Ich :( - Need Help with Treatment Plan

[Rossim2i2]

So it seems my blue tang has ich. I posted pictures on reef 2 reef and that seems to be the feedback. I posted this there as well, but wanted to get your opinions on the treatment plan. Let me know your thoughts/feedback...

I think the only thing I can do at this point is remove all the fish, treat them, and let the tank go fallow. Here is the plan and some questions I have:

Current Fish: Yellow Tang, Blue Tang, 3x Clownfish, Timor Wrasse, Royal Gramma

1) Buy and set up QT tanks. As the blue tang is the worst, I figure he should be alone in one QT system. I was thinking of getting four 10 gallon tanks and putting the Blue in one, the yellow in another, the clownfish in the third and the wrasse and gramma in the fourth. Or should I get a bigger QT to put more of the fish in together? Note, they will be there for about three months.
2) Follow Humblefish's copper treatment program (and ask for help here as needed)
3) Let the tank go fallow for 90 days (I know its technically 76, but I want to add a buffer)

Questions:
1) We have snails, hermit crabs, an emerald crab, a cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp and a sand sifting starfish in the tank as well. Can ich live on any of them or should I remove anything else?
2) I need to research the Wrasse. I thought I remembered reading that they do not do well with copper treatment. Any suggestions?
3) Should we go with four 10 gal tanks or two 20 gallons (or something else)?
4) It looks like our petsmart has all-in-one tanks with HOB filters. Are the HOB filters better than the air stone and sponge?

 

[Foxchase]

So I'm currently in the process of dealing with ich myself. I've done tons of research. I had 2 wrasses. Unfortunately they don't do well with copper treatment. I started out that way and lost one of my 2 wrasses. I would very highly suggest doing the tank transfer treatment. Absolutely no types of medicines. I just finished and all the fish are completely clear of any sign of ich and now in an observation qt tank for the rest of the fallow period.

 

[Foxchase]

Ich won't harm any inverts. But they can be carriers of it. Leave them in the DT and don't add anything to the tank for the rest of the fallow period which is generally 72-80 days. (I'm going with 80 to be safe).

 

[Rossim2i2]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you only have the two fish or did you have more? I would need to think through what the tank transfer method would look like and what I'd need to buy.

 

[Foxchase]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you only have the two fish or did you have more? I would need to think through what the tank transfer method would look like and what I'd need to buy.

1 lawnmower blennie
1 longnose hawk
Clownfish pair
Yellow watchman goby
Yellow coris and Royal flasher Wrasse

 

[Rossim2i2]

What size tank do you think i'd need for TTM? I'm also concerned that there may be more going on than just ich...

 

[Foxchase]

I bought:
2 of those clothes storage containers from target(they hold about 10g each).
2 air pumps
Air Tubing
A bunch of air stones
2 heaters.
2 thermometers
That's all you need.

 

[Foxchase]

The thing with TTM is that you're switching tanks every 72 hours (it's vital that you do not pass 72 hours or else you have to reset) so ammonia doesn't have enough time to build up. And if you're worried about it, you can always add prime since there's no medication in the water to make it toxic. I threw in some pvc elbows for the fish to hide. And a small plastic container with sand for the wrasse to hide.

 

[Foxchase]

You would want to make sure your water temp and salinity match so you just scoop the fish and drop. Minimal stress since the environments are basically identical between the 2. As one of your "systems" is running, you sanitize the previous one by cleaning everything with vinegar or bleach. And letting it dry completely. (except for the air stones and tubing touching the water. That you would throw away)

 

[Rossim2i2]

I do like TTM, but i'm worried that I have more than just ich and I'll probably need multiple tanks for the number of fish I have. Especially with the tangs, I'd need something big enough for them (x2)...

 

[Foxchase]

I do like TTM, but i'm worried that I have more than just ich and I'll probably need multiple tanks for the number of fish I have. Especially with the tangs, I'd need something big enough for them (x2)...

What else do you think you have?
TTM is only for about 14 days. The fish will be fine in a smaller tank for that amount of time (just think of the size of the tank when they're being sold). I'm not saying you need to do it exactly how I did. You can always go bigger or multiple containers at a time. I'm just telling you that it worked for me. And my fish all seem fine, specially my wrasse. The bigger the tank, the more water and salt you're gonna need. It adds up fast. Even with copper, the bigger the tank, the more you need to dose. That's why people use smaller qt tanks than their display. The issue is, the tangs and everything else might do fine with copper but wrasses are pretty hit or miss unfortunately

 

[Rossim2i2]

I'm going fallow in the main tank though. 80-90 days fishless. So after the treatment, I still need somewhere for them to hang out until the fallow period is over. No idea exactly what I'm going to do, but I know I need to do something.

 

[Foxchase]

On

I'm going fallow in the main tank though. 80-90 days fishless. So after the treatment, I still need somewhere for them to hang out until the fallow period is over. No idea exactly what I'm going to do, but I know I need to do something.

Do you have a spare tank laying around? You could always just put them in a 40b for now. I'm pretty sure Petco is currently having their sale

 

[MadReefer]

Did you consider hyposalinity?

 

[Rossim2i2]

Did you consider hyposalinity?

No, but I just read a few quick articles and will continue more research. It seems that would need to be done outside of the display tank, right? Unless i move all the invertabrates to a separate system?

 

[MadReefer]

Yep. Might be easier than TTM.

 

[Humblefish]

Can you post pics of the Blue Tang with Ich? To confirm the diagnosis.

 

[Rossim2i2]

Can you post pics of the Blue Tang with Ich? To confirm the diagnosis.

Absolutely. So I think these pics are while he looks "better". I wasn't sure if it was ich as it would come and go every 3-4 days, but the more i'm reading, the more I'm understanding that this may be a common symptom early on. The last pic is horrible but was the best I could get at the time. The others are from earlier today.

By the way, I'm currently watching your video on ReefDudes from earlier this year

 

[Humblefish]

Are any other fish showing symptoms (other than the Blue Tang)? This is important because sometimes Blue Tangs develop viral lesions or bacterial tufts which look A LOT like Ich.

 

[Rossim2i2]

Are any other fish showing symptoms (other than the Blue Tang)? This is important because sometimes Blue Tangs develop viral lesions or bacterial tufts which look A LOT like Ich.

The Yellow tang had/has one spot that looks like Lymphocystis. It was one spot and got way to big. I've noticed the Royal Gramma slapping itself against the sand bed and did see a few spots on her the other day, but didn't see them today. The issue with the blue tang has been going on for 2-3 weeks now. He will look pretty beat up for a day, look much better the second day after hanging out with the cleaner shrimp, and then a few days later the cycle repeats itself. I do see the Yellow Tang itch itself on the rock or sand, but not nearly as often.