How do i get rid of ich I do not have enough money to set up a quarantine tank?

beam3er

beam3er

Reefing newb
Like the title says how do I get rid of ich if I do not have enough money to set up a quarantine tank? Can anything else get ich like corals and inverts? How do I even set up a quarantine tank? Another light, protein skimmer, heater, power head, live rock, and sand? Thank you for your replies.
Steven
 
For a QT(quarantine tank) All you need is a tank, some PVC pipe so the fish can hide in there and feel safe, some power heads for circualtion, and a heater to keep the water at 78 - 80 degrees.

The corals and inverts cant catch ich, and only copper based meds work well enough to even treat. But they will kill all your corals and inverts. Just follow the directions and keep the fish out of the display tank for 8 weeks to break the life cycle of the ich that is in there.

Brian
 
Thank you Brian. What about a filter or biological filter. I will be feeding the fish and they will be excreting wastes during the 8 week treatment while they are out of the show tank. How do I get around getting an ammonia, nitrite or nitrate spike? Do I just do frequent water changes?
 
plus if you follow the directions, you are doing frequent water changes. AQlso, a chemical filter would remove the meds and they wouldnt be as effective.

Brian
 
Ok,thank you all for your input. I can swing that. I have another 29 gallon tank, a heater and a power head. I wouldn't be able to buy a new light, since they do not need a light in the QT I will start this process tomorrow.
 
 
For some fish, copper is not safe. So knowing what kind of fish you have will help.

Also, it is necessary to quarantine ALL the fish in your tank. If you just remove one, it will get ich again as soon as you put it back into the tank with the other fish. If one fish has it, all of them have it, whether they are showing symptoms or not.
 
I haven't got any answers for you, just questions to those who have answered! If you take all the fish out, treat them for a number of weeks in a Q tank and then put them back into the main tank which hasn't been treated because of the corals, won't they just get it again because the ick is still in the main tank?
And.... is ick white spot AND that black spot stuff as well?
 
The ich has a life cycle of 8 weeks or so. If you keep the fish out of the tank for 8 weeks, then the ich eggs will hatch, look for a host, then starve to death because they dont have any fish to attach to. They dont attack corals or inverts. That is why you dont get ich back after you put the fish back into the main tank.

The ich is white. I beleive that black spots are something else, but might be cured with the same treatment as ich. Not sure though

Brian
 
the q tank is going to cycle just like the dt wont it?

basically what im asking is...my tank is freshly cycling. so if i set up a q tank now and put fish in it(if safe). then i will just have to wait a couple of weeks after my cycle ends to add my ick free fish. right? or am i wrong?
 
okay. i went back and read the past postings again.
this means i can start a quarantine tank now and be able to put my fish in when my cycle ends?

i would do a small tank like a ten gal and only do one fish at a time and buy them small. or do you think that is too small?
 
well short of big angels and such I would think a juvenile of any species would be fine. Most quarantine for 3 to 4 weeks.
 
Ha well a lot of fish would fit. But probibly won't be happy haha. I know of some that put a tang in a10 gal and they died. They think they were stresses out from stress.
 

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