Ich/white spots

[ezcompany]

I just noticed it today. My Clarkii and yellow Watchman Goby both have ich.

I am very upset, and would like to care for this immediately.

I am thinking of undergoing a hyposalinity treatment tomorrow as the ich does not seem to be in the gill area. I did notice one ich on its eye or some part though.

I will probably set up a quarantine tank to do this, as I do not want to take out my corals and shrimp. I will also be feeding crushed garlic to both fish, finely minced, mixed with their regular formula 1 & 2 and mysis.

 

 

1.) whats a general way to set up a quarantine tank? would it be a fowlr?

2.) what specific gravity should i bring it to? I was thinking to 1.10 or maybe even less. if @ 1.10, how long can the fish survive under these conditions?

3.) if the ich fails to fall off, whats the last resort? a RO water dip for 7 minutes with PH and temperature matched?

4.) if all else fails and conditions get worse, what product is the most highly recommended that is not a hit or miss? (which i believe does not exist)

5.) how effective is a UV sterilzer and does it work WHILE the fish has ich?

6.) since i plan on using little to no medication, will substrate and LR work for the quarantine? i do not have the time to change water and test every 12 hours or so for ammonia levels and such.

7.) If as a last resort I have to use copper, what kind of treatment should I buy?

 

thank you for any help, please post as soon as you can..

[Mr. Fosi]

1.) whats a general way to set up a quarantine tank? would it be a fowlr?

 

Or just fish + sand. You could do circulation with an HOB.

 

 

2.) what specific gravity should i bring it to? I was thinking to 1.10 or maybe even less. if @ 1.10, how long can the fish survive under these conditions?

 

I think you meant 1.010. Not sure about 1.010, but I know that one of the LFSs that I shop at keeps his fish-only system at 1.018-19 to keep down on salt creep. I once asked him how long the fish can survive at that SG and he told me that he has had fish in his personal FOWLR tank that have been fine for 10 years at that SG.

 

 

5.) how effective is a UV sterilzer and does it work WHILE the fish has ich?

 

It may cut down on the duration of the ich and it may keep the fishes' stress level down, but it won't do anything to the parasites already encysted in the fish. A UV sterilizer will kill the free-swiming parasites before they have a chance to re-infect the fish.

 

 

6.) since i plan on using little to no medication, will substrate and LR work for the quarantine? i do not have the time to change water and test every 12 hours or so for ammonia levels and such.

 

You could just drop some dry sand in the hospital tank, fill it with water, and drop some mature LR rubble in an HOB filter.

 

Sorry I couldn't address all the questions, but I have not yet had the misfortune of having a diseased SW fish, so I have verey limited knowledge of how to treat their ailments.

[neanderthalman]

I have also not had any experience treating fish for ich, touch wood. I believe your plan should work, though I would keep a close watch on the fish during the hyposalinity treatment. It might be wise to fill your hospital tank halfway with saltwater at 1.023 (or whatever your tank is) and slowly add RO to bring it down to the desired level. Drip acclimate to return the fish to the display tank.

 

If you do wind up using copper, you'll need to net the fish and place it in another container of SW after treatment. I'd repeat this several times to ensure than any copper compunds are thoroughly rinsed away. Any rubble used for filtration, as well as the net and HOB should no longer be used in your display tank, just to be safe. Copper is nasty stuff.

 

From what I read, many cases of ich go away on their own by providing good water quality and a good diet for the fish. If they are new to the tank, and are eating, then it may not be necessary to treat the ich. The fish's immune system will be compromised from acclimation and will improve as it becomes accustomed to the tank, taking care of the ich on it's own.

 

For the record, does anyone definitively know if cleaner shrimp do or do not help with ich? Is it hit and miss like pepps with apstasia?

[ezcompany]

i heard that the accimilation process is what should be avoided, due to the parasite itself being accimilated. it needs to enter a shock that the fish can endure with stress, but the parasite itself cannot.