Help!!! Ick!!!

Myanth · #1 02-11-2006, 04:53 AM

I have lost a green clown goby that I knew was getting Ick - happened very quickly. I have a coral beauty that is battling it, now I have two four stripe damsels, one clown, and a dragon goby that have it bad in the last two days. I have corals in the tank so I'd like to avoid copper if possible... unless I don't have to. I just don't know enough and all the info on the net contradicts itself.

(other than to quarantine all new arrivals....

which I should have done)

I added three cleaner shrimp yesterday and the angel will not leave them alone. She is looking better but the rest are getting worse.

Is this enough.... or should I be doing more? Will the shrimp rid the system?

Could it come from a new food?

Could it have come on an anemone? or on a goby that decided that my drain looked like a fun ride on his second night?

I don't want to lose any more fish

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

pre-2k · #2 02-11-2006, 06:00 AM

Mike evey 1 is going to ask u how big is ur tank n hows ur water how many fish do u have................................
but if u dont want to take ur fish out of the tank then i'd use garlic extract its help my fish n i hope it helps urs

Chris

blood_hound · #3 02-11-2006, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myanth

I have lost a green clown goby that I knew was getting Ick - happened very quickly. I have a coral beauty that is battling it, now I have two four stripe damsels, one clown, and a dragon goby that have it bad in the last two days. I have corals in the tank so I'd like to avoid copper if possible... unless I don't have to. I just don't know enough and all the info on the net contradicts itself.

(other than to quarantine all new arrivals....

which I should have done)

I added three cleaner shrimp yesterday and the angel will not leave them alone. She is looking better but the rest are getting worse.

Is this enough.... or should I be doing more? Will the shrimp rid the system?

Could it come from a new food?

Could it have come on an anemone? or on a goby that decided that my drain looked like a fun ride on his second night?

I don't want to lose any more fish

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

Hospital tank and hyposalinity, do a little search in the forum I know theres a lot of good threads in here about ick

Skimmerking · #4 02-11-2006, 03:24 PM

Well i have always had great sucess with Garlic. I mix it with Spirlina flakes and soak it and feed it to them in the tank .
1. it helps the ICK drop off of the fish. but wont get rid if the ICK.

2 it s good for thier immune system too. for the fish in the tank.

3 .it slows the skimmer down so BEWARE of that.

good luck...

Myanth · #5 02-11-2006, 05:41 PM

Thanks. I have read much on here and many other sites on this parasite. I have no hospital tank and lowering salinity in the main tank is not an option.
(not to mention the virtual impossibility of catching the fish) I could set up a 20 gallon that I have if it is my only option but I would be concerned with that as it has not been set up in a while.

Garlic? like oil or actual garlic cloves ground really small?

And if it only makes the parasite drop off of the fish, how do you then rid the system as I have heard and read that the life cycle can be anywhere from 5 weeks to eleven months depending on salinity and temperature.

Thanks again.
Mike

Skimmerking · #6 02-11-2006, 06:28 PM

Well the
garlic pills are the gel ones 1500MG or you can get the oderless ones that are 500MG.

The other question with inreguards to catching the fish. U can always catch a fish no matter how bad you want him.

With dropping the ick off the tank you wil always have ick in your tank when yo have Tangs or Angels, IMO. It usally takes around 3-4 weeks with the lights off to kill off the spores in the tank. If you have corals well that is going to be a big problem too..

good luck and keep us informed

Myanth · #7 02-11-2006, 06:34 PM

Thanks again. I'll try it.

I had a small Nano reef for a year and had an issue with ick on my two clowns. I did nothing but add a pair of cleaners (who I later lost in a botched breeding incident, air hose fell out of bowl and they suffocated) and the ick was gone in days, never to return. Will the cleaners eventually destroy the infestation or do the ick parasites reproduce too quickly for them to overcome?

Hint- I could get more cleaners

Skimmerking · #8 02-11-2006, 06:40 PM

Cleaners are there to keep it in check and for cleaning the fish.

Ruth · #9 02-11-2006, 07:20 PM

I think the only sure fire way is to take them out of the tank into a quarentine and treat with hypo or copper. Leave them out of your tank and let the tank go fish less for 6 - 8 weeks which should be enough time for the ich parasites to go through their cycle and with no host fish they should die out of your display.
There is no proof that garlic helps but MY theory on it is that it does not hurt and actually seems to entice fish to eat more thereby making for healthier fish that are better able to fight disease and parasites.
There is no reason that you cannot have your lights on while your tank is fish less as the ich parasites do not care if there is light or not. They need a host fish in order to reproduce so your corals will be fine and just keep your regular lighting schedule.
OTOH the ich parasite can and does live in many of our systems it's just that our fish are healthy and able to not let it take over and are able to fight off any infestation of them. If you add a new fish it may be weak from shipping or whatever and is likely to become infected.
This is just my 2 cents worth and based on my own experience.

deep6er · #10 02-11-2006, 10:10 PM

Im not trying to be an ass but isnt it icH not ick