Help: New Butterfly with Ich. FML.

[ScubaSteve]

So yesterday I picked up a longnose butterfly from another member. Brought him home, got him set up with a nice long acclimation and watched him for several hours. He was happy, perky, eating like crazy and not showing any signs of distress. Best of all, he was a perfect specimen with no signs of anything. Seeing as how I don't necessarily have the space for a quarantine, observation is really my only option.

I made sure the lights were off when I added him to the tank and there isn't anyone there to harass him. My blenny checked him out for a bit then left him alone. The butterfly seemed happy enough, zipping around my tank demolishing every tube worm it could find, ate some more mysis... all was well! It seemed fairly awake at midnight last night... I assume just having trouble the first night in a new tank.

Well, I woke up this morning and BAM!, f***ing ich on the new butterfly. F*** me! I'd call it a moderate infection.

So, I've never had to deal with ich before as I keep my water clean, don't stress my fish, avoid the ich-magnets and well.... I've been lucky. This guy is in a full reef so I can't treat the tank. I've been reading about all the different options and don't necessarily see a solution that is going to work for me, aside from building a quarantine (really, really not the preferred option right now).

What should I do here? Advice please.

[Aquattro]

Do nothing. Feed it well, let it settle in. See what happens. Maybe add fresh garlic to some mysis. Thaw mysis, squish really well in paper towel to get out moisture, then smother with freshly crushed garlic. It's what I do, always works for me and I've never lost a fish to ich...

[The Grizz]

+1 what Aquattro siad, a cleaner wrasse or shrimp would be a good investment as well. My cleaner wrasse that I got for all places, Pieces in Calgary is a workhorse. Keep ALL my fish nice and clean even my clowns and a checkerboard wrasse.

[BlazingArrow]

That sucks dude, hopefully it's just the stress of the tank move. Hopefully it will recover well!

[ScubaSteve]

Ya, I've got a pair of cleaner shrimp. Hopefully they'll take good care of it.

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Do nothing. Feed it well, let it settle in. See what happens. Maybe add fresh garlic to some mysis. Thaw mysis, squish really well in paper towel to get out moisture, then smother with freshly crushed garlic. It's what I do, always works for me and I've never lost a fish to ich...

Brad do you let the crushed garlic go into the tank with the mysis or do you do anything to separate it before adding to the tank?

My guess here is the stress of the new tank is what brought it on, as long as the fish remains eating and nobody is picking on him it should go away. Some fish are more prone to ich than others. My lavender tang seems to have about a half dozen spots that come and go and it's been well over a year. I put some cleaner shrimp in and he's all too happy to let them work their magic on him so time will tell if that makes a difference down the road but for the most part managing ich is all about managing good water quality, peaceful tankmates and good food quality so that the fish's own immune response and slime coat become enough to repel the ich on the next go-round of the ich cycle. It's been a real mind-blow for me in this last year as previously in 12 years or whatever it's been now for me of running SW fish tanks I've been lucky in that ich went away on new arrivals within a week and now I'm adjusting myself to thinking that chronic ich seems less of a panic button item than other ailments.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Brad do you let the crushed garlic go into the tank with the mysis or do you do anything to separate it before adding to the tank?

I don't worry about chunks, in or out. Essentially I want the dry mysis to soak up as much oil as possible. Then the whole mix goes in. It's easier with tangs, since the nori acts like a sponge, I just crush the garlic on a sheet and wipe it around, then given the nori a shake to get rid of any bigger chunks.
My hippo woke up one morning with a masive outbreak just after getting her, and this is the approach I took. Today I have a very happy healthy hippo tang.

[George]

I don't think cleaner shrimps or cleaner wrasses can do anything to ich. They mainly pick up dead skin or left over food in the mouth of a fish.
Garlic may or may not help.
Sometime people reported that they added this and that and the ich went away. Well, ich just doesn't simply go away. Most likely they are still attaching to some fish but just don't cause an outbreak yet.
If you don't want to set up a hospital tank, then avoiding any stress on the fish is the best option. Feed it well, no aggressive fish. Stable parameters. Hopefully the fish can fight off the outbreak.

[ScubaSteve]

Frankly, I agree with you but I'm willing to try anything. The ich parasite is in my reef, simple as that. The only way I'm getting it out of there is by treating the whole tank or running fishless for quite a while, neither of which are really an option for me. So, just like that present BlazingArrow got from that "Lady of the night" in Tijauana, all I can do is find ways of minimizing the flair ups and helpin the fish fight it off. If only there was a Valtrax for marine ich...

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by George

I don't think cleaner shrimps or cleaner wrasses can do anything to ich. They mainly pick up dead skin or left over food in the mouth of a fish.
Garlic may or may not help.
Sometime people reported that they added this and that and the ich went away. Well, ich just doesn't simply go away. Most likely they are still attaching to some fish but just don't cause an outbreak yet.
If you don't want to set up a hospital tank, then avoiding any stress on the fish is the best option. Feed it well, no aggressive fish. Stable parameters. Hopefully the fish can fight off the outbreak.

I beg to differ with you there, my cleaner wrasse took care a a case of ick on my Regal in one day. And garlic is a big help to keep all fish healthy.