is this NORMAL??

[trillyen]

first off ivebewn wanting to say this for a while, I absolultley love all the stickys that Dr. Lee posted and have read over them an unaccountable amount of times and I just hope 1 day that I have and know just 1/25 of the knowledge as he does about this hobby that I'll be addicted to for hopefully the rest of my life

Ok first off I have a pacific blue tang ( dory ) n qt right now because of a major ick ussuei was having and now all the ick is gone he has been in hypo for about 2 weeks now I had him in there with a blue green chromis which seemed to be getting along with the tang while I looked over the tank but I started noticing the tangs fins and stuff looking a bit nipped on but there was no sign of aggression while I looked at the tank!! Also I noticed that the tang was barely eating and I figured he would die a long time ago because his stomach was really sunk n and I can see his ribs as of right now but it seems like as soon as I took out the chromis the tang started eating alot more so hopefully his fins will heal also. I just thought this situation was strange. They were both n a 29 gallon tank in qt

Secondly I have another pacific blue tang ( dory ) in a 125 gallon and I mean this tang had it bad but didnt have it when I put him n there, I think that's probably why my naso tang died maybe my naso tang went into hiding for like 2 days then was dead onenight when I came home don't know why he died. Any way the pacific tang is still living and I I was gonna start up my 40 gallon up for a secondary qt tank so I wouldnt have to convert my 125 gl tank to a qt tank but right before I did add my 40 gallon to the qt tank club I got a uv sterilizer to kill off some of the cyano in the tank and not only did it kill off ALL of the cyano all the ICK dissapeared off of the tang. I mean I know its still there but is this possible?? Its a 24 watt uv sterilizer and its doing its job. Will it kill all the ick or at least keep it under control to where when I do put my other blue tang back in the tank it'll stay ick free??

Ok I know what your thinking if I look super close to the tang the ick is still there or it may be invisible and still there but trust me of it is still there it is transparent cause I looked at him when my halides came on as close as I could get and his gills, skin, or what ever looks flawless the worst thing I could see him showing is that the poor thing needed to go on a diet

thanks for your help ahead of time

 

[leebca]

You sort of guessed the correct response.

Most hobbyists fall into the trap of 'If I don't see it, it isn't there.' I am somewhat amazed at this since most hobbyists understand the value and importance of bacteria in the marine system and they can't see them, either, but know they are there.

The most favored place for Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) to 'hang out' is in the fish's gills. It is not possible to see it there without doing a gill clipping. Also, looking at the mucous layer by performing a skin scrape will usually show some of the parasites at work. Don't forget one other problem with this parasite, the only time a human can 'see' it is when it forms large, white sacs (Trophonts) on the fish's body. But, that isn't the only place this takes place and in fact, the parasite can literally do this while the lights are out, drop off the fish or rupture right on the fish, and in the morning the hobbyists thinks everything is still fine.

Once Marine Ich is in the marine system, it stays for months before it looses it efficacy. The UV doesn't kill it. What the UV can and does do with relation to this particular parasite is reduce the numbers of the parasites that may be in the water column. But you need to understand that the parasite doesn't need to swim around the tank to infect a fish again -- fishes 'sleep' on the bottom at night and that is the place most fish get infected.

If you return a 'cured fish' into an infested marine system, the fish gets reinfected, with or without a UV.

I thank you for expressing your appreciation of the information provided here for your use. What you want to do is re-read this post: Marine Ich - Myths and Facts and note especially the parts that mention UV and not seeing the parasite.

Achieving a disease-free marine system is attainable, but the UV doesn't do this.

 

[returnofsid]

IMO hypo treatment should be two-fold. There should be an 8 week hypo treatment for ALL fish in a QT environment. At the same time, the display tank should be fishless (NO fish) for the same 8 week period. Otherwise, you haven't rid the display tank of the Ich. You will just end up with a re-infestation.

 

[trillyen]

hey thanks for your thoughts guys

Man I really hate to catch that dang tang and hypo him its gonna be hell I tell ya i should of hypoed him n the first place

Lesson learned just cause a fish looks healthy and u have a brand new set up awaiting the first fish dosent mean ick can't just happen

Thanks I think I'm catching on!!

 

[returnofsid]

Trillyen, We're all still catching on...lol. I think we've all been where you're at right now. I know I've been there more than once!! Heck, I'll probably be there again. I do use QT, but not for everything and not even for all fish. When I started out, I was told by everyone, just as you were...QT all fish!!! I didn't. It bit me in the butt, and worse than that, because of my reluctance, several fish died. I soon learned the value of QT. There are still times I don't QT fish. I do with most....but not all. So far, I've been lucky, other than my early mishaps.

I'm very careful to visually inspect all corals and live rock going into my tanks. However, how good of a visual inspection can a person do on live rock?? LOL. I've treated corals that I knew had problems, such as Red Planaria, before putting them in my tanks.

Eventually, I'll have a QT set up with proper lighting to QT corals. Once, I'm there, I'll QT everything wet!!!

You'll make it through this, just as we all have. Hopefully your fish will as well. Tangs are notorious for getting Ich. It's not "if" but "when."

A note on hyposalinity treatment....calibrate your refractometer. It's very important because 1.009 will kill Ich but is safe for your fish, 1.010 may not kill Ich. Most literature says 6 weeks. I've done 6 weeks and had it not work. I suggest 8. The important thing is to keep treating for at least 2 weeks after ALL visible signs of Ich are gone. After that 2 week period, SLOWLY raise the salinity back up to normal levels. Make sure there are NO fish in your display tank for this same period. Good luck and keep at it!! Your recent threads and recent pics show that you're definitely learning!!! Great job!!

 

[trillyen]

Trillyen, We're all still catching on...lol. I think we've all been where you're at right now. I know I've been there more than once!! Heck, I'll probably be there again. I do use QT, but not for everything and not even for all fish. When I started out, I was told by everyone, just as you were...QT all fish!!! I didn't. It bit me in the butt, and worse than that, because of my reluctance, several fish died. I soon learned the value of QT. There are still times I don't QT fish. I do with most....but not all. So far, I've been lucky, other than my early mishaps.

I'm very careful to visually inspect all corals and live rock going into my tanks. However, how good of a visual inspection can a person do on live rock?? LOL. I've treated corals that I knew had problems, such as Red Planaria, before putting them in my tanks.

Eventually, I'll have a QT set up with proper lighting to QT corals. Once, I'm there, I'll QT everything wet!!!

You'll make it through this, just as we all have. Hopefully your fish will as well. Tangs are notorious for getting Ich. It's not "if" but "when."

A note on hyposalinity treatment....calibrate your refractometer. It's very important because 1.009 will kill Ich but is safe for your fish, 1.010 may not kill Ich. Most literature says 6 weeks. I've done 6 weeks and had it not work. I suggest 8. The important thing is to keep treating for at least 2 weeks after ALL visible signs of Ich are gone. After that 2 week period, SLOWLY raise the salinity back up to normal levels. Make sure there are NO fish in your display tank for this same period. Good luck and keep at it!! Your recent threads and recent pics show that you're definitely learning!!! Great job!!

Wow thanks alot man i appreciate your time and your knowledge and especially your kind words

yeah right now truth be told im under the false pretense that my fish dont have ick cause i dont see it on the since i started using the uv sterl so i figure that as long as i keep one on there that the ick spots will just be irrelevant but i know in the back of my mind its not true cause Dr. Lee already explained this to me but dang it cant a man DREAM lol.

Hey so am i only suspose to keep my fish in hypo for 2 weeks then raise the salinity when i see no more ick

or keep the salinity level 1.009 for all 8 weeks cause thats what i was under the impression was correct

your post made me question my action!!!!

 

[krisfal]

I think returnof sid meant to type 4 weeks, the hypo treatment should continue 4 weeks after the last spots are seen, the salinity is then raised and then ideally the fish is observed in QT for another 4 weeks to ensure the treatment was succesful.

 

[leebca]

Kris has indicated what we know to be the optimal observation time period, balancing time in the quarantine with verification time needed for the pathogen to 'show up' again.

 

[trillyen]

thanks i guess i better start gradually raising my salinity i think hes been in there for about 4 weeks now


thanks alot guys i hope this works

the little freaker still aint eating though, he'll suck in the food and spit it right back out it makes me so mad, and he is still so skinny i see his bones, its sooo frustrating what can i do to feed him

i swear i wish i could take his little A%# out and force feed him!!!

 

[leebca]

A fish that spits out food is one that is usually telling you it doesn't like what it is you've providing. Everyone thinks they can get their fish to eat if they just try different foods and find the one they like. But this isn't true EXCEPT when the fish is behaving like yours is. Try different foods. Take a read of this: My New Fish Won't Eat -- Tips.

 

[returnofsid]

As for as hypo treatment duration. I've always been of the opinion that it should last 8 week, and at least 2 weeks after all visible signs of Ich are gone. No less than 8 weeks though. After 2 weeks with NO visible sign of Ich, then you can slowly raise the salinity back to normal.

 

[krisfal]

As for as hypo treatment duration. I've always been of the opinion that it should last 8 week, and at least 2 weeks after all visible signs of Ich are gone. No less than 8 weeks though. After 2 weeks with NO visible sign of Ich, then you can slowly raise the salinity back to normal.

I had always heard 4 weeks after the last signs. I apologize for posting that I thought maybe it was a typo

 

[leebca]

Sorry I haven't gotten to post sooner. I was hospitalized last Friday and have just been released. Had a mystery infection which has cleared up.

There is no set treatment time when it comes to Marine Ich (MI) and hyposalinity. Part of the variables is the exact sp. gr. used for the treatment, the virulence of the MI, and at what stages the MI is in at the onset of treatment.

Treatment is for this length of time:
4 weeks after the last visible sign or evidence of the disease, the treatment can stop by the slow increase of sp. gr. over about a one week time period.

Verification goes like this:
Once the water is back to 'normal' sp. gr. the fish is held another 4 weeks in quarantine for observation to verify that the disease has been eliminated.