need advice please...

[mutnjeff]

ok, here's what I'm working with: 75 gal (pH 8.4, Alk 1.7, phosphate 0.2, nitrite 0, nitrate <5, ammonia 0.25, temp 84, salinity 1.023) 2 percula clowns, 1 mandarin goby, 1 yellow head sleeper goby, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 blue hippo tang, 2 red firefish, 1 longnose hawkfish, multiple snails/hermit crabs, 2 anemones, small frag of yellow polyps, small frag of button polyps, mushrooms - I think that's all. here's the situation:
hippo tang new to tank about 4-5 weeks ago, couple days ago added some snails and mandarin. woke up yesterday and hippo tang, mandarin and yellow head sleeper goby with ich, hippo tang's eye is all cloudy and one side of her body has ich - she looks the worst. didn't have anything to treat tank until today. my question is: they look slightly better today - without treatment, should I ride it out a bit? or treat tank? bought Kick-Ick at lfs which is supposed to be safe for all the coral/invertebrates, also picked up some pimafix and melafix. also, lfs recommended using garlic tmt (labeled for marine tanks) to boost immune systems of fish? anyone ever hear of this? planning for a water change tomm, but looking for advice on how to handle this situation - I can't lose my Dory!!! I adore that fish!!! thanks!

[funkpolice]

If you can, set up a small hospital tank and treat the fish in that. The tank will have to be fishless for I think 6 weeks to get rid of the ich. Best of luck.
bill

[mutnjeff]

has anyone heard of "kick ich"? got it from the lfs today - supposedly you can treat your entire tank - inverts and all - claims to be safe for them?!
thanks!

[leebca]

The makers of "Kick-Ich" asked a prominent aquarist to try it out. The aquarist reported that the product had no benefit to completely curing the fish. I think you'll find that the product manufacturers claim it 'controls' Marine Ich. Don't 'control it' -- kill it.

Think of it this way: If there was a treatment, reef safe, other than the 3 known not-reef-safe treatments, wouldn't it make headlines?

It costs less than a few hundred dollars to have a product like this independently tested for efficacy, yet makers of such products don't offer independent testing results of their product.

I think you should read through this post: Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

More info on Melafix and Pimafis here: Melafix & Pimafix - Why they work and don't work

Don't wait. Begin treatment of all the fish immediately by one of the known cures. Two these are covered here:
A Hyposalinity Treatment Process
Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems

[DaveK]

First off never ever medicate a reef tank. No matter what the LFS tells you, no matter what the bottle or package says, never ever medicate a reef tank.

I know of only two serious way to treat this disease, hyposalinity which is the gradual reduction of SG to about 1.011 and/or copper sulphate which should be used along with a test kit for copper.

Either should only be done in a quarantine tank. This means you'll need to set up another tank, and treat there. Treatment should be 3 to 4 weeks, and you'll need to make a lot of water changes to keep ammonia down.

This is going to be a lot of work, but it's the only way to actually kill off the disease. In the future, quarantine all new livestock.

[mutnjeff]

ok, so obviously I'll need to return my very expensive bottle of kick-ich - now, do I need to treat all the fish in the tank - or just the 3 that I noticed the ich on? also, my jawfish - will it be okay without sand in the quarantine tank? and how do I go about feeding my mandarin without live rock? I have a large amount of pods now in my show tank - can i feed it brine shrimp? thanks!

[leebca]

The answers to some of your questions are found in the referenced posts.

All fish need treatment.

Pod eaters should have been trained to eat prepared foods. If not then buy pods for them. Try brine shrimp, mysis, and mini-ocean plankton. Read this: Pod Eaters -OR - Momma Don't Feed Me No Balogna

Marine life that requires substrate can be provided a container of silica sand or a substrate of silica sand in the QT. Just be sure it is pure silica sand without contamination of carbonates. A few drops of vinegar in a teaspoon of 'sand' should not show any gassing, fizzle, bubbles, etc.

Some pointers about setting up the QT: A Fish Quarantine Process - Step by Step

Good luck!

[mutnjeff]

ok - sorry about all the questions here... but I was reading some of the stickies that were recommended and correct me if I'm wrong - can I leave my tank be for 11+ months without adding anything new and be basically "ich-free"? I'm really concerned on how to properly quarantine all these fish for the required amount of time otherwise. (the only spare tanks that I have are a 10gal and a 1.5 gal) but, I want to do the right thing and save my fish. wonder if I can rearrange some of my other tanks to give myself a larger qt?.... I have a 125 gal that I'm planning on setting up for cichlids... maybe I can get them moved a little faster than I had planned.... and give myself a 29gal qt.... hmmm....

[leebca]

Basically. . .Yes. It has been found and confirmed that after 10 or 11 months, the strain of Marine Ich weakens to the point of not being infectious anymore. It requires that no new Marine Ich parasites find their way into the system, or the clock starts over.

Unfortunately, as the tank waits for the time to go by, fishes can be lost.

For the short time (8 weeks) the fish will be in quarantine, a small tank is okay, providing there is enough hiding places for each fish. If you want a single tank for this quarantine, I would no recommend anything less than a 40 gallon.

The 125 seems inviting as a hospital tank, but in reality, too much room is undesirable for a treatment tank. I would put them into a 40 even if you have to buy one used and then sell it off, later. These hospital tanks can make a fine Christmas gift to get someone started in the hobby after you are done with it.