Ick Issue

[Chapz]

So i was wondering about how a tank thats been established for a few months with no new fish additions the past month can get ick.
I got home yesterday after class and noticed that my hippo tang and maroon clown have white spots. I assume its ick.

Any suggestions?
Could stress cause it?

I'm trying to catch them so they can be quarantined but the tank is too deep with tons of rock work.
Would it be best to just cure the entire tank so the other inhabitants dont get sick?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Stress could definitely lower the immune system of your fish leaving it prone to ich.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/38671-ich-information.html

 

[KathyC]

Yes, stress can cause ich.
Can you tell us more about your tank..size, water parameters, husbandry schedule?

Unfortunately, here is no way to effectively treat ich in a reef tank.
Can you post a pic of the sick fish?

 

[NYreefNoob]

ick is always there, it will attach to a stressed fish, get cleaner shrimp. they always help to clean the fish of ich to a degree, myself i went and bought a diatom 1 filter and ran it and along with the cleaner's none of my fish have ick, also feeding with garlic will help boost their immune system. not saying the vortex solved the problem, but it does remove all free floating thing's from water, and i feel this was a big aid in the recovery of my tank { but id say ick is still present } just fish dont have it

 

[Alex]

if you have nothing else in the tank, you will be better off medicating them in the tank.
I have found that garlic extreme by kent works good.you can put it in the water and also in the food as a dietary supplement.
you can also use a cleaner shrimp they do the job well also.

 

[KathyC]

if you have nothing else in the tank, you will be better off medicating them in the tank.
I have found that garlic extreme by kent works good.you can put it in the water and also in the food as a dietary supplement.
you can also use a cleaner shrimp they do the job well also.

No medication should be added to a reef tank.

Garlic Extreme is a dietary supplement and might help bolster their immume system, but it is not a proven ich treatment.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Stress, stress and stress.

You just have to figure out what caused it. Water quality, temp, or something else that has suddently changed.

 

[NYreefNoob]

oh and if you use the garlic extreme turn your skimmer off for a little while

 

[Paul B]

There was ich in the tank when you first put in the fish. It came in with the fish, Had to be.
Ich can be in a tank for months or even years without you noticing it. It has to be introduced, it is not in all tanks but it is in almost all tanks where quarantining has not been performed. Some tanks seem to be immune from a "visable" attack. Stress will not cause ich, ich is a paracite and has to be present to infect but if ich is present and you stress the fish, ich will infect them. Healthy non stressed fish "may" not show any signs of infection and as long as they remain healthy and not stressed they "may" develop a partial immunity.
That being said, cleaner shrimp and cleaner fish will do absolutely nothing to cure ich.
Garlic also will not cure ich nor will any so called "Reef Safe" remedy.
There are only a few cures for ich. Copper is the fastest, but you need to do it in a seperate tank. Hypo works also but it too needs to be done in a seperate tank.
If your tank has a propensity for ich and I assume that since they are infected, it does, you need to remove all the fish and leave the tank with no fish for about 7 weeks or so.
Good luck.
Paul

 

[BZOFIQ]

There was ich in the tank when you first put in the fish. It came in with the fish, Had to be.
Ich can be in a tank for months or even years without you noticing it. It has to be introduced, it is not in all tanks but it is in almost all tanks where quarantining has not been performed. Some tanks seem to be immune from a "visable" attack. Stress will not cause ich, ich is a paracite and has to be present to infect but if ich is present and you stress the fish, ich will infect them. Healthy non stressed fish "may" not show any signs of infection and as long as they remain healthy and not stressed they "may" develop a partial immunity.
That being said, cleaner shrimp and cleaner fish will do absolutely nothing to cure ich.
Garlic also will not cure ich nor will any so called "Reef Safe" remedy.
There are only a few cures for ich. Copper is the fastest, but you need to do it in a seperate tank. Hypo works also but it too needs to be done in a seperate tank.
If your tank has a propensity for ich and I assume that since they are infected, it does, you need to remove all the fish and leave the tank with no fish for about 7 weeks or so.
Good luck.
Paul

Thanks for the info.

If it was only easy to catch fish in the reef tank.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

even though i agreed to most of what Paul said, there are one or two points I disgree.

One of them is ick does not have to come from a fish even though mostly come with fish. It can come from water and or anything that has been exposed to the ick. So you should put as little water from another tank into the new one as possible that's holding a fish, a coral or just live rocks.

 

[salc845]

re on ick

I also have a ick problem I have a 150 show tank with 3 cleaner shrimp ,the fish that have ick in my tank go right up to my cleaner shrimp looking to get cleaned off and all 3 of my cleaner shrimp don't want anything to do with cleaning off fish they run the other way.

 

[marrone]

One of them is ick does not have to come from a fish even though mostly come with fish. It can come from water and or anything that has been exposed to the ick. So you should put as little water from another tank into the new one as possible that's holding a fish, a coral or just live rocks.

This is very true. A number of people have placed LR in their tanks, which was purchased from other people tanks, only to have a out break of ich. As for getting other people tank water into your tank, wells you should always QT your fish and dip your corals before you place them into your tank. This way none of the water can get into your tank.

 

[marrone]

I also have a ick problem I have a 150 show tank with 3 cleaner shrimp ,the fish that have ick in my tank go right up to my cleaner shrimp looking to get cleaned off and all 3 of my cleaner shrimp don't want anything to do with cleaning off fish they run the other way.

The Cleaner shrimp aren't going to get rid of the ich. You're going to need to remove the fish and treat them in a separate tank.

 

[salc845]

re on ick

I know that the cleaner shrimp was not a solution to take care of ick, however the thing I don't understand is howcome the cleaner shrimp does not clean off fish I feed my fish brine shrimp witch the cleaner shrimp also eats could that be the problem?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Salc some fish just won't go to the cleaner. And yes it needs to be hungry to want to clean the other fish. Some cleaners in captivity forget how to clean I have noticed.

 

[Paul B]

One of them is ick does not have to come from a fish even though mostly come with fish. It can come from water and or anything that has been exposed to the ick. So you should put as little water from another tank into the new one as possible that's holding a fish, a coral or just live rocks.

Of course this is what I implied, we all know ich is in the water with the fish, rocks, etc.

 

[Chapz]

Actually, i noticed this weekend the tank has gotten much better. i lost a tang though. I guess it comes and goes but as of now, the hippo tang is doing much better. I'll have to check again when i go home wednesday.

 

[caad3]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I have had some success with soaking food with garlic extract and adding a little Selcon. My Hippo had ick a long time ago, and with the garlic and vitamin mixed food, the ick cleared on its own. I have to agree with people who posted that stress induces ick. My boy got it when I added new fish that had been QT'd for weeks.

 

[Catdiggy]

If Qt,,

is not a viable option,, what about dipping?
what is process? and does it work?
And doesn't this make acclimation useless,,