Ick......

Here we go, well I bought a new flame angel about a month ago put it in QT for a week and added it to my DT reef. well, one week in QT was not long enough because the first infection of marine ick (MI) just developed on my fish so now while still in the early stages of detection I am puting together a bare bottom tank that my fish can live in for the next six weeks. What a pain, it is going to be so hard to catch all the fish (next to impossible) but I have to try. next time I am going to save myself the stress and qt the fish longer than a week.

 

if i were you i would just get a few cleaner shrimp and a uv sterilizer. Feed them some garlic.
This would be a much easier option then building a new tank

 

Good luck!! my fish are just getting over some ick too, it sucks

 

I feel so lucky as my fish have not gotten ich in over 5 years in my 125 gallon tank, and that is with doing a move from one town to the next and going to a larger tank!
I know how bad that sucks though and feel for you and your livestock!

 

How will an U/V effect Ich ? unless you can get the theront when they are swimming about looking for a host which they must find within 24 hours or they will die. There is a short time frame to get them pass the U/V ..Never think you are ever pass the trophont phase Or Stage one..):

 

well that combo has worked for me

 

I'm not saying that the U/V did not help the problem and that you are wrong .. Don't take it that way , What I was trying to convey is that all that U/V did was to help raise the quality of the water .. You still have the ich in that system. Your fish have just sloughed them off and built up a little more immunity and are les stressed by the better water quality.. All I'm saying or was trying to say is don't rush out and buy a U/V.. It has little if any effect on the actual parasite .. It does relive stress on the animals by improving their environment . But a skimmer can remove as many of the parasite as a U/V can. But don't let that bulb get much past 6 months or the effect of the U/V will be nothing at all. What is the ORP of your system now. Thats all that was effected . But you still have plenty of the parasites in the trophont phase right now just waiting for a stressed host.. May you remain ich free for ever

 

There are many misconseptions about marine ick A lot is known about this marine fish disease because of the many $$$ put into research by the fish farming and aquaculture industries. This is not the same as the freshwater disease, Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifilis) but it was named after it?! This leads freshwater aquarists to thinking the wrong things about Marine Ich, adding to the myths and rumors.

The parasite burrows into the fish, below the mucous layer and into the skin. This is why cleaner fish/shrimp can’t get to it in order to remove them from the fish.There is no known ‘reef-safe’ remedies that seem to work consistently.
A lot of ppl think a particular remedy works when in fact the fish develop an immunity or defense against the parasite and the parisite is still actually present in the tank.
UV and/or Ozone kills MI. Ozone doesn't kill all parasites that pass through the unit, nor does the water treated with ozone kill the parasites. UV only kills the parasites that pass through the unit. Not all MI parasites will pass through the unit, so the UV will not rid an aquarium of MI. A UV can help prevent a 'bloom' of the parasites however, and thus help in its control. UV is not a cure nor a preventative measure for MI.
Also garlic only promotes eating for the fish to build a better imune system against the parisite, The parisite will still be present in your tank.