ich in reef tank help please

[razz]

aloha, ive had my tank running for 20 years with-out too much of a problem..i caught a racoon butterfly a few months back to help aliminate the ast. anomes that started popping up and wouldnt you know it ,ich killed most of my fish..only the oldest clown and damsels surviveed..now evertime i try re-entering a tang into my tank in days in a few weeks of ich..
i dont check my water chemistry and dont want to start to since i change my water with filtered natural sea water from the local aqauruim and havnt had a prob since recently..i think i read something about phosphites causing stress leading to ich >? is this correct >? if so what is the easiest way to lower them..if not what should i try..>? also looking for a cure to get rid of my astasia anomes as they seem to be spreading..i would like to buy i copperband ,but i am scared it will die of the ich in my tank..i do have another racoon i got 3 weeks back that seems to be doing alright but it is starting to pick at other corals so it needs to go...thanks for the help in advance.. :)

 

[minireefer]

You probley already know these,but I place the exsisting fish into hospital tank treat just incase they carry the spores,but our imune.
Leave them out 30-40 days to brake the cycle.Ich need a host to continue the cycle.no no fish in the display and the ich spores should die off.

 

[razz]

unfortanently with our small apartment and new baby this is not an option.. i use to have one years ago but now i need another route ..im also having a hell of a time trying to catch the fish in the reef tank since i havent needed to do this before im clueless..they run when the net hits the tank and i dont want to rip apart my reef..
somone must have had this situation arise and found a cure >?

 

[jhnrb]

Razz thanks for the question. Unfortunately without testing it is not possible to determine the reason for the stress, however, all things considered that are known which is very little we can say with some certainty that the necommer introduced an outbreak. normally ich exists in every system, but, the fish immune system fights it off and the slime coat keeps the cysts from attaching. so, what to do now? I would recommend a uv sterilizer, several cleaner shrimp, and some cleaner gobies, maybe two ea. run the uv sterilization at the slower gph to kill free floating paracites. I have had success with this method for many years. the ich still showed up from time to time but the fish were able to fight it off with the help of the cleaners and the uv killed free floating cysts. good luck keep us posted.

 

[razz]

could u please post the names and a pic if possible of the best cleaner gobies for this job>? are they immune to the ich or can they still get it >? i do have 2 cleaner shrimps allready and they keep busy cleaning the fish:)
also can u recommend an inexpensive uv strerilizer that works well >? thanx again

 

[bkv1997]

Saltwater Aquarium Corals for Marine Reef Aquariums: Neon Blue Goby - Tank-Bred

I have also used this UV before it was reasonably priced, but i would get atleast the 15watt model.
Aquarium Ultraviolet Sterilizers: Gamma UV Sterilizer

 

[jhnrb]

I agree with BK nothing else to add at this time, except to add the uv sterilizer 1st and after about 10 days add the cleaner gobies. good luck.

 

[AndyB4784]

They just came out with in-tank UV sterilizer's. They are pretty cheap too and the 7 watt one is rated for 75 gallons they are made by Submariner. I think mine was like 89.95 at LFS i'm sure you could find a better price on line though. it also has an ajustable flow rate so you can adjust it based on what you are trying to kill. from what i've read expsure time of the water to the light is the most important factor.

 

[d.french]

uv sterilizers work good i heard but if it is a new tank i thought i read it could kill of beneficial bacteria that your tank needs. Plus i had ick on my new saifin but i have a couple of cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp and there supposed to clean ick of fish plus today i seen at lfs a cleaner wrasse that did amazing job cleaning fish pretty fish too.

 

[bkv1997]

Yea... this will probably start a debate, but it has always been my opinion you can never have an ich free tank. You might not have ich on your fish, but it is present and as long as your fish are healthy and there is low stress your ok.

To me keeping waterparameters in check and keeping inhabitants that don't cause stress you will be alot better off. Cleaner shrimp are great. Cleaner wrasses can be a pain if you keep clams and a little tricky to get to eat prepared food.

Keep the fish happy and healthy and they will naturally fight off ich.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[jhnrb]

BK makes a good point. on the uv sterilizer, it will only affect what is free floating in the water collum so no need to worry about the bacteria as all extablished bacteria will be safe as it exists on the hard surfaces no free float ing in the water collum. now if you spike your system with bacteria you might want to turn off the uv unit for a few days, otherwise it just fine to run it 24/7 if you desire.