nitrates down, and take the two sick fish and put them in it since it has no fish in it. then i will add them back to the 72 gallon in a month or so.....