ICH Help

[dickey23]

I currently have a 55 gallon that I purchased as an established tank that was in operation from Craigs List. I yellow tang, blue tang, clown, scooter blenny (now dead), royal gramma, live rock and sand and couple extras like feather duster, leather, etc. I have added fish, most of shich have died for one reason or another. The biggest problem is ICH. I have lost some nice angel fish costing me over a couple hundred total in fish. I have used stop parasite as recommended by the fish store. It was labeled "reef safe". I have read copper is really the only treatment to kill this stuff and then was told that I can't use it in a reef set-up.
I have also read I need a QT Tank and I do not have one. I guess I need something like one of those Nano Cubes or something.
All my fish are fine and living well but everytime I have put a new fish into my tank, a couple weeks later they get the white spots and die. I try to treat with the parasite stop and it really has not saved any fish to date other than maybe the ones already living in the tank. PLUS all of a sudden my bulb anemome got small and started looking like it is dying. It even moved around the tank, which it has not done in months.
Can anyone help with suggestions to kill off the ICH. I don't want the fish I have left to die even though they have been doing well.
Alot of people seem to talk about Garlic but is that just a temp solution or does that just help when they are actaully infected and it acts more like a medicine.
I have read a lot online but there seems to be a lot of disagreement about this issue.

[harryk]

First of all the only way to cure ich that is proven is copper or a hyposalinity treatment but both have to be done in a seperate QT tank. I would recommend one at least 20 gallons or larger. Then you need to leave your display tank fallow (no fish) for at least 6 weeks but as long as 3 months in order to remove the parasite from your tank. Also the two tangs you have should not be in a 55 its too small. Tangs need plenty of swimming room. Also stop adding fish. This hobby isn't a race it takes plenty of patience. Until the fish you have are healthy don't add any more.

good luck
Harry

[Shooter7]

Go to the "Fish Disease Treatment" forum here on RC and read the stickied topics at the top of the page that refer to ICH.

[NirvanaFan]

First off, Welcome to RC!

how much live rock do you have in your tank? How long has it been set up in your care? How long was it set up before that?

Garlic helps the fish fight off ich. There are many believers that garlic works wonders. I've never tried it. I have done hypo though. That worked very well for me. You should check out the fish disease forum here on RC. There are a couple stickies at the top of that forum that have great info on ich.

You can check out the reef fishes forum here on RC too. There is a sticky on that page titled "what tang for my 30g?" or something like that. Check it out.

The new fish dieing doesn't surprise me. The tangs are probably stressed (unfortunately, they get too big for your tank). Imagine you living in just your bedroom. The yellow may be alright, but the blue will certainly outgrow your tank.

When you add new fish do your current fish chase them around and stress them out? Copper can be used to treat fish that are hardier. You can not use copper in your main tank because it will kill inverts.

Can you post a pic of your tank, and one of your bulb anemone?

What are your parameters of the tank? Nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, ph, magnesium, and temp can help people come up with solutions to your problem. What other equipment do you have (powerheads, lights, filters, sump, protein skimmer, etc)?

[rustybucket145]

Go to the local pharmacy and get Garlic Gel Tabs. Pop them open on Sheets of nori and/or any food you feed, let it soak in for a few minutes, then feed it to your fish. Do this EVERY time you feed for the next couple weeks, then cut it back to twice a week. You should see the ich start to disappear after a couple of days.

I've seen this treatment work wonders several times. It's cheap, the garlic only cost around $5/bottle and a bottle will last well over what you need.

On a side note.... two tangs is pushing it for fish capacity for a 55gal, adding more big fish like angels and you're going to be teetering on a very fine line and will likely be plagued with problems, illness and generally unhealthy fish. Also, many angels require VERY specific foods, be sure to fully research the fish you intend on buying.... DON'T take your LFS's word for it..... think about it... they've already got your for a couple hundred dollars of fish and a bottle of useless ich medicine that has likely killed your anemone. Why would you trust them?? If you continue down the road you're headed you're gonna be their star customer.

[ahullsb]

I know this info sucks, but you have the exact problem I did a year ago. Feel free to search for my first posts. I bought a 55 established from someone else, with a blue tang, and I noticed ich within a few weeks. The last thing I wanted to do after buying a new tank, was leave it without fish for 8 weeks. But I listened to a friend of mine who is a marine biologist, and did hyposalinity. It worked wonders and I have never seen ich since. Hyposalinity and Copper are the only PROVEN methods to cure ich. Many people report using garlic and don't see ich after awhile. But I think it's a false assumption to think that just because you don't visibly see signs of ich on a fish that it is gone entirely. As much as it sucks, I would get this over with from the start, otherwise it could be a reoccurring problem in your tank. Especially since it seems to be so bad that your fish are dying in a short amount of time.

[george81]

Originally posted by dickey23
I currently have a 55 gallon that I purchased as an established tank that was in operation from Craigs List. I yellow tang, blue tang, clown, scooter blenny (now dead), royal gramma, live rock and sand and couple extras like feather duster, leather, etc. I have added fish, most of shich have died for one reason or another. The biggest problem is ICH. I have lost some nice angel fish costing me over a couple hundred total in fish.

2 tangs 55 gallon...+ you tried angel fish??????? you can dose whatever you like the ick is going to keep coming back....tangs need a minimum of 90 gallons...you dont have that get the tangs out...they are stressed because of the sub par conditions...once you cure the ick....the tangs will remain stressed and MAGIC you have ick! again!...read up on the animals care requirments...or upgrade you re system if you want to house tangs...be more responsible.

[george81]

if all you re fish are fine and living well you wouldnt be posting here about how to get rid of ick....

[iwishtofish]

Originally posted by Shooter7
Go to the "Fish Disease Treatment" forum here on RC and read the stickied topics at the top of the page that refer to ICH.

I second the above advice! I think it will be hard work to get ich out of your tank, but well worth it.

As you have discovered, people here are passionate about having tangs only in large tanks, as they are said to swim long distances quickly in the wild, and not "hang out" in one spot, like some other fish.

Good luck, and welcome to RC!!!

[donald_202]

i used garlic b4 and it work for me.

[bertoni]

Garlic might encourage a fish to eat, but it doesn't do anything else, as far as any actual evidence shows. The tank is overstocked, so I wouldn't add any more fish anyway.

If you want to get rid of the ich, I agree that hyposalinity in a hospital tank is the way to go. A number of the products labeled "reef-safe" aren't very reef safe, and there's no evidence that they can help with ich, anyway. I can point you to more reading, if you're interested.

[DgenR8]

Beating ICH takes knowing your enemy. Read this [ich]