Ich on my percula Clown

[norelius]

I have a 10 gallon tank that has been setup for about a year, I have had a clown in my tank for about 8 months then it died from ich (or some other disease that has white spots all over his body) Since then i have been buying a new clown and they have all been getting ich within a week and dying the day after i see they are affected. I also have a purple firefish, and a yellow clown goby and they are not affected with this ich or disease that i may be mistaken for ich. I have been treating the tank with prevent ich which is reef safe. Am I treating it for ich and it isnt? Why is it only affecting my clown? Any suggestions? I dont want to lose this clown too. I just noticed the spots today, but going from before they die by a day.
BTW i also have been periodically adding the prevent ich to the tank, and i put it in the tank before i added the clown. I would say about 2 weeks ago i started adding prevent ich to the tank. Could they still be alive in the tank? and why is it only affecting the clowns?
Also, would it be smart to turn the lights out longer than normal until it is healed?

 

[dragon79]

here's what you need to do:

You need to get your fish that are alive quarantined right away in a QT tank. Treat your display tank with Kick ich (initially) Primarily though, you need to let the ick starve itself. Without any living fishy to prey on, they'll die of starvation. The sucky thing is that it takes like 1 to 3 months to rid the infestation. While having your fish in a QT tank, you need to gradually bring down the salinity, and keep the PH high, as it'll tend to lower as you lower the salinity. You'll need a good refractometer or those new Digital Handheld Testers from Digi-labs to monitor the salinity. Dropping the salinity the ich can't survive, and they'll die and fall off. Also raising the temperature, helps speed up the cycle.

Lesson learned here though, be sure to QT your newly purchased fish before ever adding them to your display tank. All it takes is one fish to mess it up for the rest of your inhabitants. Best of luck to you, and I hope the infestation of ick dies!!

 

[sadielynn]

see above thread you could try doing a fresh water dip but as dragon said leave the tank go fallow for 3 months will help kill off the ich remove all fish to do this if this dosent work try the garlic as in the link above is being discussed

 

[norelius]

I have 2 polyps, live rock in the tank, one small mushroom and hermit crabs, how low should/can i lower the salinity down to, right now im keeping it at 1.022 also how high should i keep the PH up to, right now at about 8.2. Raise the temperature also? How high should i raise that up to? I will get my fish quarantined right away, how is my purple firefish still surviving through this whole deal with no signes of ich. I will purchase a bottle of kick ich, how often do you think i should add it to my tank, and for how long? Sorry for all the questions ha I really appreciate the help!! Thanks again, James

 

[drty811]

norelius

i just started to dose my ten with the garlic method about three days ago and so far my ich problem is almost cured. im going to dosing for three more days or so after all visible signs are gone.

 

[norelius]

the garlic method actually kills the ich? I had the understanding that it was more of a preventative?? So if i use the garlic method, should i still use the other methods.... kich ich, and lowering the salinity? What doses do you use for the 10 gallon tank with garlic? I'll give it a try, right now im willing to do anything Thanks,
James

 

[drty811]

i would just do the garlic method and leave everything else normal.

i used one clove off the head of garlic. cut the ends off peel the skin, and make it mush. soak it in a cup of tank water for half an hour. strain out the garlic pieces and then i just dumped the cup of garlic water into my tank.....i dosed everyday.

hope you have the same luck

 

[norelius]

that will kill the ich that is already in my tank, not just keep them from hatching? It both prevents and kills?

 

[dragon79]

hard to say, I have never tried the garlic method. I only used it to soak it's food when it was recovering, it helps heal inside their mouth, and gets them eating again. As far as how low to lower the salinity and gravity, that would be like 14 to 16 PPT, in specific gravity, that would be like 1.09. I had temperature at 82 degrees. Having a refractometer, or a digital handheld tester is the key to make sure you are doing this very accurately, otherwise you could kill your fish.

As far as freshwater dips, they aren't too recommended and more like a last minute resort. Basically you would get the temperature, and PH to match that of the water you are taking him from, that way the Ick that is on him dies and falls off. Very risky though, I think it stresses out the poor fish. I didn't go that route.

As far as your other fish not being infected...can't say why? Just say "lucky" I would rather treat them and keep them quarantined as opposed to taking the chance for the ick to attach themselves to them. Skin texture has a lot to do with it too. For example the mandarin goby skin texture basically "ick proof" while a Tang has the skin texture perfect for ick to jump on. Dont take chances buddy, save your fish, save your tank.

Good luck!

 

[norelius]

Will that low of salinity kill my mushroom and polyp colonies? or any other specimines in my tank??

I really appreciate the help steven!!

Thanks again,
James

 

[sadielynn]

your polyps and featherdusters crabs scalops will not tolorate low spg very well
just try the garlic if that doesnt work then perhaps a fresh h20 dip

 

[dragon79]

Will that low of salinity kill my mushroom and polyp colonies? or any other specimines in my tank??

I really appreciate the help steven!!

Thanks again,
James

James: Your mushroom, and polyps stay in the display tank. What I meant to say is that the fish you treat in a seperate hospital tank (QTANK) is where you drop the salinity. The Display however stays the same, running its course but as a tank with no fish. Run it like that for 3 months for maximum results.

When your fish start pulling around and they show signs of being healthy again (after a month or so), you can slowly start bringing up the salinity in your QTANK. After 3 months, you'll see that the fish fully recovered, and so did your tank, you can then put a fish in and see how it does, if all well, add another, and so on until they are back in.

It's a real PITA, but it's the safe route to rid the problem.

 

[incysor]

You are likely never to get rid of ich in a reef tank. Since the parasite lives parts of it's lifecycle in the sand/rock, unless you QT every fish, rock, coral you ever get then you're likely to have it in your tank. There is a theory that running a UV Sterilizer will rid your tank entirely of ich. I don't think I've ever seen a thread with someone running one on a nano.

Fish that are not stressed out and have healthy immune systems can usually fight ich off.

For outbreaks I treat the tanks with garlic. The exact method is described here:

http://nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1809

I have used kick-ich on my tanks with good results but it's expensive to use on larger systems, so I switched to using the garlic method exclusively since I was getting good results with it.

Good luck. I hope your clown pulls through.

B

 

[drty811]

i have been using the garlic method and have kicked ich with my fish. i dosed my tank and the food they eat, every other day. no signs after six days. i think ill be doing preventive dosing once every other week. i recommend it to anyone.

drty811