Major Ich Problem Please help 180.

Discussion in 'Diseases' started by qualitydaydream, Feb 15, 2009.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. qualitydaydream

    qualitydaydream Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2008
    Messages:
    82
    My 180 gallon was running well up until 3 days ago when my pearlscale butterfly got ich and died. Then my queen angel gets it and hangs out with the 2 cleaner shrimp much of the day he is acting normal and eating well.

    We added a new fish today it was a powder brown tang, this is my 2nd tang and the LFS said 2 in a 180 should be fine.

    all parameters are spot on, we use the reef kit, and saltwater kit about 2-3 times per month.

    I do have 12 fish in the tank and a good amount of live rock.

    Now a good 6 of my fish have ich. Im sure its ich and the new tang is just covered with it. Its nasty.

    Everyone is eating well. I feed twice a day.

    I have had ich in 25, 35, and 55 gallon tanks but never in a 180.

    catching everyone would be almost impossible.

    Here is the kicker. I leave in 24 hours for a 2 week trip. I do have a caretaker for the fish but not for catching, quarantine and extensive first aid, etc.. etc..

    What do you guys suggest i do? I already got it in the low 80's temo. I didnt add salt yet. How should i do that in a bucket with RO then add to tank? What do i bring the salinity up to before adding it to the tank?

    Yes I should have used my quarantine tank but its too late now, due to circumstances after aclimation i put it in.

    What to expect? Most fish dead? It to go away like small previous outbreaks. compared to the past this is a heavy outbreak.
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. Dsilowka3

    Dsilowka3 Fire Worm

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2008
    Messages:
    165
    Location:
    South Brunswick, NJ
    Im not sure about adding salt, but i believe ive read if you lower the salinity it will help fish with ich (someone correct me if im wrong). Anyway, i had a case of ich a couple months ago, I raised my temp (80-82F), lowered Salinity to 1.020 (~28-30ppt),added a cleaner shrimp, added Seachem Garlic Guard to my food, and treated with Kordon Ich Attack (claims 100% organic and safe for reefs). Now i only have a FOWLR with a few hitchhiker corals, none of which seemed to be effected by the ich attack, but i really cant say just how reef safe it is. anyway, i did this for ~10 days. in the end, i lost my pseudochromis, but i feel these treatments saved everything else in my tank. goodluck :)
     
  4. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2008
    Messages:
    5,736
    Location:
    Wilmington, DE
    If they are still eating normally, then that is a good sign. You should not have added a new fish to a sick tank, especially if you are going away for a while. I would make sure to add some garlic supplement to their food, get the water as pristine as possible and just go from there. Lower the salinity should help, but in order to get any real results with that, the salinity needs to be much lower, about 1.01-1.012. Raising the temp will just help the parasite to go through its growth phase faster which helps it die faster. Good luck with it.
     
  5. mikev15101

    mikev15101 Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2009
    Messages:
    461
    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Try and grab a uv steralizer, hopefully while you are away it will help with the ich problem. When you get home, catch who ever is left, place them in a qt for 6 weeks with the uv running. Treat them guys with some coppersafe from mardel. worked great for me. my tang was on its last leg, was able to get him back. with the tank fishless and hostless for 6 weeks, and with the uv running 24/7 your tank should be ichless in 6 weeks. not much else you can do since your going away
     
  6. mikev15101

    mikev15101 Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2009
    Messages:
    461
    Location:
    Philadelphia
    i deff wouldnt try to dose your dt with anything "reef safe" if you ever plan to keep any corals in your tank it will leach into the live rock.
     
  7. mastamind360

    mastamind360 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2009
    Messages:
    71
    id lower the salenity to 1.016 wont hurt the fish and will kill off the ich