Finally Caught Ich...ugh

Alright guys and gals, so after my many years (pushing 10) of being in the hobby of saltwater tanks, my fish have caught ich. Up until this day I have never quarantined any of my fish or anything at all for that matter. I guess I just always took the gamble and came out on top. It has now came back to bite me in the a$$ unfortunately. It must have came in with one of my recent additions and my best guess is my clown goby. He was not eating for a few days and just the beginning of this week he started showing the visible signs of ich. I know they are a cheap fish and some people would just ride it out but I decided to hop on the forums, start my research, and get my fish feeling better. The next day I saw that my clownfish was showing signs of ich as well so I pretty much freaked and want the ich gone.

After doing extensive research I decided to quarantine everything basically. So I have set up a 10 gallon hospital tank in the meantime that is housing a percula clown, a purple firefish, a clown goby and watchman goby. I pretty much know the do's and dont's of the QT/HT tanks now and the setup, etc. So this will be their temporary home for about 8 weeks. They are being dosed with cupramine so I can completely eradicate the ich. Now the contradictory part of completely eradicating the ich is that I left the mandarin dragonet goby in the tank. Now I know some of you may jump on me for that and others may not due to the fact that I am leaving the tank fallow for at least 8 weeks. From what I have read I do believe that they have a rather thick mucous membrane that makes it rather difficult for them to contract ich. I know it is still a possibility but I'm going to take another gamble and leave him in the DT (I can be the guinea pig for anyone that is curious and report back after this is all over). I haven't had him forever but maybe a few months and he is always fluttering around in the rocks and I know he has been eating plenty of pods and I think I have seen him eat some frozen foods here and there but not quite like the pods. I decided to leave him in the DT based upon the fact that I'm pretty sure they are sensitive to copper, he needs his natural food source to stay healthy, and his chances of survival I feel are better off in the DT over the 2 months even though the chance of ich is still present.

Soooooo....today the HT tank received it's second dosage of cupramine after the 48 hour downtime bringing the level up to 0.5 mg/L. I will be doing frequent water changes in the meantime to keep ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in check, getting any uneaten food out of the tank, and testing the water frequently. The clown goby is already looking better but hasn't eaten yet and as for all the other fish, they are eating like crazy so the cupramine must not be affecting their appetites.

Now, I have a general question about dosing and it may seem stupid but I'm kind of confused but I want to make sure I do this right the first time else the result won't be pretty. The first round of dosing requires 2 drops per gallon and then wait 48 hours and then repeat again. So does that mean when I do a water change, that I replace the cupramine at the rate of 2 drops per gallon or should I do 4 drops per gallon? I only ask because initially it takes two rounds of dosing to reach 0.5mg/L and I'm not sure if the 2 drops per gallon will keep that current dosage or will it keep dropping off? I'm sorry if I made that confusing but if someone could answer that I would be forever grateful.

Sorry for the long post guys but in the meantime I can try and keep everyone updated on the progress. If anyone has anything to share about their experiences with ich please do If i missed anything or need to clarify just let me know as I will be checking this thread often for advice on this long but necessary journey. Lesson learned! I WILL be quarantining everything that is going to go in my display from here on out to avoid this problem again hopefully!;D

 

My first guess is 4 to replace all that you've removed, but I'd suggest testing the makeup water to ensure it's at 0.5 before adding to your HT.

Keep a close eye on the Mandarin. While it might be difficult for the ich parasite to infect them, it may not be completely impossible.

 

My guess is 4 as well due to the fact that after the 48 hour downtime you have to do the same exact dose again which therefore doubles it. So I figured that if you only did the two drops you would be putting back only about half of what is needed. I hope I am not making this sound much harder than what it really is.

 

so sorry to hear about the evil ich. Here's some karma for a positive outcome for all your livestock!

 

Thank you OFK very kind of you. Small update, the fish seem to be doing extremely well in the HT. All fish are eating except for the clown goby, which is looking better but I didn't expect the little guy to eat yet. The mandarin is doing just great in the DT again and is fluttering around, hunting, and looking plump so I'm happy about that

 

My blue tang gets a few spots every now and then. I'm not sure why but it never seems to spread to other fish. Same thing on the blue tang in my last tank. I guess there are different levels of it but I have never really done anything for it. It just seems to run it's cycle and disappear.

 

Yeah the clown goby caught it pretty bad and IMO he wasn't going to make it without medication but is looking much better now. After all the research I just basically came down to two options. Leave everything in the tank and let nature take it's course and the ich will always be in the tank running through it's life cycles and it may or may not infect the fish. Orrrrrrr treat my fish and leave the tank fallow which is what I went for minus the tid bit of the mandarin being left in there which seems good thus far.

 

Sounds like the right plan.

 

I had a horrible outbreak a few months ago. I couldn't get my fish out of my tank and I didn't want to dose my tank. My LFS recommended Dr. G's medicated caviar. I fed my fish the Dr. G's caviar ONLY and all my fish made it through the ich. Just an alternative method I figured I'd mention.