Starting over

[Iam King]

It's been a while haven't been on the forums Glad to be back. Starting over since losing everything in my tank due to ich outbreak that i could not fix.My tank has been siting for months changed some the water and used ich treatment everything seems fine now. Before I add new LS is there anything i should do to avoid this from happening again? Tank is 10g with LR. Thanks

[Mariaface]

Since you have your live rock already, you probably won't be adding more of it, right? How long has it been fishless? If it's been longer than 8-10 weeks, it's gone fallow long enough for ich not to be an issue in there anymore. What you need now is preemptive caution: get a quarantine tank and monitor all additions to the tank for at least two weeks. You can wait until something shows up to treat for it in the QT, or you can treat prophylactically (though I wouldn't do that until after the fish is active and eating). After treatments, wait another two weeks.

 

What ich treatment did you use in the tank? If it was copper based or used any other active ingredients that irritate inverts/corals, you may have issues with that seeping out of your live rock/sand and will need to either start from scratch (new rock/sand, new cycle, new fallow period), or use chemical filtration long enough to get back to unmedicated saltwater.

 

That being said, a lot of people find that ich isn't an issue so long as all fish are happy and healthy, because the parasite takes advantage of stressed/sick fish in order to get through a thinner mucus layer. It's still nice not to have to worry about it, though.

 

And another thing to consider is that if you haven't been 'feeding' this live rock for the past few months, it's not going to be capable of managing a bioload like it used to; the bacteria have populated in response to a lower level of ammonia build up.

 

EDIT: Just realized you're adding live sand. Depending on how it's made live, it may also be able to reintroduce the parasite. Consider dry sand or upping other filtration and going barebottom. Any sand you add will become live over time. :]

[Iam King]

The ich treament was not copper based. Live sand already was in the tank. I have notice bubble alge on the rock.And notice this red thing that pops in and out on the rock what is it? Thanks

[k4ndyk1ng]

That red thing will be some sorta hitchhiker

[Mariaface]

Try this website for looking up hitchhikers, it's a good place to start. That looks like a common feather duster; it'll be a nice filter feeder.

 

Bubble algae's fine unless it's growing out of control and smothering other inhabitants. Keep your nutrients under control with good tank husbandry and manually remove the bubbles without popping them, and you should be fine.

[Iam King]

Thanks everyone.