Ich update and advice

So, here's the deal. My tang popped up with ich (as previously reported) about that same time I came down with god knows what and ended up pretty sick. So, I asked the LFS what I could do, or what they do when they don't set up another tank.

He suggested I try metro+, change water daily, treat for one week ("or so"). I started treatment on Monday afternoon, at that point tang was covered in ich, color was bad and breathing looked labored. By next morning color was pretty much back to normal and breathing was very much improved. Tuesday breathing was normal and color looked great! So here it is Friday, the tang acts healthy, color and breathing look normal, but it still has a number of areas of ich on it (what looks like under the skin).

So, do I abandon the treatment and set up a tank, move all of the fish in and start that treatment. Or, do I continue this treatment a bit longer? Thanks.

 

A little more detail:

It looks to me like one side is pretty much cleared all the way up. The other side maybe has about 10% left to go.

 

Two truly get ich out of your system you have to let your tank go fishless for 6 weeks. Thats the only true way to rid yourself of ich.

 

Well IMO moving your fish to a QT will only stress them more. do the other fish have any ich? i would dose your tank with stress coat. 3x the amount suggested. (should dose on a weekly regimend anyways IMO) if you can get a UV sterilizer i would. if you could post a pic of the tang it would be helpful. Our fish have had ich and when we removed them from the tank and put them in QT it was a death sentance. Now when they brake out we do a fresh water dip (for about 4-5 minutes making sure the PH and temp are the same) and put them back in DT, turn on the UV and within a week the ich is gone IME We have had no fish loss with this method. Do more frequent WC's and get that stress coat in the tank. P.S. the stress coat will make your skimmer go crazy for a coupla days. Good luck and happy reefing

 

I agree removing all fish and placing into a QT will be very stressful and will not help your livestock in the short term. QT are good for new additions to rid of ICH but when a whole tank is infected your best to try natural methods. You can try enriching your food with garlic to boost your fishes immune system. Monitor water qualities and keep them in check without adjusting any parameters too quickly.

You could also try adding a cleaner shrimp or a cleaner goby to clean your fish. My tangs regularly visit my cleaner shrimp and neon goby for a quick clean, no ICH on them now due to constant ICH and dead skin etc removal.

 

I had never heard of Metro+, so I looked it up. I am not a fan of a chemical that may give me cancer (as their warning states) nor do I know what effect it might have on coral and inverts. An all natural product called Marine-Max is a proven winner in boosting the immune system of fish so they can ward off ich and other diseases. For now, I think I would get rid of that stuff and try hypo-salinity (until you get the Marine-Max). Since Tangs and some other fish are susceptible to ich outbreaks you should use the Marine-Max as prescribed for maintenance.

 

Dosing anything in your main tank, especially housing fish that are not effected with any form of parasitic, viral, bacteriological or fungal disease can become problematic.
The lifecycle of marine ich(amyloodinium ocellatum) is a simple process that many aquarists are not aware of as to the time table of the cycle and its effects to life. The parasite begins as a trophant that attaches itself to the tissue of fish(ie. scales, fins and gills). As a response to the ich on the fishes body they release a mucus covering that encompasses the parasite causing the commonly depicted white-sugar sized spots on the fish. After about 3 days these trophants will fall off the fish as tomants, causing a false sense of relief as you begin to think that the ich has been removed. Instead, what has taken place is the parasite has left the host to form cysts and divide(3-7 days). *******it is during this time that the addition of medications such as formalin, melachite green, methylene blue, hypo salinity and copper are the most effective*********!!!! How many of you knew this????
Once these cysts break apart and divide, and depending on the water temperature, will form numerous dinospores that will find a host, again, finding the fish in your tank, causing these white spots to become evident again and even more prolific.
It is best to not raise water temperature at this time as, yes it can speed up the cycle of the ich, however, it also causes more stress on the fish due to decreased oxygen levels in your water.
The hyposalinity process is an effective procedure though it can also plague inverts and bacteria as well. Dropping the water's salinity level to below 1.013 is the best scenario to combat marine ich. This procedure basically causes the ich cells to blow up like balloons as the ich cells can not control the osmosis through their semi-permeable membranes. Once they blow up enough, they will pop since their cell walls can not handle the pressure between that inside their walls and the ambiant environment outside.
Stress, for the most part is the number one factor for the development of ich in an aquarium. trying to purchase healthy specimens at your local pet shop, reducing the time between shipping and collecting, healthy diet, compatible fish and ideal water parameters/temperature! are crucial in helping to alleviate this devasting disease from crippling your tank and its inhabitants!!!

 

I used Melafix and garlic, and it cleared up the ich and bacterial infection of some sort I had in the tank in 7 days.

 

I knew this apart from you are talking about amyloodinium ocellatum which is marine velvet which is different to marine ich Cryptocaryon irritans. The difference is that marine velvet is like a light dusting of velvet spots and it originally attacks the gills causing damage and then spreads to body, once seen on the body it is usually too late for the fish. Marine ich will attack the gills and skin tissue but at the same time.

 

There's clearly some controversy on this issue. Here are my thoughts, and the facts in this case.

This LFS has flat out refused to sell me anything, even crabs or micro algae, when my nitrites were still a little high. So I'm guessing the want repeat customers and aren't trying to just make a buck. I talked to them about both QT and alternatives. They recommended QT, but said of the alternatives out there this was the only one they've actually tested themselves and seen it work well enough that they would use it again in their store, and home tanks.

Now to the fish. By the time I'd gotten some treatment the tang was showing fading color, rapid and difficult breathing, and general poor signs of health. This is in addition to both "white spots" and what I would describe as "bumps", which I guess are cysts. Withing about 12 hours of the first treatment the color and breathing were BOTH greatly improved. To date, color and breathing are normal, white spots are gone, and cysts are finally pretty much gone.

I don't know if it works or not. I still keep the option of QT open, but will finish this treatment. I do have a 57 watt UV (left off during treatment per instruction from LFS). In fact the ich kicked in within DAYS of my old UV light shorting out and stopping to function.