Desperate for advice on saltwater ick!

[cesalfamily]

I'm beginning new from a previous thread that I had posted in the livestock for sale forum. I brought home a dogface puffer the day before yesterday. He looked healthy and was eating well so I purchased him from a friend who can no longer afford to maintain her deceased husband's reef tank. Anyway - Yesterday I noticed that he is covered in little white specks.Even his eyes look cloudy and have some small specks on them. From my experience when i had freshwater tanks it appears to be ick and my reading has concluded that there is definitely a saltwater version of ick. I am desperate to save this guy without hurting the rest of my tank. I have corals, a bta, and numerous other fish in the tank with my puffer so I'm told that copper would cure my fish but kill my inverts. I'm also told that a 3 minute fresh water dip will help as long as the water is not chlorinated..how do I dechlorinate it? I'm sorry for all of my questions and you all must think I'm so irresponsible for taking on a tank that I was 100% knowledgable about but everyone has to start somewhere, right? I am also aware that my puffer ( named "puff daddy" by one of my daycare kids ) is not exactly reef safe but according to his previous owner he never cared much about the corals or his tank mates as long as you gave him his beloved shrimp everyday. Any advice at this point is appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[estanoche]

Lee's got some great notes on treatment methods, etc, here http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27003

But the lowdown of it all, is you are going to want to treat your puffer in a separate tank, not your display. All of the treatment methods are going to affect the other organisms you have in your tank.

Also, there is a very big chance that it has already spread to your other fish, so be ready to pull them and start doing treatment as well.

Good luck! Many times a good healthy diet, good water quality, and TLC will bring them right around. Speaking of good diet - read some of the stickys on feeding and proper diets also, you will be amazed how much you really need to feed your fish!

 

[cesalfamily]

I don't exactly have another tank to treat them in right now that doesn't have other fish in it but I can figure something else out I'm sure. Will the ick affect my corals, soft mushrooms, anemone, etc?

 

[cesalfamily]

I apologize! I have been misspelling ich this entire time. Lesson learned. :0)

 

[cesalfamily]

Wow it's all so overwhelming.

 

[sandswhitson]

If it has spread to other fish then you will have to remove them to treat them and leave your display tank free of fish for about a 4-6 period so all the ich has time to die off, as it has no fish to feed off of.

 

[poakley723]

I myself used No Sick Fish to treat ick in my tank. I read many other forums and I read a few success stories and had success myself. Like you i didn't want to set up another tank just to house my fish to treat them for ick. They have been ick free for like 4 months or so. There was one other person who sent me a success story from right here on reeffrontiers.

Good Luck

 

[returnofsid]

Ich will require ALL fish to be treated with about a 6-8 week hyposalinity treatment of 1.009, in a tank other than the display. To be sure to rid your tank of Ich, your tank will have to remain fishless (NO FISH) for the same 8 week period. During this time, Ich, without fish to munch on, will die, in our display tank.

During this treatment, I'd considering doing some research and deciding if you want a reef tank, or a Fish Only tank. I mention this because your Dog Face Puffer is generally not at all reef safe.

 

[leebca]

There are no short cuts. You'll waste time and money trying them out. Consider this: Millions of $$$ are lost annually to this disease in food fishes. Do you think that any 'miracle cure' came along it wouldn't hit the front pages of periodicals and the news?

If you have diagnosed the disease, then treat it. First, learn more about it:
Marine Ich - Myths and Facts
Next learn the two basic methods of treatment:
A Fish Hyposalinity Treatment
and
Copper Medications - Good, Bad, and Ugly

Choose your treatment method and obtain the necessary equipment. Setup a hospital tank (which is like a quarantine tank):
A Quarantine Procedure

Proceed with treating ALL marine fishes that were exposed to AND those that are displaying.