ich problem......

[richie822]

i have just set up a 29 gallon reef tank about month ago....the parameters are fine-ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate-0 ph-8.2, so i decided to purchase my first fish, a bicolor angelfish. he seemd to be doing fine and then about three days after i purchased him i spotted white spots on him so i fifure he has some kind of external parasite...probably ich. I just bought a quaratnine tank today and setting it up in order for me to treat him. But i realize that im going to have a huge problem trying to catch him since i have 46 pounds of live rock in the tank. How can i catch him so i can put him in the quarantine tank? is there some kind of trap or somehting that i can buy b/c it seems as thuogh it is going to be quite impossible. He is not really eating right now so putting food in the tank and trying to capture him while he eats is not going to work. He seems to hang out most of the time behind the live rock. Also, am i going to have to wait 6-8 weeks before i can purchase another fish to allow the parasite to die off? is there somethign that i can do? what is hypo salinity? I bought coppersafe by mardel in ordeer to treat the fish, but opbviously the new quarantine tank is not ready yet since i just got it, but was wondering if this product is good in elimnating ich once i set up the quarantine tank? what else can i do?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

The fish will eventually need to be QTed to treat with hypo or Copper, the Mardel product will not do the job. The tank will need to be left fallow (fish free) for 4-6 weeks. The following link will educate you on all needed. As to a home made trap, you can cut the end off of a 2 liter bottle and invert it into the cut end. to make a funnel into the bottle. Attach a suction cup to mount it to the front of the tank. Put food inside. The fish swims into the funnel and can't find it's way out before you grab it. Cut the screw lif opening off to enlarge the oprning as needed. If you have the money, you can buy a fish trap from the liv fish stoor.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php

 

[steve-s]

First and foremost, are you sure this fish has Cryptocaryon irritans?
Just because a fish has a spot or two does not mean it has a parasite. Observe and confirm before you treat. If your sure then you need to treat.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

Since this tank is only a month old, there is really nothing in the tank to bother so you can very easily drain the tank or remove a good portion of the rock to catch the fish. If you reduce the obstacles, use a plexi plastic square to narrow down the space the fish can swim in. Makes it very easy to catch. Try to use a plastic container, not a net to catch/transfer the fish. Use the water from your 29 to fill the QT for acclimation reasons.

Do not use Coppersafe with an Angel of any species, nasty stuff, return it if you can. If copper is ever needed, use Cupramine. It is much more tolerated by these types of copper sensitive fish.

For this particular parasite, hyposalinity would be the best suggestion. It will also help with the fish refusal to accept foods and help it conserve energy. You can also add some vitamin B12 to the water/food to increase that positive effect.

Please read through this article (and search this site) for detailed info on hyposalinity.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

Be very sure you use buffered FW to ensure pH does not drop when diluting the chemistry of the SW in the QT tank. As the salinity drops, the pH will have a tendency to drop as well since the alkalinity/natural chemistry is also being diluted. Buffering your FW will prevent that and is very important.

 

[reefgirl78]

Hi, I would make sure it is ick and if it is then, I totally agree with Steve-S that Cupramine is much better. The stuff you got is pretty scary stuff and not meant for Angels. Angels are pretty delicate and are best in tanks established over 1 year in my opinion.

As far as hyposalinity it is tricky at times, but I saved my dime sized baby blue tang that way. Do buffer though like Steve-S said. VERY important and ALWAYS us Reverse Osmosis water. If you don't have a RO machine in house then Albertson's has the machine's out front of the stores.

With your Angel not eating I am sorry to say that a trap probably won't work but he may just be scared and not eating due to that, so it might work.

You asked about how long to wait and that is all in a person't opinion. There is a LOT of scientific articles on that. Some say no need to wait as Crypto never goes away and lives dormant, and others say 4 weeks, others 6-8. I personally I would wait 6 weeks since most say about 4 weeks, and if you're waiting that long you might as well wait 6 weeks right?

Ultimately it is all your decision and just lots of research and opinions help in your decision and that is what is soooooo great about this site!

Good luck with the ick if you have it. We've all been there...
Alison