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View Full Version : Sick coral beauty...could be ick


MikeP
08-23-2006, 04:07 AM
I think my coral beauty has ick. I'm not sure cause this is my first sick marine fish. From what I've seen in the past in my fresh water tank it looks like ick. He has several tiny white spots scattered over his body and fins. What can I do to treat him? It would be difficult for me to set up a hospital tank. What can I do without removing him? Other (invert) tankmates include a few snails, a couple hermits and a CBS. Also I don't know if this matters but there is also a pulsing xenia, some ricordia and some green star polyps in there as well. Is there a specific medicine I can buy? or could I buy one of those parasite eating fish?

Thanks for any help.

Skimmer Juice
08-23-2006, 04:09 AM
With out a QT tank you cant do much.Use garlic gaurd and hope for the best.I would find a qt and treat him it is your only way to get rid of it.

i have crabs
08-23-2006, 04:20 AM
i agree get someone with a qt or get a qt tank and start the cupramine
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Cupramine.html
i might have a 20g with a filter and heater but no light i could let go fairly cheep if that might help

MikeP
08-23-2006, 04:36 AM
I have a 10g somewhere and a aquaclear mini but no heater. Is a standard qt tank just water, filter and heater? What do I use for filter media?

i have crabs
08-23-2006, 02:13 PM
take a sponge or some filterfloss from your established tank to speed up the cycle,let it run for a few days or a week and you should be ok to put the fish in. are thier any other fish in the tank with the coral beauty right now? if thier is they will need treatment also if you want to get rid of the ich compleatly.

Joe Reefer
08-23-2006, 03:00 PM
I have a 10g somewhere and a aquaclear mini but no heater. Is a standard qt tank just water, filter and heater? What do I use for filter media?

Here is a good article on qt's: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

MikeP
08-23-2006, 03:33 PM
are thier any other fish in the tank with the coral beauty right now? if thier is they will need treatment also if you want to get rid of the ich compleatly.
Yes there are other fish as well. 2 clowns, 2 pseudochromis, and a blue damsel. Is it possible to treat the whole tank with the inverts in there? In my fresh water tank I have got rid of ich by turning up the heat and adding aquarium salt. Is there a similar remedy for marine tanks?

howdy20012002
08-23-2006, 05:13 PM
u will most likely kill your inverts with the copper treatment (the pepper treatment won't really work in my experience)
Either pull the fish and treat in a QT or take the chance.
Ich can live up to a month in a tank without hosts...after that they will die off.
the only way really to get rid of it out of the tank is to leave it barren without hosts (ie fish) for at least a month or up to 6 weeks.
turning the heat up will only speed up the cycle..not get rid of the ich.
I would suggest looking at the conditions of the tank itself as well.
Generally healthy fish don't get ich. Your tank may be stressing out your fish and leaving it less resilient to disease.
Ich in itself generally isn't a huge issue..tangs are notorious for getting it.
it only becomes a big issue when it starts to conflict with breathing.
cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp may help but aren't a cure either.
the best way to deal with ich is to make sure that your fish are healthy
Some people say garlic will help fight ich. However, most of the reading I have suggests that all garlic does is help encourage the fish to eat more, therefore making it healthier and more able to fight the disease.
Hope this helps
Good luck
Neal

Moogled
08-23-2006, 09:33 PM
Mike, FYI, what you are seeing might NOT be Ich.

If you have a skimmer that produces alot of bubbles, they stick to fish that swim around. A way to tell the difference is to take a look at your Coral Beauty. Do the white dots seem to be embedded into the epidermis or are they stuck on the outside?

Lights sometimes play with our eyes and make the air bubbles on the fish look white. If you have a sandbed, this could also be the case. Fish sometimes pick up grains of sand as well.

Take a look again for a better diagnosis.



Best of luck,

Marco

danny zubot
08-23-2006, 10:51 PM
Another solution that takes a longer period of time but is more thoroug IMO is hyposalinity treatment. Either way you will need a Q-tank to achieve the cure.

MikeP
08-23-2006, 10:54 PM
[QUOTE=danny zubot]hyposalinity treatment. QUOTE]
How do I do this?

muck
08-23-2006, 10:58 PM
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=22013


The last 2 articles should be of interest to you. :biggrin:

danny zubot
08-23-2006, 11:03 PM
I knew you'd ask that. You should read up on it before attempting, but I'll give you the low-down.

Place ALL fish (because they will all be carriers even though they may not show symtoms) into Q-tank.

Gradually decrease the salinity over a few days (maybe a week, i can't remember). This is done with small water changes. Stop when you get to 9-11 ppt (again I don't remember) All inverts including parasites will begin to die off at around 19 ppt

You will actually notice the ick fall off of the fish and die. Leave salinity at the low level for a couple days, then very slowly increase the salinity back up to desired level.

I did mine over 6 weeks because that is beyond the life expectancy of the ick in their dormant state.

This method also benifits the fish who might be under stress from the parasites. By decreasing the salinity you are also decreasing the fish's osmotic rate, essentially making it easier for them to breath.

Be careful though, some fish will not tolerate lower salinity levels. And please read up on it before attampting, I'm second guessing the numbers above even as I write this.

Skimmer Juice
08-24-2006, 12:59 AM
The fish can be as healthy as possible.If you add a fish that is untreated this can get all your fish sick.So make sure you treat every fish for ich before adding it.Even if it has no sign of disease.Some people may disagree but I have had a lot of experince with ich as my first fish was a cowfish.The best safest way is cuprimine in my opinion. As soon as I started treating my fish with it no problems.All my fish are healthy.Knock on wood.

MikeP
08-24-2006, 02:14 AM
Thanks for all the help everybody. :)

i have crabs
08-24-2006, 02:43 AM
like i stated eirlier cuprimine is the way to go for shure if your gonna treat them.hypo works also but ive found that its a lot more complicated and a bigger hassle for a outcome thats a lot worse,ive never had a fish die from the cuprimine treatment but have lost a few to hypo

howdy20012002
08-24-2006, 04:04 AM
just wanted to add..if u do QT them and treat them. It is pointless to do so unless u leave the tank that they are in empty for at least a month. The ich will just go dormant until there is a host. I think the cycle is actually 28 days...but I would go 6 weeks just to make sure that there isn't anything left.

goby1
08-24-2006, 05:41 AM
I have a FOWLR tank and I bought a keyhole angel that had ich which spread to one of my clown fish. I caught it early and used the product Kick Ich (which is sold as a reef safe product) and it worked for me. I didn't see any negative effects on anything in my tank. Just MHO, it worked for me and I'd use it again if I had to.

danny zubot
08-24-2006, 02:48 PM
I caught it early and used the product Kick Ich (which is sold as a reef safe product) and it worked for me.

This is the first testomony I've ever heard that Kick Ich works. I've used it before with no luck.

howdy20012002
08-24-2006, 03:07 PM
If that is the one that uses pepper..I had no joy with that either.
Neal