Ich in Reef Tank

[johnwonus]

Hi,
I am new to TRT. I have been reading articles for some time but now I have a specific question I need help with. I have Ich in my reef tank. Here are my parameters.
75gallon, PH 8.2, Nitrates 0, Amminoia 0, Calc 420, KH 10 Salinity at 35 PPT. I have approx 100 lbs of LR, 40 lbs of live sand, tank has beed set up for 18 months. I have (1) sail fin tang, (1) dottyback, (3) pajama cardinals, (1) clown fish, (2) yellow tail damsels, (1) yellow damsel, (1) black sea cucumber, 10 blue legged hermits, (2) turbo snails, (1) pepermint shrimp.

I can't imagine trying to catch my fish to hospital them. Are there any other ways?

Thanks

[bcrum51]

garlic not house hold garlic but garlic extract for fish tanks kent makes some and so do a few other companies

[bcrum51]

oh you can heat the tank up a bit as well should help

[jenglish]

Other than removing the fish there is no way to rid the tank of marine ich. THe proven ways to kill cryptocaryon irritans are hyposalinity, copper medications or the tank transfer method which involves multiple tanks.

There are basically two schools of thought on ich. One is to leave it alone and just let the fish's immune system fight it to a subclinical infection. The other is to take them out and treat. Treating is stressful as well and there is a chance that either course of action can kill a fish depending on the situation. SOme fish have lived with ich in their gills and mucus membranes for years. WHether this shortens their life or causes discomfort is not known for sure though plenty of folks have theories and opinions. THere are a number of "reef safe ich cures" that are more than likely just snake oil. The parasite is likely to be fought off to the point it is not noticable on it's own if tank conditions are good giving the appearence that it has been cured. Garlic is also used by some but is unlikley to have any effect unless it is fresh squeezed and even then it is not known for sure it would work. Raising the temp speeds up the life cyle of the ich somewhat but that can make it worse as often as better. SOme folks use UV, it can kill but most units are not powerful enough to and it only treats a portion of the water so it cannot rid your tank of ich. Cleaner shrimp and wrasses are also used but have little to no effect. So you have a decision to make. Try to let the fish take care of it or catch them and treat them. I fall into the catch them and treat camp but there are plenty of people that fall into the other camp as well.

[peasofme]

ich is a losing battle. the moment you have ich you already lost. that is why quarantine is so important. treating or not treating, your fish are probably dead sooner or later. the only way to get rid of ich in your tank is to remove all the fish and wait 2 months. without fish the ich will die. your best bet is to move all your fish to quarantine. anything not fish can't be affected by the ich but they can still carry it. ich is mostly on the substrate. it will multiply exponentially and wait for your fish to sleep and then attack. whenever you see a fish scratch against a rock or the sand, thats ich. white spots on a fish is also ich. its very important to get your fish from a reputable source. ich is miserable for all involved.

[VWD]

I agree with Jeremy on this, two things you can do, one is catch them and place in QT, the other is leave them in the tank and let them fight it off. I myself don't like to tear up my tanks to catch a fish and stress everything out in the process, Many fish can survive ich, many don't.

QT is best done when you bring the fish or coral home before you place in display tank.

[Loverotties]

+1