Adam Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hey guys.... My tank is set now almost 3 weeks.. I got to my tank 3 Damselfish just to help the cycle... I do have about 14 lbs LR....and it is AquaPod 24. After all that time my Amonia level drop to 0... and Nitrate still keep around 20 ppm... tomorrow will do first partial water change ~ 20%. Also since about 2 days I can observe growing pretty fast brow algae on sand and glass.. (so far I didn't do anything to this, since I read it is part of the cycle). When I got my Damselfish, one of them was Three Spot Domino Damselfish - at the beginnig it looked perfect black with just three white spots as it should be... but since about 2 days I can see all around very small white dots... they are just all around and just on the one fish (Three Spot Domino Damselfish ). Besides those dots everything is perfect... it eat normally.. swim normally and geting "bosy" to all those other Damselfishes. Please I know it is difficult to answer without any picture ect... but if this is ick ... if I will use Ich Attack 100% organic (5%active ingredients - natural herbals containing Naphthoquinone and 95% inert ingredients)...is that going to help and how dangerous it is going to be for LR and one Xenia? I checked in two LSF and they all say it will be safe for my tank... Please any advice.... Thank You. Link to comment
SCUBALeah Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I would definatly get some snails and hermits in there to clean up the algae. Also damsels are funny fish, when put together they will pick on the smallest fish. Is the fish that has the spots the smallest? If this is the case the white spots are just wounds. If you put ick attack in your tank with the xenia it will die and it's a possiblity that some of the stuff in your LR will die also just depending on if there are any polyps in the LR. Look up ick on the internet and and that will help you better identify what you have. Cleaner shirmp will take care of ick with no harm to your xenias just FYI. Also I would rethink the water change usually 3 weeks isn't quite long enough for the cycle and you don't really want to distrub it. Hope this helps! Link to comment
Adam Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 hi there good man... First, the fish which might have ick is the Three Spot Domino Damselfish ... http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=102 and the other 3 Damselfish look like those: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=134 now! the strongest and fightest is Three Spot Domino Damselfish... whish has those white dots... like I said before besides those dots everything else is good.. in my local LSF they say that the organic Ich Attack is the only one which is going to be safe for anything what I have in my tank.. thats the one which I'm talking about: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...0&N=2004+113016 ok thats all about ick.. and about the water change...so U say I should wait another week to let the cycle go thru and since my tank was set for about 3 weeks... I should wait another week and do partial water change? And one more thing... for 24 g tank what will be the best for my cleaning crew? Arleady have 3 turbo snails... and 1 Sand Sifting Sea Star. Thank You. Link to comment
Aussie-Reefer Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I read an article about the affects of different ick tratments on xenia not so long ago,mayb last months reefcentral. Link to comment
Adam Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 ok finally I took some pics of that: http://bqwert.smugmug.com/gallery/1128653/1/52551882 http://bqwert.smugmug.com/gallery/1128653/1/52551887 http://bqwert.smugmug.com/gallery/1128653/1/52551898 http://bqwert.smugmug.com/gallery/1128653/1/52551906 http://bqwert.smugmug.com/gallery/1128653/1/52551905 so what do U think ? thanx a lot Link to comment
Thunil Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 it's definitely ich. if you don't want to setup a quarantine tank you can give him a freshwater dip, i would do it for 7-10 minutes (anything under 5 minutes doesn't have much affect) to do this fill up a smallish container with fresh water (salt free) and get the temp and ph as close as possible to the tank water and drop him in there for7-10 minutes Link to comment
SCUBALeah Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hi, My name is Leah, I'm a woman. Anyway okay I understand now that you have 2 different damsels, I missunderstood the first time I read. Second, if you are so sure about this medicine then why ask? In my experience it has always been true that NO medicine is reef or coral safe. I learned the hard way when I put some reef safe medicine in my tank and lost over $250 worth of corals. I just try and stay away from medicines. If you trust them though try it, I guess. I am almost positive you have ich. The best way to treat the fish would be to put him into a seprate quarantine tank so the others don't get infected and treat him there with the medicine or to buy a cleaner shirmp IMO. As for the sand sifting star fish, I know that you already have one but you might want to rethink him. Everyone that I know says that a nano tank is not big enough to support a sand sifter. Sand sifting starfish eat the beenficial microfauna found in your sand and in a nano tank will rid your tank of the "life" in it within no time. Live sand is a crucial part of your biofilter. I would maybe suggest taking him back to get nassarius snails. Nassarius snails will eat leftover food and they will stir up your sand bed. Also astrea snails will do a very nice job I would only get 2 because turbo snails should account for 3 or 4 astreas. If the brown algae is the hairy type emrald crabs do a nice job cleaning that up. As for the water change I do say wait another week or two. I hope this helps you! Leah it's definitely ich. if you don't want to setup a quarantine tank you can give him a freshwater dip, i would do it for 7-10 minutes (anything under 5 minutes doesn't have much affect) to do this fill up a smallish container with fresh water (salt free) and get the temp and ph as close as possible to the tank water and drop him in there for7-10 minutes I did a freshwater/RO dip once and I think they are very risky. It killed my fish. I had temp and ph everything all exactly the same as saltwater just minus the salt and I put him in there for 2 mins and it killed him. PS I think three spot damsels are the coolest of the damels, I love em! Link to comment
MillerLite Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hi, My name is Leah, I'm a woman. LOL! Thought the name would have given it away Second, if you are so sure about this medicine then why ask? In my experience it has always been true that NO medicine is reef or coral safe. I learned the hard way when I put some reef safe medicine in my tank and lost over $250 worth of corals. I just try and stay away from medicines. If you trust them though try it, I guess. Personally I think it sounds like ick but it never hurts to look it up to make sure you do have ick. The best way to treat the fish would be to put him into a seprate quarantine tank and then treat with the medicine or to buy a cleaner shirmp IMO. Sounds right to me. It definitely looks like ich. I wouldnt add anything to my reef tank, even organic crap..I mean medicine, that the LFS says is safe. It may very well be safe, but can they vouch for its effectiveness and long time safety to corals? Why chance it especially for fish you are using only to cycle your tank. Remove the fish, and let your tank finish cycling on its own. The amount of time necessary to complete the cycle may exceed the time needed to go fish free to eliminate the ich from your tank (about two to four weeks). Why treat your tank with something to cure illness on a fish you plan to remove. Doesnt make sense to me. Also cleaners are good for ich on the external surface of the animal, but the ich will spread to the gills and internal organs, which are inaccessible to the cleaner shrimp. Only real way to solve this problem for sure is QT tank with a copper based medicine. Some people suggest freshwater dipping...dont think it works all the time to eliminate the more affected fishes. As for the sand sifting star fish, I know that you already have one but you might want to rethink him. Everyone that I know says that a nano tank is not big enough to support a sand sifter. Sand sifting starfish eat the beenficial microfauna found in your sand and in a nano tank will rid your tank of the "life" in it within no time. Live sand is a crucial part of your biofilter. I would maybe suggest taking him back to get nassarius snails. Nassarius snails will eat leftover food and they will stir up your sand bed. Also astrea snails will do a very nice job I would only get 2 because turbo snails should account for 3 or 4 astreas. If the brown algae is the hairy type emrald crabs do a nice job cleaning that up. As for the water change I do say wait another week or two. I hope this helps you! Leah Wow. couldnt have said it any better. For such a small tank, I also would ditch the sand sifting star. The starfish travels through the sand eating beneficial benthic organisms and some nuisance dietrus. WIth a small tank, the beneficial organisms dont have sufficient time to repopulate suggesting that the star may starve. In addition a new tank does not have an established sand bed to feed the star. If the star dies, which may be when it is buried in the sand, you may have some serious water quality issues on your hand. Why take the chance. Go with the nassarius snails and other snails like Leah suggested. Link to comment
Adam Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 hehehe ok Leach.. sorry but this is my second language and unfortunatelly I do not know all female English names.. so hard for me find out which one can be male or female... next time will remember ok so I'm not going to dip my fish in fresh water.. will set now 10G tank with salt water.. well, will set about 5 g and tomorrow will try catch that Demsalfish and move it to the small tank and treat it with the Ich Attack at the small tank... btw any idea how to catch Damsel ? last time tried it for almost 2 hrs... no results.. and no way I will pull all those rocks out of my tank ... thanx a lot Link to comment
MillerLite Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 hehehe ok Leach.. sorry but this is my second language and unfortunatelly I do not know all female English names.. so hard for me find out which one can be male or female... next time will remember ok so I'm not going to dip my fish in fresh water.. will set now 10G tank with salt water.. well, will set about 5 g and tomorrow will try catch that Demsalfish and move it to the small tank and treat it with the Ich Attack at the small tank... btw any idea how to catch Damsel ? last time tried it for almost 2 hrs... no results.. and no way I will pull all those rocks out of my tank ... thanx a lot They are very difficult to catch and smart little buggers. You will only catch them once, if at all. Main reason I wouldnt recommend using them to cycle large tanks. You can try it when they are feeding but most likely will have to pull all the rock out if not successful. I had a hell of a time getting them out of my 30. Got 2 of the 4, but the other 2 had to be caught once all the rock was removed. good luck with yours!!! -Terry PS. try and use two nets Link to comment
reefer21 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 In my experience it has always been true that NO medicine is reef or coral safe. Wrong, there is only one medicine that is reef safe, but is not really a medicine. It's more of a cosmetic than anything. It's called Red Slime Remover made by UltraLife Reef Products. Link to comment
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