alittlemark Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 So my tank is probably 6 weeks old now. I am not proud to say that I have already started killing off fish. Well, I bought a healthy looking Six Line Wrasse that soon developed visible ich symptoms after I got him in the tank (he is now dead), and I bought 5 chromis (of which 2 still survive). I should clarify here that the chromis have never shown ich symptoms (yet). They just haven't done well. Water chemistry is pretty good I think. Temp - 81 ph - 8.0 ammonia - 0 nitrite - 0 nitrate - 5ppm My question is, where do people go from here? I don't have a quarantine tank and I don't see one in my near future. I read that ich takes 11 months to work itself through your tank, so part of me wonders if I should just add coral and interesting invertebrates for 11 months before I add anymore fish. I think I would be OK with that. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I've never had to deal with Ich, but I can tell you that there are some very beautiful corals and shrimp that will bring a lot of interest and enjoyment to your tank. My two cleaner shrimp are probably the most interesting characters in my tank. If I had no fish, I'd probably add more cleaner shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 11 months no. 11 weeks yes. Probably even 4-6 weeks. Ich has a short life cycle, especially at higher temps. No host= no ich. It is called "going fallow." You pretty much have to quarantine fish to be safer, it still isnt sure proof but enhances your chances of success tremendously. Get quality livestock and quarantine it. You might still have losses but they are isolated and dont bring down all your past investment and work. The longer I have had a display setup the longer i quarantine the fish going in, there is just too much invested to rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 You should probably remove the Chromis as MVP said "no fish" even if they dont show any signs, I did like 6+ weeks with no fish and all was fine after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlemark Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Yeah, I will have to think about how to do that. I guess the answer is - I need a quarantine tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Yeah' date=' I will have to think about how to do that. I guess the answer is - I need a quarantine tank.[/quote'] A 10 gal tank, just about any light + small daily WC will do for QT, and it gives you a chance to treat the chromis if you want too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I learned the hard way about not having a quarantine tank but after losing 90 percent of my fish in the fowlr I knew I couldn't afford not to have one. Currently we use the frag tank. I have a really good survivability for 2 reasons: 1. I am careful where I shop. There are some lfs where the fish comes straight from the wholesaler and are sold within days. I will usually try to make sure the fish ha been held for a week or 2 and is feeding. Having said that, I'm as impulsive as the rest of you. 2. Any new fish I put in a quarantine tank which is my frag tank now but will be the aquapod.The tank is up and running so the parameters are stable and I can't treat with copper or other methods, I just feed frequently and the fish is less stressed because there is usually one or 2 other tankmates so less competition for food or space. It seems to stress them out less and if they do develop an illness it doesn't go to the entire tank and entire fish population. Sent from my BlackBerry 9630 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmike Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 As you progress in the hobby, you will "learn" to determine what a healthy fish looks like. I have become really picky over the years with fish and will not purchase a fish that is not swimming and acting normally. Also, I make sure any fish I buy is eating aggressively, ask the store to feed the fish for you. I have had several places tell me "we just fed the fish"... I simply walk out without purchasing. Getting a healthy fish from the start is an absolute must in this hobby. A QT is very nice but not feasible for some people, so make sure you are picking out healthy fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteRock Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Tough start. My only advice is hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 i have a ten gallon u can have if u need call me 503-875-6644 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlemark Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Has anyone used a copper free ich product like NO- ICH Marine? I wonder if I should try something like that while my remaining fish are healthy. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmike Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 unfortunately the "reef safe" medication do not work... The only proven method is copper or hyposalinity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I would either decide to treat fish not showing signs or dont treat them. Dont use those reef safe products. People that claim they work are mistaking the success for the fishes immune system success at either combating the ich or avoiding it all together. The directions say to stop using carbon and uv and skimming, the things that will really help them combat the disease, good water quality. Copper works and can be stressful, i usually decide based on which would be most fatal at the time, ich or copper. Wait and see which direction the fish go to decide, better or worse, then decide the best plan of action is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike nickerson Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Man that's hard to go through. About 9months ago I bought one bad fish that had the early stages of marine velvet and didn't notice it and then about a week later about 95% of my fiah were dead. So I tried a coretine tank but didn't like it. So I've just taken my time and researching the fish and then ordering the fish I want at my lfs and watch it for a couple days and see how its doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I had ick problems a year or so ago in a different tank. The only thing that seemed to work that was also reef safe was "the fish keeper" http://www.tsbiolabs.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TS%2D71475 I don't know if it was more luck or timing, but they cleared up within a few weeks of dosing. I keep dosing and didn't notice problems after that. I also had UV running on the tank to try to keep any waterborne ones at bay. Hyposalinity didn't work on my FOWLR system when I tried it. Since switching tanks, and not using any products or UV I haven't had any issues. Initial fish selection is the biggest deterent, if they have anything on them that even resembles a parasite, I don't buy. Also, observe them for a while before buying for the tell tale rubbing on rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlemark Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Well I am 3 weeks into my 6 week quarantine. I treated the fish with a malachite green product (I think) about 10 days ago. They were sluggish for a while, but they have all perked up considerably since. Now I am just waiting for the end of the waiting period so that I can move them back into the big tank. Thanks for the help. I think these ones will make it, and I will know to quarantine next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike nickerson Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I also use garlic guard it works wonders I put it in with there food every time I feed And havent had ich since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlemark Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 yeah, garlic seems like a good precaution. I feed half flakes and half seafood puree, and there is garlic in the flakes. Hopefully that helps keep the little guys healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrokate Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 I even quarantine snails and rocks now, got zoanthid pox from a fellow club member a few years ago and that taught me a big lesson... took forever to get rid of that. Most of the local shops use the same wholesalers which means you have to assume you need to take precautions, and obviously if you see any fish with ich in the system you are looking at then assume you don't buy anything that day from that system. But don't assume a fish is a safe bet if you don't see problems, the sick fish could be behind a rock dying or just removed a few minutes before you walked in. Another reason to quarantine is the same as you would do with a new puppy if you already had adult dogs-for training and it's own safety. It needs to get over the stress of being caught, shipped, fasted, plus repeatedly netted out of the water which may have scraped up it's sides or eyes, it needs to learn what food now looks like and that you are dropping it in the water, it needs to maybe learn about super loud home stereos and doors slamming, and it probably needs to beef up a bit. So look at the quarantine tank also as a place for a safe recuperation, that way when you do put the fish in your tank it's burly and feeding, and has a decent shot at not being bullied into a hole in the rock until its dead. Plus it's kind of fun feeding a new fish, and you can do things like turn off the pump for a few minutes so it can eat live brine or whatever odd things you have to do to teach a new wild fish how to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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