My tank has ich

[collettk]

after doing research on my PB and his discoloration/bumps I was told by I guy at Blue Ribbon Koi that my tank is in fact infected with ich.  He recommended using Ruby Reef Kick-ich/Rally combo.  Does anyone have experience using this product?  I don't want to set up a QT (it will add more stress to the fish and its a real pain getting fish out of the DT).

 

Here's a pic on my PB

 

Edited August 26, 2013 by collettk

[Coral Hind]

I tried it and it didn't work for me. Maybe others have had better luck. Do you have corals or inverts in the tank? If not you could use hypo salinity method. 

[collettk]

I have coral, snails and hermit crabs...The other thing that concerned me about this medicine is that I have to turn off my UV sterilizer and carbon...oh and my skimmer

 

I also raised the temp of my tank from 77F to 80F

[08can-am]

I dealt with ich this year. I used a seachem product metro..... something long. I mixed it in the food with a second part I bought with it as a binder. Its an antibiotic I believe. Soaking tge food with it ensures they injest it. As long as they are eating

 

courtesy of my sweet S4

 

 

[MBVette]

I have tried that stuff in the past and I do not believe it did anything either. So your best bet is to either try to take all the fish out and do a proper QT. or keep feeding and hope for the best.

[Coral Hind]

Since you have corals and inverts, I think you really only have two options. Remove the fish to a hospital tank and let the main tank for fishless for eight weeks or keep them happy and stress free and hope they can fight it off on their own. Make sure your UV unit is running properly to help knock the numbers of parasites down i.e., clean bulb tube, proper flow rate, and newer lamp.

 

Why did you decide to raise the temp?

[Coral Hind]

I dealt with ich this year. I used a seachem product metro..... something long. I mixed it in the food with a second part I bought with it as a binder. Its an antibiotic I believe. Soaking tge food with it ensures they injest it. As long as they are eating

 

courtesy of my sweet S4

The Seachem products he mentioned are Metronidazole and Focus.

 

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Metronidazole.html

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Focus.html

[zygote2k]

OP- why don't you just let the fish ride it out? It seems that you are generating tons of stress in these fish by introducing incompatible species, re-arranging rock work, fish dying, etc. If the fish is otherwise healthy and eating, he'll recover from the ick just fine. If you QT it and put it through drastic measures, it will most likely die.

[08can-am]

The Seachem products he mentioned are Metronidazole and Focus.

 

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Metronidazole.html

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Focus.html

 

Thats it. Thank yiu.

 

courtesy of my sweet S4

 

 

[collettk]

Since you have corals and inverts, I think you really only have two options. Remove the fish to a hospital tank and let the main tank for fishless for eight weeks or keep them happy and stress free and hope they can fight it off on their own. Make sure your UV unit is running properly to help knock the numbers of parasites down i.e., clean bulb tube, proper flow rate, and newer lamp.

 

Why did you decide to raise the temp?

 -I raised the temperature because I was told it would speed up the ich eggs incubation period and help the Kick-ich kill off the ich faster.

[MBVette]

I have tried that stuff in the past and I do not believe it did anything either. So your best bet is to either try to take all the fish out and do a proper QT. or keep feeding and hope for the best.

[collettk]

OP- why don't you just let the fish ride it out? It seems that you are generating tons of stress in these fish by introducing incompatible species, re-arranging rock work, fish dying, etc. If the fish is otherwise healthy and eating, he'll recover from the ick just fine. If you QT it and put it through drastic measures, it will most likely die.

Actually that's what I was doing.  I figured my PB was just stressed.  But then I started seeing my wrasses and rabbitfish scratching on the rocks, so i went to the LFS and he told me I should not have waited to start treating my tank immediately.  I definitely do not want to QT anything...moving Live rock and then getting it back to where it was is such a painful endeavor.

[Coral Hind]

Some people have luck waiting it out but it really depends on how bad the ich is. If it is just a few spots then you could try waiting it out and keep the tank happy but if the fish are covered and breathing heavy or not eating right then act fast or they will die.

[08can-am]

I tried kick-ich and within days lost almost all my sps. Not sure if related or not

 

courtesy of my sweet S4

 

 

[monkiboy]

Some people have luck waiting it out but it really depends on how bad the ich is. If it is just a few spots then you could try waiting it out and keep the tank happy but if the fish are covered and breathing heavy or not eating right then act fast or they will die.

yep, exactly right. you have your options now it's about making a decision rather promptly and seeing it through. i will say this, you're hesitant to run a QT and medicate and if you decide to go that route you need to be very diligent - it's 100% or nothing with QT. so if you don't think you are going to do it right or have time, then the livestock and you are better off with another plan. post up with what you decide and we can help navigate you through it with your best chances at success. Edited August 26, 2013 by monkiboy

[collettk]

yep, exactly right. you have your options now it's about making a decision rather promptly and seeing it through. i will say this, you're hesitant to run a QT and medicate and if you decide to go that route you need to be very diligent - it's 100% or nothing with QT. so if you don't think you are going to do it right or have time, then the livestock and you are better off with another plan. post up with what you decide and we can help navigate you through it with your best chances at success.

I'm not going to QT because I think the whole tank is infected.  I think the stress it will cause to pull them all out and would just accelerate their mortality.  As of right now I turned off the UV Sterilizer, skimmer, and carbon reactor.  I did the day one treament for Ich and rally with the Ruby Reef Kick-ich/Rally combo.  I also add some powder stuff that suppose to combat ich to my fishes food along with the garlic.  And i raised my water temp from 77 degrees to 80.  My plan was to continue this treatment for the next 15 days per the instructions.

 

I spoke to my wife who feed the fish this morning (I'm at work) and she said she notices a marked difference in how the PB acted today (back to his dominant self) by physically still looks sick.  I'm hoping this is a good sign.

[monkiboy]

yes, if one of your fish has ich then you would need to go fallow with that tank to allow it to pass before reintroducing "clean" quarantined and treated fish. glad you made a decision and best of luck with it. keep aware of oxygen depletion and proper aeration given your course. keep us updated!

[Coral Hind]

Read this thread about ich.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/41558-ichy-battle/

[collettk]

Read this thread about ich.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/41558-ichy-battle/

Great read...Thanks CH.

 

Although it was a little depressing to read

[collettk]

So...I don't have a second tank...could I use the 30g Rubbermaid I use to do water changes to keep my fish in for two months?!?  And if that would work what else would I need?  I have an extra powerhead and a heater.  Wouldn't the move plus the smaller tank and the change in salinity stress the fish out even more and kill them?

[Coral Hind]

Yes, you can use a rubbermaid. It isn't the best choice because you can easily see the sides of the fish but it is better than nothing. The move will stress the fish but if it has a bad case of ich I think it has better odds of surviving in QT than being left alone in the display tank.

 

Make sure you have test kits to check the water daily and have some extra mixed water on hand just in case you need to make a water change. Dechlorinated tap water is fine to mix with. 

 

Because ich affects the gills the fish can have trouble getting enough O2 so an air stone or if the powerhead has a venturi that can help. 

 

What other fish do you have?

[collettk]

What other fish do you have?

 

2 clowns, hoeven wrasse, Ruby flame fairy wrasse, two-barred rabbitfish, PB tang, 5 Bartlett Anthias, Flaming hawkfish, 2 diamond gobies, and bellus angelfish

 

btw...I spoke to the Kick-Ich makers yesterday.  They said the product doesn't kill ich.  It binds to the free floating ich so that it can't attach to the fish.  They sited several major aquariums that use their product religiously.  You have to go through the full 15 day process for it to work.  They went at length with me on how it works.  Since I already bought the product I'm going to stick to the regiment.

 

I figure if I'm going to get into this hobby long term this is an opportunity to see what works and what don't.

 

If it doesn't work atleast I'm not wondering 'what if'.  I'll keep the forum posted on the results.

[sachabballi reef]

Good luck! Keep us posted everyday on your observations so you have a journal and we can learn and support based on your observations

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[collettk]

Good luck! Keep us posted everyday on your observations so you have a journal and we can learn and support based on your observations

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

Will do.  Thanks again.

[Jan]

Are you sure it is ick? Do they have a slime coat? Are spots white or do they look like they have a fine a goldish powder dusting?