Fresh Water Dip???? YES or NO??

And this is why I posted that I had my 5-6inch Blue tang was HT and my QT are about 3 g in a 5 g bucket- free, comes with salt purchase; and a simple foam filter that runs off a small air stone- which aerates the water. Oh, and a small heater too. Total cost not much. I keep it separate, and marked with Copper cause I use either copper, or to QT I use Prizipro.

Good luck and let us know what you do and how it works, we're (I'm) hoping for the best.

I had always heard that fallow was 8 weeks to be safe, as has been said.

 

That is how long it took the spots on my fish to go away, you're right... when dealing with saltwater the ICH does take much longer (8+ weeks like you said). I was just saying when I dealt with it I QT'd my fish and treated them and after placing back in the DT after 2 weeks they didn't get spots again. My experience was probably just luck that it didn't come back.

 

well, my advice FWIW is to keep feeding your fish and don't do a freshwater dip because that will create more stress. Since it's the only fish in the tank and the spots are decreasing and it's eating, it will probably pull through.

If you want to eliminate the parasite, as far as what I've read, it does take 8 weeks of the tank being fishless to eradicate ich.

 

I personally thought it was obviouse what you ment , very good advice btw , im glad you took the time to explain to the op how easy and effective it is to set up a qt tank .

 

You guys are NUTS to keep a 5" fish in a 5-10g tank for a proper qt which is minimum 6-8 weeks. No way I would recommend that to anyone. And to suggest pulling an already sick and stressed out fish to put it in such cramped quarters is irresponsible and almost a certain death sentence to the fish.

The OP already stated that the ich has fallen off and came back which means the display is already infected so what should they pull all their fish and toss em in a 5-10g?? LMAO

 

agree with the size issue, definitely too small of a QT for an extended period of time. As for removing the fish, that would be a way to get rid of the ICH. Remove the host (fish) and let it die off. As mentioned before, this can take a long time in a saltwater tank. Originally stated 2 weeks but didn't realize this is only in freshwater tanks. As mentioned by the more experienced above, it can take minimum 8 weeks and probably more like 12 for the ICH to run its life span and die off.

 

I have read, don't know how reliable it is..... Not adding new fish for some odd months (like 10-12 maybe I don't recall exactly) will also get rid of ich in the tank... allegedly because it needs new hosts to survive after so long. Sounds about as reliable as putting a large fish in a small tank/bucket but hey I read it somewhere so according to some it is reliable info (I could go find a link or 5 somewhere I am sure but its not that big of a deal to me if anyone want/needs internet documentation check with google it likes doing silly searches all day) I do know that I had ich on several fish I fed like crazy they stayed eating I stopped adding fish for a while and haven't had a flare up since even with adding new fish again.... so hey maybe.


FWIW, the only fish I have ever lost to ich are ones that I removed from the tank and put in a 5g bucket.... and that was a small Magenta Dottyback, and a Red Sea Eritrean Butterflyfish. Those two infected 22 fish at the same time in my 180. They were eating and otherwise healthy, but not knowing better because so many people taught me to panic and pull them I did, threw em in separate 5g buckets with tank water, small pump filter and boom within 48 hrs they stopped eating and were dead. Out of the original 22 fish in the tank I lost 0. They all got ich, many of them got it bad to, looked horrible. But I kept them in the tank, kept feeding NLS thera +A pellets and kept them all alive. Since I have added other fish that blew up with ich, kept them in the tank kept them fed and have not lost a single one. Talking to several friends afterwards that have been in the hobby 10-17yrs they do the same thing and have never lost a fish either.

 

Yes it's a compulsion of mine to post this link again and again and again.

Leebca is a microbiologist and has been a hobbyist for decades.

Marine Ich - Myths and Facts


Honestly I think there is more consensus regarding the whereabouts of big foot, then agreement on how to proceed when Marine Ich rears it's ugly head.

 

4. A weak, stressed, or sick fish will die sooner than a healthy fish, but is no more likely to get infected than the healthy fish. (taken from your link)

So chase it around a tank with a net, or chase it around for a while then remove all its "safe" hiding spots chase it some more, finally catch it, move it, stress it some more and watch it deteriorate even quicker, correct? Sounds like one killer plan (pun intended)

 

Chris I am totally in agreement with your theory on how to proceed.

Unfortunately some feel the need to aggressively treat and most newer hobbyist do not understand the life cycle of the parasite which is essential to effectively treating it. Along with that many hobbyist are swayed by reef safe products promoted by many LFS.

I also agree not to jump on removing fish, but for those hobbyist that have just spent a small fortune on a Tang or for someone's beloved Clown that is symptomatic then they should be presented with the proven treatment options. It's not the way I would proceed but I can understand someone feeling like they need treatment options in addition to stress reduction and nutrition enhancement.