Some info on SW ICK

[Razoreqx]

Exactly, ich is a parasite, not a virus or a bacteria.

Fish bring it in from the wild. Due to the nature of the parasite's lifecycle, fish who have ich in the wild will not likely have it for long as the parasite just can't keep up with fish movement all over the reef. However, in the captive confines of an aquarium, ich have access to free food [fish] and nothing will stop them from proliferating except treatment.

Even if a fish does not have ich when caught, if they are placed in an infected tank, whether that be at the wholesale level, the retail level or your own tank, then they become infected and carry it with them wherever they go [until they and the tank they have been in are treated. That is why ich is so prevelent in the hobby and the infection level so high.

That is why it is so very important to set up a QT in your home so you be sure that an infected fish does not enter your own display. You might get a fish that looks perfectly fine. Then bring it home and introduce it directly into your display. 3 days later all your fish have ich. The ich is not only on this fish, but in the water that the fish was bagged in. What do most hobbyists do when they get a new fish. Float the fish in the bag in their displays. Then release the fish and the water into their tank. If fish or water has the parasite, then you have just introduced the problem to your display.

[Razoreqx]

Here is a Hippo tang with Ick from my tank a few months ago.. After a month in a QT in hypo hes back to his old self again

[ZenKitty]

Razoreqx, What size tank do you have- looks like you have 3 tangs?

[Razoreqx]

Razoreqx, What size tank do you have- looks like you have 3 tangs?

that tank is 120g

[QueenAngel]

Hum..........Everything i have read about tangs all say they should be kept "one" per tank. Are all yours coextisting happily?

[MikeS]

Tangs can be kept individually or in groups. You are most likely to run into problems is if you have two tangs of the same species in the same tank. Three or more (of the same species) seems to work ok, however, as does a mix of different species of tangs.

Mike

[cramsmith]

This was really a good heads up. However, I don't fully understand what this means? <After a month in a QT in hypo hes back to his old self again>

I don't know what "hypo" means. Also, what is the necessary equipment for a QT tank?

[Razoreqx]

NOTE: This procedure can not be performed in an environment containing live rock, live sand or inverts [including crabs, corals, etc.] If you have a strictly Fish-Only setup, then the treatment can be done within the display, otherwise, you will need to treat infected fish in a quarantine/hospital tank.

You will need: Refractometer or a glass hydrometer calibrated to tank temperatures, pH buffers, a tank or quarantine area for the infected fish that is adequately filtered.

Hyposalinity is a procedure involving lowering the salinity from normal tank levels to 14 ppt (1.009 Specific Gravity) over the course of 48 hours. This is done by doing a series of small water changes using fresh dechlorinated water. During the procedure, pH must be closely monitored as pH tends to drop as water become less saline. Fish are maintained in hyposaline conditions for three weeks after all symptoms are gone. Again, accurate measuring is essential, and the standard swing arm hydrometers are not going to work. A refractometer or large glass lab grade hydrometer calibrated to tank temperatures is needed. Once the fish have been asymptotic for three weeks, the salinity is then raised back to display tank levels over the course of a week. Fish can not tolerate rapid increases in salinity. Leave the fish in quarantine at display tank levels for another week.

Your display will now have been fishless for at least four weeks, sufficient time to allow the parasite’s life cycle to be interrupted. Crypto is an obligate parasite that requires a fish host. No fish=No host=No parasite. Ich is a fish-only parasite, it will not affect inverts.

Continue to monitor pH daily during the process and be prepared with buffers to address any pH problems. Also keep the water clean through proper filtration.

[Charles Poole]

Hyposaline conditions are very dangerous and risky procedures. So please use caution when taking this course of treatment.

Hypo salinity can and will cause stress to any marine organism. Changing the salinity slowly over 48 hrs may be tolerable by some fish, while others may have severe reactions to it. Worse than the parasitic infect is causing.

Always ask around about a particular fish, and resort to medications when in doubt.

Ich can also be brought on by stress relating to tank mate aggressions or teritorial disputes. Basically, anything that might cause a fish to get stressed, can lead to an Ich outbreak. A new fish introduction, which may or may not already be infected, can cause an outbreak.