Here We Go Again!

[ScubaDrew]

Hey Malanie! So glad you've got this guy in QT and dodged the baster bullet!

I'm def going to setup a QT tank (i've got the filter songe cycling in the DT now) for my second fish... if I can resolve the isopod problem.

It is inspiring to see you have a rough startup and come out so well, definitely motivation to stick with it.

[Craig Manoukian]

Hang in there Mel, you'll be just ducky!

[Melanie]

Update: I've chosen my first course of treatment.

There are many different options for treatment of Marine Ich and I'm going to start with the least dangerous first and proceed from there. Actually, I didn't see this option discussed on Ash's thread but it sounds completely harmless to not only the fish, but the LR and any inverts or future fish that may use the QT tank.

Every day for two weeks, the tank is completely cleaned and a 50% water change performed. During this time and thereafter, I am running my UV sterilizer (which I bought and never hooked up until now.)

To help reduce stress and boost the fish's immune system, I am adding the black background that wraps around 3 sides of the tank. I will not run the lights at all and will use the ambient room light (lots of it 10 ft. sliding glass doors in that room.) I am going to add garlic extreme (per the instructions) to his food. The garlic is unproven as a treatment, but shows anecdotal promise. I already use one drop of Vitachem on his food on weekdays and will continue.

This course of threatment will last 6+ weeks. Two weeks of daily water changes then one month of weekly water changes and observation.

This is yet another reason I love my QT. Daily 50 percent water changes of 5 gallons are MUCH easier than daily 50 percent water changes of 40 gallons.

I will, of course, keep you guys posted on how well this treatment works (or not!)

[hma]

Hi Melanie,

as I before already wrote, no panic. Ick and Oodinium are exciter those, if they do not find a new host in the free water after short time die. With Oodinium the incubation period is 12-24 hours, with Ick is it 10-14 days at normal aquariums temperature. In no case you must again start with your QT. A new cycle to start lasts much longer, than simply to wait to the last exciter is death. I would attach a UV-C light to your QT, am in each case recommended. Thus you kill surely all exciters within a short time.

[Dentoid]

Looks like you have it all figures out! Carry on!

[cheeks69]

The tank is looking great Melanie and I love the HOT refugium, very well done ! I also love the QT and like the treatment you've selected, it's much less stressful but I don't know if you could/would completely eliminate the parasite, but it would certainly reduce the amount of parasites and give the fish a chance to develop immunity to the parasite.

That can be also Odinium, that is many more harmless than Ick and very simply to treat.

Heinz I would have to disgree !
Oodinium is one of the most deadly diseases you'll ever have to deal with and is very difficult to completely eradicate from your system.

[Melanie]

Thank you Dentoid, Drew & Craig!

You know, it occurred to me that this fish cost less than $15. I wonder how many people would not go to the trouble of treatment at all and just dispose of the fish?

Since I feel like all living creatures I bring into my home are my responsibility to keep healthy and happy, I suppose the cost of the fish was never even a consideration. Plus, I'm thinking of this as an experiment in treatment of a marine disease which I may someday have on an expensive or beloved fish.

Heinz, I promise I'm not stressed. I DID get stressed when I thought I had used the same equipment on both tanks but fortunately I remembered I didn't. I guess the best word to describe my feelings right now is "curious" or "hopeful" because I'd like to see how well this fairly innocuous treatment works.

If it doesn't work, it certainly shouldn't hurt and I can go more aggressive with the hyposalinity treatment - my next choice. I'm getting prepared for that (just in case.) I've purchased a refractometer.

Cheeks, Thank you!! I really appreciate the positive feedback.

[ScubaDrew]

Originally Posted by Melanie

Since I feel like all living creatures I bring into my home are my responsibility to keep healthy and happy, I suppose the cost of the fish was never even a consideration.

I feel the same way, I've spent over 30 hours already researching and working on a way to save my foxface from the isopods... I'm sure this fish appreciate your help!

[Dentoid]

You will learn a lot from this excercise and further your knowledge base, at the same time helping a captive animal. Best of luck!

[GeeWizzItsMe]

Sounds like a great treatment! Keep us posted!

[Melanie]

I will call today "Day 1 of Water Change/UV Treatment". I hooked up my UV (at the expense of my phosban reactor. The LFS was closed so I couldn't purchase a small powerhead so I had to sacrifice my phosban reactor on the DT for the day.)

Unfortunately my "custom fit" egg crate won't fit the new equipment so I'll leave it off for now. Fortunately neon blue gobies aren't known for being jumpers. Let's cross our fingers.

Also, since the LFS was closed, I couldn't pick up the garlic. I'll leave that for my trip tomorrow.

I left the lights off all day as I had planned and I mixed up the saltwater yesterday. I've got the temp and salinity the same as the QT. It has been running with a water pump all night for oxygenation so it's ready for the water change.

I will use my turkey baster (PS I finally bought a new one today for the DT!) and a dedicated piece of filter floss to clean the tank. I'll shake off the LR in the 5 gallons of "old water" and place the rock back in the QT.

Observations: Fish is eating well and appears to have no "spots". I have most likely entered into the Trophont Stage (Tomont cysts have been discharged from the gills.)

[Melanie]

Note: Ok, now that I'm done with the water change, I'm going to modify this a bit for tomorrow. I'm not removing 3 of the rocks. I will suck around them. I think I terrorized my fish by removing all the rocks and sticking the floss and baster in there. Stressing him out was not part of the plan.

I put the black backing on and it is pretty shoddy looking right now. I didn't take the time to trim it perfectly. Perhaps I will do that later this week.

I did a quick strip test and the water parameters look fine. Actually the nitrates were the lowest they have been since I added my first fish. I'm taking a break before I mix tomorrow's water and I'll cruise around RS and see what the rest of you have been up to.

PS I got my refractometer today. I'm really interested to see where I can find a room that is exactly 68 degrees and distilled water that is exactly 68 degrees so I can calibrate it. Hmmmm. (I also got my Salifert Magnesium test and auto top off unit. That will have to wait for the weekend.)

[Craig Manoukian]

Great research and treatment planning Mel! Will look forward to your updates.

[Melanie]

Day 2 of Water Change/UV Treatment

Well, let's see, I ordered a couple hundred dollars worth of coral from Mr. Coral (a RS sponsor) last week BEFORE I had the ich drama. So tonight I had to:

• do my QT 50 percent water change
• clean the QT
• wipe off the QT stand from the new salt creep my UV is throwing everywhere
• mix up my new garlic, vitamin, food combo for the QT
• feed both tanks
• top off both tanks
• acclimate & place my new corals
• clean the DT glass
• mix up the water for tomorrow's water change
• clean the skimmer cup on the QT

I'm exhausted! It's only day two! Good news is I found another powerhead so I can hook my phosban/carbon reactor back up. I'll still need to get one more to power my ATO but I'll save that for this weekend.

Neon Goby is eating well and doesn't have any external signs of the parasite. The water is so crystal clear with the UV running that it looks like the tank is empty! I'm doing the strip tests daily to make sure that the QT doesn't get out of whack and so far the only change I have seen is that nitrates are at about 10 ppm. (That's a decrease for those that haven't seen my QT results.) I'd like it to be 0, like my DT, for the sake of my fish. I seriously don't know what else I can do to bring it to 0. I run a skimmer and UV, have 10 lbs. of LR in there and a ball of chaeto. The only big difference in this tank and the DT is that I have no sand.

I'm going to pull out the chaeto since I'm not running the lights. Dying chaeto polluting the water is not on my to-do list.

[ASH]

Hope it works out for ya..