Hi all! my first post here

[chicki]

Thanks all!!
I live just south of the city Simon, where are you?
Steve...are you the one that sells frags??
Everytime I go to a fish store I meet someone from the chat lines and I can't seem to keep everyone straight!...I think it's age!LOL
My ich problem is still a problem and I've lost some really special pets, including my beautiful pair of manderins. But the good news is that my two rabbitfish (Russel and Horst) will make it and my lawnmower blenny "Rocky" (one of my very first fish I got) I also think will make it. The majestic (Lola) and the powderblue (Elvis) are in the QT and are improving and eating now. Elvis was so sick that I actually caught him in my 180 with my hands. He would only lay on his side and swim circles the first couple days in quarantine! I couldn't believe he got better!! I added corn syrup! melafix, quick cure and started lowering the salinity. He didn't eat for 6 days and is real thin, but is eating again now. Lola was covered with ich, then got this kinda film all over her including her eyes. When I caught her and was going to put her in the quarantine I wanted to add her really slowly as my salinity was already down to 1.018. I had her in a ice cream gallon jug and left for a minute, when I came back it had tipped and she was in the tank. She went in that condition from 1.025 salinity to 1.018 in minutes!!??? I thought that was the end for her...but no....I'm willing them to live..and its working!! I was even setting my alarm for 3 in the morning to check on them, what for I don't know!LOL (but I always felt better when I did)
It's a terrible lesson to learn. The powderblue was the last fish to add and look what happened!
Although I started out quarantining I thougth "Elvis" would be too stressed so I didn't
bother....what a mistake!!
Anyways now you all know what a nutcase I am, (I'm sure I'm not the only one here)!!LOL
Looking forward to this board!

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by chicki:
Steve...are you the one that sells frags??

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">um nope not me hehe, it was quite a while ago..

Steve

[EmilyB]

Fish have more of a problem reaclimating to higher salinity, than dropping to lower, so take your time.

Where will they go since the main tank was infected? Or is it going to remain fishless for six weeks ?

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Welcome to Canreef.

If it is really ick, then you can feed them garlic laced food. As long as they eat the garlic laced food, this will protect the fish from future ick attacks and they can be placed back in to the main tank when they are healthy.

- Victor.

[EmilyB]

I personally would not reintroduce a skinny PBT to a previously infected tank.

[chicki]

Victor, no offense but I don't believe that for a moment. I have fed garlic and zoe and selco soaked foods to my fish since I set it up. They eat a whole variety of foods all soaked in this 4 times a day. I think that a real good diet (and garlic, vit etc.) definitely helps fish stay healthy and fight off different types of disease's. This garlic thing so far is only hear say, there is no scientific proof that it works. (it obviously didn't on my tank)

What has helped save some fish are the cleaner's, I have cleaner gobies (2) and cleaner wrasses's (2) and 4 cleaner shrimp. The fish that are still alive and doing well are the fish that allow themselves to get cleaned. The PBT and majestic refused to go to any stations, infact when the wrasse wanted to clean Elvis..he would get ticked off and chase the wrasse away!

My plan for the future is to cycle my new 200 and then move the remaining fish ( 2 rabbitfish, 5 chromis, 1 lawnmower, pair of watchmen gobies) to that tank. I'll do the hypo with them and then add the tang and angel. I'll let this tank clean out for 4 weeks, before returning them. I'm just a bit worried about adding the pbt and majestic to "a new tank condition" they like established tanks?? but I don't see any other way out of it.

Have a great day!!

[Troy F]

Chicki, for those of us that don't follow reefs.org often enough to have seen your posts, could you explain your system and what the history has been?

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

No offense taken.

There are studies that have shown how it works...it is not hear say. Trust me...I thought the same way until somebody showed me a paper on it. Maybe you have a garlic resistant strain of ick !

During the initial introduction of fish, they tend not to eat anything for a couple of days and tend to lose their protective slim. So, your PBT may not have gotten its ick rejection slim before its gills were impaired...everything is history after that.

IMHO, I think ick is in all of our tanks. It just takes a small little mistake for the ick to take off and do some damage.

- Victor.

[Aquattro]

Agreed, Victor. I didn't believe the garlic thing for a moment, but after introducing ich into my tank with a tang, I thought "what the heck". I crushed fresh garlic and soaked the nori in the oil. In two days the ich was gone. I stopped at that point and it came back. I fed again and it went away again. I will continue to feed garlic soaked food until I feel the fish are no longer stressed.

[robert]

I second Victor and Brad. I used garlic on my fresh water discuss. What a great stuff.

Victor, I am not sure if ICH is present in our tank all the time. It needs life host to survive its cycle that has 3 stages. If we have ich in our tank for long period of time it means that some of the live organism is infested with it and we just have it under managable control. Fish that has it is not 100% happy. We observe only one stage in our tank, white spots (cysts) on the fish body, that represent very heavy infesting. There is only one stage when ich can be successfully treated. It is free floating stage when it breaks out of its cyst and starts to swim around looking for a host. To protect our fish we need to boost their immune system (garlic works great), keep the stress to minimum. Fish immune system when in full power can handle ich with no problem. Now, once you get it, IMHO, you have to treat the tank (very difficult in reef situation) more than fish. Fish either can survive it or not. You can't help it much when fish has it. While in hosiptal tank being treated with chemicals, we just break development stage of ich. In order to make sure that ich is gone don't make mistake to put fish back when you don't see spots. Keep it in the hospitality tank for at least 3-4 weeks. Some people had success with UV and Ozone filters, and some chemicals, such as malachite green and fomalin. Anyway I am talking more from fresh water experiences. What I learnt from reading so far about salt water ich the only difference is response to the temparture raising treatment, that works miracle in fresh water tank. In saltwater tank it produces oposite results.

Chicki, keep your main tank 6-8 weeks empty (well, fishless), if your problem was ich it should be gone. However, I just came cross article about some lab test on marine ich. Ich was still present in invert. system without fish after 60 days. Exact conditions of system were no provided. Make sure you treat your hospitality tank (repeating treatments) to kill ich completly there as well.

My 2 cents.

[ 19 September 2002, 00:24: Message edited by: pirate ]