Ich!!!!

[RedTornado]

i have yet to get a picture of it but i am trying. I noticed last night that my foxface has little white spots all over his body. Being a total newbie I am trying to read up on this as fast as i can.

I know he has been stressed ever since i put him into my tank. He has never been a full bright yellow. He's always been a little dull. I do think i know the reason of his stress my yellow tang. He does bully him but what i don't get is that even though the tang does bully him the foxface follows him around the tank all day long.

At this point i am in need of advice on what to do.

Should i try to catch the yellow tang and see with my LFS will take him back?

Any help of this will be greatly appreciated.

 

[wontonflip]

Well, first off, ich is already in your tank...so tackle that first. If your foxface is not eating and is clearly stressed, I think the whole "leaving him alone" *might* not work (some of us just leave our sick fish alone, as long as they're eating; they tend to get healthier on their own).

Next step would be to catch the foxface, qt him, and treat him with either hypo or copper. The problem is, your display tank already has ich in it. As soon as your foxface gets put back in, and he gets stressed, he'll catch it again. You would just have to hope you've fattened him enough in qt so he can better fend off ich.

You can try to get all your fish out, and treat them all, and leave your tank fallow (fishless) for a couple of months. That will get rid of the ich in your dt.

Of course, you can go ahead and get rid of the tang and hopefully your foxface will get healthier on their own. You can also try rearranging the rocks so your tang gets confused and leaves your foxface alone. Or put the tang in "time out" :) Lots of options, none are easy. Part of the obstacles of not qt'ing all new fish.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I suggest reading the Sticky at the top of this forum titled "Oh No I have Ick!!!"

It is very informative and will help you greatly.

https://www.livingreefs.com/oh-no-have-ich-do-do-t30950.html

 

[RedTornado]

Ok so after some deep thinking and call to my LFS I am getting rid of my yellow tang witch sucks cuz I love watching him swim around. I do believe he is the cause for the foxface's stress due to all the bullying. In the long run though I think it is the best idea cause I am not in this hobby to kill fish and since i know they came from the wild even more reason to do what I can to keep him healthy.

As far as the Ich within my system goes I am going to take advantage of the small amount of fish I have. My plan is to let the foxface be for a while and hope for the best. He is still eating and when I pull the tang out I am sure he will get much better. Then when it turns spring here in minnesota and my mother moves her koi and goldfish back out to the pond I am going to use her 55 gallon tank. The tank will be rinsed out, clean up and then be filled with saltwater. I then do plan on dosing it with copper or trying hyposaloinity to kill the Ich within the fish. I will keep the fish in that tank for at least 8 weeks but it will probably be more like 12 before I dare putting them back into the DT. All that will be left in my main system during that time will be my nass snails, cleaner shrimp and my urchin or other inverts i may get.

I also want to make sure I never have to go through this again. So I am going to be setting up a QT to dose new incoming fish with copper or hypo to be sure they are free of it.

I am wondering though witch method would you go with a copper treatment or hypo? It dose seem that hypo is a good amount of work and monitoring.

How big should a QT be for my sized DT? 30 gal?

Also what should I use for filtration during the 8 to 12 weeks when they are in the 55?

Would a normal fresh water HOB be enough or should I be looking for a HOB skimmer that I could then put on a QT?

What do you all think will this plan work to fully rid my system of ich for the long run?

Theres nothing like being a newbie in this hobby I swear I learn something everyday and in the past 24 hours I have learned a ton!

Thanks!!!

 

[wontonflip]

I prefer hypo myself only because it seems less harsh and stressful. Copper requires just as much diligence. I just set up a rubbermaid tub w/ heaters, a powerhead, a large PVC, and just a cup of live sand from my dt. You still have to test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and be ready for emergency water changes.

If you use copper make sure not to get any of it in your main tank. And if you do hypo, take your time raising the salinity. Fish can handle a relatively quick drop in salinity, but can't handle a quick rise.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hypo is easier and safer than copper. It sounds like you have a good plan. I'm sorry you are giving up your tang. :(

 

[RedTornado]

Yea it sucks he's just too aggressive towards my foxface. Could it because of the small amount of fish in my tank? Maybe some time down the road i will give one another shot.

 

[little_fish]

I dont think so, usually the more fish the more stressed they tend to be because they have a smaller personal space.

Im sorry you have to give up your tang, but i really admire you are fixing the problem.

 

[RedTornado]

I dont think so, usually the more fish the more stressed they tend to be because they have a smaller personal space.

Im sorry you have to give up your tang, but i really admire you are fixing the problem.

I do see what you are talking about but i mean it more along the lines that the tang has really no one else to bully meaning then that the fox face is getting it all. If i had more fish in the tank it would be possible that he wouldn't bully the foxface so much causing him not to be so stressed. Or at least that is my thought behind it

Thanks it wasn't an easy one but the only real choice i could make.

today is the day i am going to try to get him out off the tank:sad:. I hope i don't destroy my tank in the process!

 

[little_fish]

Oh, i see what you mean, and i have no idea if that is true or not. Sounds logical, did you try any of the other tricks? Putting up a mirror, lights of or changing up the rocks?

 

[OhNoNemo]

Oh, i see what you mean, and i have no idea if that is true or not. Sounds logical, did you try any of the other tricks? Putting up a mirror, lights of or changing up the rocks?

This works more often than not......you'll need a little 4x4 inch or so mirror and put it either in the tank or up against the glass on the outside right near where the tang sleeps...
Good luck

 

[PRC]

What are you feeding your foxface?

 

[RedTornado]

I never did try the mirror. I did change around the rock a couple weeks ago when i noticed the problem it never really seemed to work. My foxface has a certain spot he likes to hide/ sleep and every time he would go there the tang would go up and push in out of it.

As far as feeding. I feed him algae sheets every day along him frozen pe mysis shrimp that i let soak in selcon (a fatty substance). I only use the selcon about 3 days a week.

I just got back from giving the tang back to the LFS.