Help my fish keep dying from ick

[ivandrago]

Good morning,

I need help cause I'm tired of buying fish and killing them, they keep getting sick with ick and it's only the tangs I just I had another 2 Deion me, it's getting to the point where it's frustrating. All my parameters are good the ph is at 8.2. I need help understand what's going on in my tank.

Thank you

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Do you quarantine?

 

[E.intheC]

You need to read up on ich. Treatment, prevention, the different phases, etc.. The disease forum on RC has a lot of excellent information.

You cannot simply beat ich using garlic or feeding, etc (even though lots of people will tell you otherwise).

If your tank has ich currently, you must remove all fish from your tank (healthy appearance or otherwise) for at least 8 weeks. 10 is better. It sucks but that's the reality. Tangs are more prone to ich generally than other fish.

 

[ca1ore]

You know the old saying about doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result? As suggested, you need to eradicate ich from your display by keeping it fish less for 10-12 weeks. Tangs are particularly ich prone, so they must be QTd and put into a display of proper size.

 

[ivandrago]

I had moved from my 70 gallon to 105 and before the move all my fish died the yellow tang infested everything so when I set up the 105 I ranit for about 2 months with out fish only inverts and now the ich is comin back, just so annoying

 

[marrone]

Read the information in the link below, it will give you an understand about Ich and how to deal with it.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/pests/99516-ich.html?filter[29]=Diseases

Also, Ich is a parasite, so good water condition don't matter as tanks with good water conditions and healthy fish can and do get Ich. In the end you to need to kill of the Ich and get rid of it, otherwise it will keep coming back ever time you add a new fish.

 

[ca1ore]

Hmmm, annoying indeed. Sorry to say that if it is your aspiration to keep a yellow tang, you are going to have to fallow the tank for 12 weeks and make sure to QT any subsequent new fish. That is the only way I know to eliminate ich from your tank. Even with 8 weeks fallow, you stil have a 5% or so chance of the parasite persisting.

 

[edd]

if your going to quarantine, you have to qt everything that goes in the dt including coral for 8 wks. so basically you need two set ups with good light and circulation.
i havent had ick since i stopped keeping tangs.

 

[wallysworld]

It is almost impossible to get rid of ich without treatment. However I am not saying you should treat the tank.
I will put $$ on the fact that something in your tank is stressing your fish out.
Check for:
1. Electrical current in the tank? Make sure you test with lights on and heater or chiller.
2. Are there enough places for fish to hide?
3. Hi pitch vibration in the tank(put your ear to the glass). noise is ok but not hi pitch.
4. Do you acclimate too long? I just bring then to temp by floating bag with lights off.
hope these points help.

-Walter

 

[ivandrago]

The lights are led and there is noise but it's from the 2 mp40 could be because of them maybe I have them on to strong could that be and issue the mp40 are brand new everything in my tank is brand new so there is no electrical current could only be the mp40.

The fish I drop acclimate for about 30 min, I have no chiller since my house has central air the temp in the tank is always at 77

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Funny thing about ich it can be so many different things. I have only had one outbreak and I have never kept a QT tank (knock on wood or is that formica). I will say that a major factor is where you get the fish an coral as well. I have bought at all the players in the NYC area and some are better than others. I have also bought fish from MR members some good and some bad. I have come to the conclusion that it matters where you get your livestock as it will determine how stressed the animals will be.
Saying that, I view the available stock closely, I watch handling methods both in tank and netting. I only buy a new fish when I intend to do a water change coupled with a rescape. Finally, I acclimate for a good long time. 5x the volume of water the fish arrives in and never backwash the store water into my system.
This works for me but I have to say I know I have been really lucky! As soon as I can find the right used tanks to fit the closet build I am doing (QT, Algae water recycle system, and frag tank in a rack system) I will stop playing Russian roulette!
Good luck! Hope some of this helps !

 

[marrone]

Stress doesn't cause Ich, as Ichs is a parasaite and either your fish have it or they don't. All the stress in the world isn't going to matter if your tank, or fish, doesn't have Ich. Now what stress does is that it may cause the fish to not be able to figHht the Ich off, causing it to die from it.

 

[ivandrago]

I usually get my stock from maximum reef aquatics in Yonkers from Ralph he usually has great stuff but lately I have been buying the fish there bringing them home acclimating letting them into my tank and 2 weeks later they are covered in white spots and they are dying , very sad last night I got very upset it's like throwing money away plus it's torture to the fish.

 

[greenstreet.1]

Qt

 

[thirty6]

Read the information in the link below, it will give you an understand about Ich and how to deal with it.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/pests/99516-ich.html?filter[29]=Diseases

Also, Ich is a parasite, so good water condition don't matter as tanks with good water conditions and healthy fish can and do get Ich. In the end you to need to kill of the Ich and get rid of it, otherwise it will keep coming back ever time you add a new fish.

similar issue with my setup:

this was a great write up. my hippo tag was displaying signs of ich the begining of august, nothing else in the tank displayed any signs (that i could tell anyway). knowing what a miserable month i would have in terms of being away and not able to manage the treatment properly i left everything alone.
the fish in tank are all doing great, the hippo has no signs at all. it previously looked like white shards of glass or similar were on the body.
i realize the parasite is still in the tank. i have 9 or 10 fish in the tank, the biggest being a swallowtail angel. I am thinking of removing all the fish and setting up a 40b as a qt and trying hypo treatment. can the fish thrive in this setup with pvc for hiding? Also, coral should be placed in another tank, but how would i go about killing off the parasite as hypo and copper are no good for them and i guess the same for inverts?

 

[Rolandjr]

When I first started in the hobby, I started with a 65 gallon tank. I had everything that was needed to maintain a healthy tank( protein skimmer, uv sterilizer). I always kept my water clean and maintained my tank. Just as what was said above tangs are prone to ich. If you are into tangs there is a high chance that ich will come your way. The same happened with me and most of my fish died. As a result all of the remaining fish were removed. I changed the water and kept the temperature of the water at 85 degrees to kill whatever ich remained. I did this for 3 weeks then added my fish. I now stay away from tangs and have a 120 gallon tank with nothing but angels, butterflies, wrasses, damsels, triggers and clown fish. Never had a problem with ich.

 

[thirty6]

so your "cooked it" and then re acclimated the remaining fish?

 

[Rolandjr]

LOL, I guess you can say that. But I did do a water change. I was not about to go through another ich epidemic. I actually got the idea from a friend and it worked.

 

[thirty6]

i guess the parasite cant survive at elevated temp., either way i will have to set up a temp holding tank or qt whatever want to call it and remove the fish and inverts/coral

 

[Rolandjr]

The parasite lives off its hosts and if it cannot find one dies. It's about a 72 hour cycle. But get everything out ASAP and start the recovery process. Be patient and do not put anything back in for about 3 to 4 weeks. I would stay away from tangs.