Since no one is ever going to answer on my other thread, I guess I'll make a new one. One of my clownfish I' pretty sure has Ich. My Blenny and other Clownfish do not. Some days there won't be any spots, and other days there will be a ton. I don't have a QT, since I'm pressed for space and money.
Marine Ich
- Thread starter bumper55
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Since you don't have a QT you just have to make due and that's fine, most of us make due at some time or the other.
Marine ich is different than freshwater ich so some things, like elevated temperature don't work to cure it, and of course neither does salt. If you have a fish only tank, no inverts, you can use the copper-based cures to get rid of it but if you have inverts that won't work.
Quite honestly what I've found for marine ich is that clean water and well fed fish are the best cure. The fish will develop a natural immunity to the ich which will prevent it from reoccuring. As long as the fish is healthy and not stressed they usually do fine in situations like you describe. Of course if the ich is very bad this isn't a good option but for what you are describing to me that is how I would deal with it in my own tank.
Taking a "this too shall pass" attitude with ich can be a bit scary I know and people often balk at me giving this advice but as a reef keeper I cannot medicate or my corals die so I had to adopt it and lo and behold it works! Again, this is for marine ich, wich is different so anyone reading who had FW ich don't listen.
So...
1. if no inverts = medicate with copper-based medication.
2. if inverts = keep fish well fed, low stress (even lights off most of the day), and frequent water changes (dirty water stresses fish). Wait.
If you don't like the sounds of #2 there may be some invert-safe medications for marine ich but I've found they don't cure the ich.
Marine ich is different than freshwater ich so some things, like elevated temperature don't work to cure it, and of course neither does salt. If you have a fish only tank, no inverts, you can use the copper-based cures to get rid of it but if you have inverts that won't work.
Quite honestly what I've found for marine ich is that clean water and well fed fish are the best cure. The fish will develop a natural immunity to the ich which will prevent it from reoccuring. As long as the fish is healthy and not stressed they usually do fine in situations like you describe. Of course if the ich is very bad this isn't a good option but for what you are describing to me that is how I would deal with it in my own tank.
Taking a "this too shall pass" attitude with ich can be a bit scary I know and people often balk at me giving this advice but as a reef keeper I cannot medicate or my corals die so I had to adopt it and lo and behold it works! Again, this is for marine ich, wich is different so anyone reading who had FW ich don't listen.
So...
1. if no inverts = medicate with copper-based medication.
2. if inverts = keep fish well fed, low stress (even lights off most of the day), and frequent water changes (dirty water stresses fish). Wait.
If you don't like the sounds of #2 there may be some invert-safe medications for marine ich but I've found they don't cure the ich.
Just to add a bit more on that, anybody who thinks they've found such a product should always research the active ingredients. Just like you've said, I've never seen such a thing that's legit. On the bunch of supposedly reef-safe ich cures I've seen over time, the active ingredients were always either stuff that wouldn't do much to ich specifically (but might work on other mild ailments) or were misleading attempts to make obviously useless stuff sound like something better. One that I looked into some time ago even listed distilled water under a fancy name as an active ingredient!
I just lost my blenny today, but I don't know why. I'm guessing ich, since my OTHER clownfish now has it. I have a copper based medication on hand, but I have live rock, and snails, and Hermits, and shrimp in there so that wouldn't work. This ich doesn't look too serious, and I'm feeding with the Formula One Ocean Nutrition Flakes that were recommended. the lights are on for 4-5 hours a day, and I'm doing a water change once every week or two(salt is expensive!). Also, I have 13 Hermits and 2 Peppermint Shrimp. Will they be able to eat a 4" Starry Blenny, or should I remove it(It's in a very difficult position right now. Lot's of moving would be required.)
TallTree01
Coo, Man
I thought marines were impervious to ich. Ich hates salt
They're two different beasties. Freshwater ich is Ichthyophthirius, while saltwater ich is Cryptocaryon. Many marine fish are quite susceptible to Cryptocaryon.
It's also important to note that the marine version cannot be eradicated by raising the tank temperature. They are quite happy at higher temps. And as the names imply the marine version isn't actually ich at all but crypto but since it looks pretty much the same to the eye it's called ich as well.
I just got back from vacation(did anyone hear about the Carnival Cruise ship that got stuck in St. Martin? That was me.) and the clownfish is gone. No body, nothing. So, today I went and got 5 pounds of LR, and a skunk cleaner(but I almost got a pair of harlequins). I rearranged the tank and kept the peppermint and skunk in a floating container used for pregnant fish where they were separated but could see each other for about a half hour. I put them in and all is well. No fighting, just happy shrimp. Seeing as all of my fish are dead and I have no intention of getting blennies or clowns again, I scrapped my whole stocking plan. After 2-3 weeks I'll add another fish, and here are some candidates for the tank:
1 Peppermint
1 Scarlet Skunk
Hermits
Turbo Snails
Candidates:
•Flameback Angel
•Royal Gramma
•Jawfish, Goby, Cardinal, other Inverts(Crabs, Shrimp, don't know if my lighting is good enough for coral) any suggestions?
1 Peppermint
1 Scarlet Skunk
Hermits
Turbo Snails
Candidates:
•Flameback Angel
•Royal Gramma
•Jawfish, Goby, Cardinal, other Inverts(Crabs, Shrimp, don't know if my lighting is good enough for coral) any suggestions?
My recommendation is to wait 10 weeks to put in fish. Marine ich usually are gone after 8 weeks in a fishless tank but have been known to go 10 so that's the number I always recommend just to be on the safe side. If you only wait a couple of weeks the ich could still be lurking waiting for a host.
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