Sooo close but looks like they may have ich

[proudnewbie]

So im currently running my 10 gallon quarentine with a firefish and a bangai cardinal in it. It'll be 3 weeks tomorrow they've been in there and i was debating popping them into the display in anticipation of a huge sale at lfs tomorrow. Go to feed tonight and low and behold white specs on the firefish. Thank god since i literally had my net in hand. So now im debating TTM or copper. Or I bite the bullet and pick up a hydrometer and run hypo. Sux having to wait as i was looking forward to starting quarentine on a flasher wrasse tomorrow.
In any case any thoughts on which has worked best for you. My first reef tank and marine ich on my 3/4 fish.....what luck

[proudnewbie]

Also so sorry guys as I meant to post in marine fish and not reef as this is not reef related.
here's some pics of the firefish. Bangai is showing no signs yet but has so many white dots already it'll he hard to tell.
http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l335/psycomantis133/IMG_2413_zpsoooaucl2.jpg (http://s328.photobucket.com/user/psycomantis133/media/IMG_2413_zpsoooaucl2.jpg.html)
http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l335/psycomantis133/IMG_2398_zpsff1novj1.jpg (http://s328.photobucket.com/user/psycomantis133/media/IMG_2398_zpsff1novj1.jpg.html)
http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l335/psycomantis133/IMG_2387_zpszm3kgrvx.jpg (http://s328.photobucket.com/user/psycomantis133/media/IMG_2387_zpszm3kgrvx.jpg.html)

[gregzz4]

I've always had decent luck with hypo. Lost some, but the percentages are good. I'd suggest using a pH probe or test kit to monitor and dose Alk. You need to keep hypo water 7.8 or above. It can drop lots at SG of 1.008 where I run it.

Never done the TTM, but heard it works well.
Make sure you use something other than a net so you don't damage the fish during each transfer.
When my tank leaked last month, I used a small Kritter Keeper to herd/catch my fish, so they were never touched. What applies here is a smooth collander or such to avoid all contact with the fish.

As for adding another fish, go ahead and buy it now if you feel you and your QT can handle all of them safely. Start dropping your SG the evening you buy the newest guy and away you go for the next 6 weeks.

:biggrin:

I'll suggest a Seachem Ammo Badge, and keep on hand some kind of ammonia binder such as AmGuard or AmQuel just in case. Prime works fine if you already have it.
Plus keep enough New Saltwater mixing on hand to perform at least a 25% WC. 50-75% is better in case of emergencies. Chemicals are great for reducing ammonia, but if your nitrites/nitrates climb too high, a big WC is a must.

If you go hypo, a calibrated refractometer is a MUST. MI can apparently survive in SG as low as 1.010.
As I eluded to above, I run hypo @ 1.008 and use an ATO, plus an Alk dosing pump controlled by a pH probe to keep my pH @ 8.0.

But this is just me as I'm a bit anal and get all complicated with equipment.

Good luck !

[proudnewbie]

Thanks soo much for the reply.
I also have a few questions that I cant find in any of my forum searches or reading.
1. Filter media. I currently have 6 tanks running including my quarantine. My saltwater tank has an AC full of Seachem(pumice) which should be well seeded. Can I take a small quantity of that to use in my hypo/ttm/copper, if yes, for which treatments would this work. If hypo would kill off the BB, then what about Seachem from my mbuna tank, or brackish or other tanks. That way in an ideal world I could use TTM and boil the seachem let dry and replace with seeded media from the stockpile.

2. PH... So in my SW and FW mbuna tanks I have "sand" that buffers the PH to 8.2-8.4. has been running in my mbuna tank for 8 months and never had a single drop in PH. Could I run a bag of this in my HOB while treating to reduce the risk of a PH drop during hypo?

3.Is this really Ich? from the pictures I've searched it barely looks like ich. Only about 10 dots in total and they look more like pimples or dust. Funny enough there is white dots on the glass and they look more like those then any pics I've looked at of Ich, which seems to look like bad dandruff

[gregzz4]

Thanks soo much for the reply.
I also have a few questions that I cant find in any of my forum searches or reading.
1. Filter media. I currently have 6 tanks running including my quarantine. My saltwater tank has an AC full of Seachem(pumice) which should be well seeded. Can I take a small quantity of that to use in my hypo/ttm/copper, if yes, for which treatments would this work. If hypo would kill off the BB, then what about Seachem from my mbuna tank, or brackish or other tanks. That way in an ideal world I could use TTM and boil the seachem let dry and replace with seeded media from the stockpile.

Can't speak for the TTM and filter media, but maybe you can control ammo with the products I mentioned earlier, and then avoid filter media altogether.
Do a search on Canreef about the method.
As for copper I'd personally avoid it at all costs. Besides more than likely shortening the fish's lifespan, it's difficult/time consuming to maintain effective/safe levels.

2. PH... So in my SW and FW mbuna tanks I have "sand" that buffers the PH to 8.2-8.4. has been running in my mbuna tank for 8 months and never had a single drop in PH. Could I run a bag of this in my HOB while treating to reduce the risk of a PH drop during hypo?

I'm thinking the buffering agents may affect SG. Also, bare bottom is best in quarantine. You will want to siphon out poop and excess food.

3.Is this really Ich? from the pictures I've searched it barely looks like ich. Only about 10 dots in total and they look more like pimples or dust. Funny enough there is white dots on the glass and they look more like those then any pics I've looked at of Ich, which seems to look like bad dandruff

Pics look like MI to me.
It can be as little as a few dots, as many as dozens(so many in fact that it's very unnerving), or none visible at all but instead only present in the gills.

[proudnewbie]

Thanks greg.
Just to clarify a few points. What i mean about using the seachem is the qt currently already has some in it. I used it to instant cycle the qt tank. I always have some in my tanks for this purpose. My question is wether it would die off at hypo. Since the BB is different in SW and FW i was unsure at what SG the BB would die off.
Also if i slowly lower the SG for hypo, but it doesnt kill the bacteria there should be no spike in amonia.
If i used ttm i could do the same using seeded media from dt and chuck or sterilize after use. Again no amonia spike. I do have some zero carb on hand just in case.
Copper is definately the last thing id ever want to do
As for ph i meant having aragonite in a filter bag in hob. Cant affect sg since its used in sw and fw. Also would still be bare bottom for cleaning but would disolve when ph drops below 8.0
Also thanks for confirming MI. Guess my mind just didnt want to accept it.

[gregzz4]

The BB won't die off in hypo, but will be much less active so keeping a close watch on ammo and nitrites is crucial

[rsisvixen]

I use TTM all the time.

I don't bother with seeded media, the fish are only in each transfer phase 3 days so if you feed lightly their really shouldn't be an ammonia issue, a heater, aged saltwater and a sponge filter are all I use. If you really want to add some water change water from your tank, or something like microbacter.

All my fish have been through TTM, cycle 1 with paraguard, cycle 2 and 3 with prazipro, and cycle 4 just plain saltwater.
They have all made it with flying colours and in tip top shape, dragonettes, dartfish, tang etc

[Myka]

Don't worry about nitrite either...it's not toxic in saltwater like it is in freshwater. I'm also a big fan of the Ammonia Alert badges...I write the month on them with a Jiffy marker and replace then once a year.

I do find that using "used" saltwater from a display tank is much easier on the fish.

Nitrifying bacteria don't do well in hypo, so don't bother with seeded filter media as the die off can cause an Ammonia spike which is going backwards for you. If you go hypo, use a refractometer NOT a hydrometer.

TTM is also good. There are a lot of ways to successfully quarantine and treat fish. Pick one that you like to do and stick with it.

[proudnewbie]

Thanks all for the help.

So it turned the next day that the dots were gone. Guess they were cured quick or it wasn't ich after all since the dots were only there less than a day!! put them into display and they seem to be doing awesome!:lol:

... :lol: just kidding.The spots were gone by the morning and started off with TTM Saturday afternoon. Seemed the most viable since I don't have a refractrometer just yet. Used a bucket for the first transfer while I cleaned the equipment and tank and let everything dry. I have a bag of "zero carb" in the pail with the air hose and stone. Did a transfer last night back to the cleaned tank with new hose, new stone, and new bag of zero carb. I have been using my tank water as read somewhere that works best and I'm 99.2% confident its ich free.
Thank you all for the help. Will continue with this route for the next week and a bit and see how things go from there.