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tomini tang with small spot of ich on one fin


zondebok

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My little tomini tang has a spot of ich on one of his fins. This is the 2nd time, same exact spot (I have read up on ich lifecycle).   He doesn't seem particularly bothered by it, and it doesn't seem to be spreading neither on him nor to any other fish.  I don't currently have a QT tank (I know... I plan to set one up...).  

 

So, on to my question.  I have an upgrade coming over the next couple of months, and I am wondering what the best way to transfer fish will be to ensure an ich-free new display tank.  I will be upgrading from my 55 to a new 135.  The 55 will be moved and kept operational while the 125 is cycling, and then I will transfer things over as makes sense.   Non-fish tankmates are a few shrimp, some snails, hermit crabs, a tiny ricordea, and a small toadstool.  

 

I am wondering if after transferring the non-fish (and maybe the rocks), if I can basically use my existing tank as a temporary QT tank for the fish, and do some combination of copper/hyposalinity.  

 

I am also interested in what size tank I need for a QT tank, and what other equipment I need.  

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It may not even be ich. I've seen a white dot on my hippos fin once and it was gone 2 days later, zero sign of anything else aside from that.

Is it a full blown ich cycle? Or are you just seeing the one spot? My Hippo got it on the same side that she hits up against the rock she sleeps in.

 

You could totally turn your current serup into a qt tank, just remember once it's had copper in it, it's done for. No more reef tank after that.

For the qt id go with a 20 long or a 40 breeder if you have space. It doesn't need to be big. Look at most fish stores, their holding tanks are rather small because the fish doesn't tend to spend much time in them.

 

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It's all pretty easy - just takes time, and most people don't want to spend the time.

 

The best method would be to transfer all of your non-fish stuff over to the new tank once it's cycled. You have to realize that a lot of the stuff will have ich spores on it. So now comes the time part. The only surefire way to get ich out of a reef tank is to let it sit fallow for about 80 days (the exact day count is up for discussion). 

 

The fact is that at this point in time there is no reef-safe ich cure. There are things that help the fish with slime coat etc. but as far as getting the spores out - there is nothing reef safe. So going fallow is the only/best option.

 

As far as the QT - easy enough. Just a small set up with no rock/gravel. Just throw some PVC in there and make sure there is cycled media in the filter. Then Cupramine is a great choice. Ease up to .5 slowly over a few days and leave for the 14 days.

 

But really - you'll just treat the tank and then have the fish wait in there while the main display gets ich free.

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It may not even be ich. I've seen a white dot on my hippos fin once and it was gone 2 days later, zero sign of anything else aside from that.

Is it a full blown ich cycle? Or are you just seeing the one spot? My Hippo got it on the same side that she hits up against the rock she sleeps in.

 

 

I mean, I'm not certain.  It was there about a week after I got him, went away, and is now back a month or so later.  He really doesn't seem bothered by it. 

 

The first time he had it he seemed somewhat irritated by it.  I had put in a couple peppermint shrimp to deal with a few small aptasia, and he would go over and try to get them to clean him constantly (though they wanted nothing to do with him).  Around that time I also got a cleaner shrimp, and he would present himself for cleaning, then swim away once the shrimp jumped onto him (he is a bit of a scaredycat), but a day or two later the white spot was gone.  I figured if it was ich it would come back, and it has.  

 

I know tangs are more likely to get this sort of thing...

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You could totally turn your current serup into a qt tank, just remember once it's had copper in it, it's done for. No more reef tank after that.

For the qt id go with a 20 long or a 40 breeder if you have space. It doesn't need to be big. Look at most fish stores, their holding tanks are rather small because the fish doesn't tend to spend much time in them.

 

 

The current tank has a crack in the top brace.  I have epoxied it and am not worried about it, but I won't be using it and don't really feel comfortable passing it on to someone else.

 

A 20 long seems doable in my office.   Thanks :)

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As far as the QT - easy enough. Just a small set up with no rock/gravel. Just throw some PVC in there and make sure there is cycled media in the filter. Then Cupramine is a great choice. Ease up to .5 slowly over a few days and leave for the 14 days.

 

What kind of filtration?  Just a HOB filter of some sort?  Heater I presume?  Lighting aside form normal room lighting?  

 

Do you keep a QT tank up all the time, or just set up when you need one?

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Yeah - just a HOB will work great. Keep it slightly lower level to make more of a splash for oxygen. You just need to plan ahead and drop some filter floss in your tank now to soak up bacteria. 

 

Then a heater and a top. I don't think you need light, but sometimes it's nice to have so you can get a better look at the fish.

 

No rocks or anything - those soak up the copper and make it hard.

 

I keep mine up and running at all times but I clean it out and let it dry completely between uses. I keep a roll of filter floss in the sump and cut off what I need when I want to put a fish through.

 

Just don't get impatient and short change it. One spore gets through and the whole thing is wasted.

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So, the QT setup will happen after the whole transfer process.  I will use my existing 55g as a temporary QT before I tear it down.  

 

I have an existing HOB skimmer on it, can I run some filter floss in the return chamber there for the time being so that when I move the rock out it has enough filtration to deal with the existing fish?  Also, if I do that, will my skimmer then be useless to anyone wanting to use on a reef tank, because of the copper?  I would ideally like to resell it, if possible.  (I have a couple of normal HOB filters (like you would use in a FW tank) out in the garage that I could transfer the floss to before I started medicating the tank).

Edited by zondebok
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You don't need the skimmer on the QT so just take whatever you want out of the set up before you nuke it with copper.

 

Put the filter floss in now for sure....or, set up an old school sponge filter in the corner or something. Those work great but are not as fun to look at.

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OK, one more question (maybe... (probably not)).  Do I need to wait 80 days after the last non-fish item (e.g. the rock) gets moved from old tank to new tank?  Should I move my old rock immediately to the new tank to help with cycling, as long as I have the filter floss going in the skimmer in the old tank?

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I gotta be honest - it doesn't sound like ich. Impossible for us to know...but if it's just one spot and it keeps coming back in the same place than that sounds like just a marking of some sort. My naso, for instance, goes through spells of dark spots when I'm messing inside the tank and stuff - then fades away. Could just be coloring.

 

The ich spot will be raised off the scales while coloring will be flat against it.

 

But to answer your previous question - the 80 day clock starts again the minute anything in your tank touches water from a tank with fish in it. So you gotta cycle the tank, move everything over (not fish), and then just chill for the full 80 days. If you add more rock or something from the infected tank (unless you're treating with hypo or something), then you gotta restart.

 

And if you use copper, you don't want to use that rock in your display again ever.

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I gotta be honest - it doesn't sound like ich. Impossible for us to know...but if it's just one spot and it keeps coming back in the same place than that sounds like just a marking of some sort. My naso, for instance, goes through spells of dark spots when I'm messing inside the tank and stuff - then fades away. Could just be coloring.

 

The ich spot will be raised off the scales while coloring will be flat against it.

This is a clump of white on the outer edge of his right side fin. It definitely doesn't seem like coloring, but it also doesn't look like any picture of ich I've seen either. If it comes back, I'll see if I can get a picture.

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