A case of Ich

orange_crates · 06-29-2006, 06:02 AM

Right, not my fish BTW, 's my grandparents.

Some few days ago, white spots began appearing on two of the fish. Now, it appears that every fish in the tank has it.

I'm looking for a good treatment for this problem that will least likely endanger the fish, coral and other things in the tank.

I'm not sure how many gallons or the temperature and salt level of the water in the tank are. As I said, not my tank (I just happen to know more than them).

There aren't any catfish.

There are anthias, tangs, parrot fish, butterfly fish, things that highly resemble clown fishes, a crab, two worms (those things that are really soft with long orange...tentacles? Tendrils?), three starfish, a clam. There is also coral.

Will salt be good? Please help, our grandparents have left the slowly dying life of their fish in our hands!!!

Jason McKenzie · 06-29-2006, 07:33 AM

Ick is caused by stress. Either poor water quality or one fish stressing the others. But it sounds like all these fish have been in the tank together awhile?

I would definitely check, Salinity, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate levels. As for treatment, there are a lot of "Reef" safe treatments out there, but I have read they are not as effective as a copper treatment. Copper of course can not be used in a reef tank as it will kill coral and inverts. Your best bet is to remove the fish to a QT tank and treat them with a copper med.

J

coral reefer · 06-29-2006, 03:43 PM

Welcome to 3reef!
Ditto with what Jason said!!!!YOU need to remove the fish and put them in a quarantine tank. Also, as for the rest of the inhabitants, you should dose with iodine, just becareful as it is toxic in high dosages. You will want to purchase an iodine/iodate/iodide test kit. Make sure it test all three of them. Seachem sells the kit for $15.00.
Test your water parameters as well and do a water change. Did you add a new fish recently? As Jason also mentioned, your fish get ICH when they become stressed, just as corals will bleach when stressed, and clams(Tridacna) will bleach, close up their mantle and have a gapping incurrent syphon.
Hope your tank corrects itself soon! Good luck!

orange_crates · 06-29-2006, 04:30 PM

...I would like it if you'd stop using the pronoun 'you'...

Recently, my grandparents added a whole crowd of new fish. Aunt who had husband who know about these things said it was dumb. Nobody listened.

As for the quarantine thing...grandparents don't have an extra tank, but I think grandfather was considering buying one to grow seaweed, so I can ask.

And...how do you check levels of stuff in the water?

...

Ah!! This is so dumb!!! Me and my sister don't have the experience to do this!! *bangs head against table* *grumbles*

Thanks for all the help by the way. It is very much appreciated.

coral reefer · 06-29-2006, 05:40 PM

There are many different brand names that make different kits to check various minerals etc. in your water. Everything from iodine to oxygen to phosphate to silicates and everything in between. Each has its own effect on a tanks inhabitants. I would first get the main test kits which test for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH-and you will need to test for salinity as well!
Getting the fish out of your tank as fast as possible will better your chances of success in saving your livestock. Ick will kill your fish very quickly and then more problems will result due to possible spikes in ammonia-nitrite and nitrates and phosphates.

orange_crates · 06-29-2006, 06:55 PM

If practically all the fish have Ich, could we possibly just move the coral and non-fish things to another tank (assuming that they get one...) instead? And then treat the fish in the tank? Because there are some twenty-something fish, and only two of them (the parrot fish) seem to not have Ich.

*sweatdrop*

Oh, and could you name some brands of reef-safe treatments and how much to use? I don't trust the guy who sells my grandparents the fish and stuff.

Thanks again for all your help.

coral reefer · 06-30-2006, 02:18 AM

I'm not sure but I believe you run the risk of killing beneficial bacteria and other organisms by adding chemicals like copper to your main tank.

sssnake · 06-30-2006, 04:27 AM

Welcome to 3reef orange_crates!

For a tank to contain "some twenty-something fish" it should be a big one. Since you don't know the gallon capacity of this tank what are its dimensions (L x W x H)? Tangs alone need lots of tank room to move around.

If it's a small tank relative to the amount of fish in it the stress will continue and you (pardon the expression) will be in a constant battle with stressed fishies and consequential ich.

If indeed overcrowding is the probable cause is it possible to give back some fish to your LFS (local fish store) after they have been treated successfully?

Good luck ..... hope things turn out OK.

reiple · 06-30-2006, 08:57 AM

Hello guys and gals,

Something I learned a long time ago from other forums (yeah been much too long here in this hobby!) --- ICH is introduced into your controlled ecosystem (aquarium). It is not part of a marine setup unless it was introduced into said system.

Kinda easy to do this. Unquarantined additions, unreliable sources for live rock and other component of your tank (including live sand and perhaps cultured saltwater).

So the old beaten advise remains --- QUARANTINE. However if you are like me you still stick to being lazy and still do not quarantine (I am guilty!!!!). Now what to do????

Losing a whole tank of high quality fish to ich humbles anyone. So for a minimum of 90 days (actually I did a 120 days) keep your tank fishless to kill off the parasite. No host no food ich dies. So we hope! More than 90 days some hobbyist consider too much but heck you want to be sure.

If this is not possible then do the next best thing, keep your tank in pristine condition. Perfect ph, sg, salinity, stable temps, etc. In this scenario you literally walk the plank. One mistake, your charges start to succumb to ich, as if ich hides and waits for it's time to kill.

The old remedies --- garlic, medications (now really! what about the corals!!!!), low SG, etc. All might work or might not. Quarantine, literally sterilizing your system and establishing it again if possible and choosing good stock remain as the best weapons to fight ich.

Good luck.

orange_crates · 06-30-2006, 08:18 PM

Thanks for all your help people, but in the end, I don't think this story will have a hppy ending.

My uncle asked the LFS, and they said that any medicine used to treat the fish cannot be used because they have coral (personally, I think the person selling it either doesn't know some things, or he wants all the fish to die so he can sell us more [I, personally, think it's the latter]). So, my uncle has come back and decreed that all we can do is nothing. When I mentioned reef-safe medication, he just looked at me funny.

So, I guess it's goodbye for the fish then. The bad thing about being a teen in this house, is that what the adults say usually over-rule what you know (like the whole, "you have fish that eat coral" comment I made. And the "that fish eats crustatians [sp?]" thing, no one believes me until something's died or practically dead). *sigh* I wanna go home (am currently just staying with my grandparents [...I miss dad and his actually listening-to-us...ness]).

Quote:

For a tank to contain "some twenty-something fish" it should be a big one.

Yeah...by my estimation, the tank's around a metre and 30-50 cm wide,60-80cm long (the longest length anyways [it tapers in at the back]) and 70-80cm tall.

I just want to know, if the dead bodies are disposed of properly, what effect will there be on the coral, crab, starfish and worms?