First Ich after that Velvet (Oodinium)

[Gouldian]

I know. but ex leh. Plus now where to get a neon gobies?

AlfaRomeo: Do you keep any neon ?

[weileong]

If you do get a Dr fish then just get one will do

Mine is observed to stick around my AT most of the time as I presume it is an ich magnet or have some stuffs for it work on.

My Dr fish also works on my anthias from time to time but ignore my cute little chevron.

Gouldian, you could try to flood your tank with bite sized nori first to get your AT to start on nori. I think it is easier to do so rather than other prepared food. Once it starts eating then you can try to slowly get it onto pellets or other stuffs. Last night my AT is observed trying out on mysis already.

[AlfaRomeo]

Nope, no neon goby for me yet... looking around for it too...

[Gouldian]

If you do get a Dr fish then just get one will do

Mine is observed to stick around my AT most of the time as I presume it is an ich magnet or have some stuffs for it work on.

My Dr fish also works on my anthias from time to time but ignore my cute little chevron.

Gouldian, you could try to flood your tank with bite sized nori first to get your AT to start on nori. I think it is easier to do so rather than other prepared food. Once it starts eating then you can try to slowly get it onto pellets or other stuffs. Last night my AT is observed trying out on mysis already.

Will try just that.

Thank bro.

[Gouldian]

Hi guys,

I have finally tranferred the AT to my display. Eating bits and pieces of Halymenia until one bro generously contributed some ulva (Thanks again bro!).

But What I notice is that the AT will always have ich just before lights off and the ich will be gone in the day. Is it normal? It has paired up with a doctor fish and the latter has been nipping the ich off whenever the AT permits but why does it comes back before lights off?????

Any experts can advise?

[AlfaRomeo]

How is your lighting cycle like? how long on and off?

[neokn]

Hi guys,

I have finally tranferred the AT to my display. Eating bits and pieces of Halymenia until one bro generously contributed some ulva (Thanks again bro!).

But What I notice is that the AT will always have ich just before lights off and the ich will be gone in the day. Is it normal? It has paired up with a doctor fish and the latter has been nipping the ich off whenever the AT permits but why does it comes back before lights off?????

Any experts can advise?

Glad that it's well and feeding already. Cheers.

[roidan]

Rav, do you inject the ozone into the skimmer?

nope....stopped a long time ago

now using UV only

[roidan]

but why does it comes back before lights off?????

actually when you dun see visible white spots..does not mean there is no more ich...

it's just that they have progressed to another stage in their life cycle and very soon their offspring will leech themselves back to the bodies of our fishes again....

part of their life cycle is where we see them on the fish bodies....part of the cycle is when they drop off to split into many offspring....and part of the cycle is when they are free swimming in the water column trying to find a host (this is the part where we can kill it with ozone or UV)....

many stages....it is a relentless cycle....which is why u will keep seeing them on and off....on and off...on and off

[flubberina13]

yup...that's why it is important to boost the immunity of your fish so that they will be able to fight off ich more readily...

[weileong]

Better to avoid introducing the parasite in the first place rather than to try and do damage repair after that

[flubberina13]

how to avoid?

Put fish under telescope before introducing into tank? :lol:

We just can't guarantee that the fish we bought from the lfs is free of ich...

Even when the fish looks healthy but when kanna stressed...the minute ich virus will just cling on so ever readily...

That's why, responsible reefers will do all they can; upgrading to better skimmers, get additives such as selcon, garlic and marine c, photo-free period, cease introducing fish for six weeks...

The efforts they take should be applauded...

[weileong]

Qarantine the fish for 6 weeks, which would be 2 life cycle for the ich. Due to the stress of moving your fish home the ich will surely show out by then

If got ich then just a matter of either treating either copper or hyposalinity.

I really regret not doing this for my 4ft and now had to stress myself to fight the ich.

Whereas my 2ft I practise the 6 weeks isolation and so far so good

[Gouldian]

Too bad I already added to my display liao. I just got back from Edmund, bought some medication for ich that supposedly reef safe.

Will try and feedback my progress.

Thank you all for your kind advises.

[Gouldian]

How is your lighting cycle like? how long on and off?

Hi bro,

MH on - 11.30am

MH off - 10.30pm

[weileong]

Better don't try any medicine on your reef tank.

Don't add also add already so don't dose medicine but try to reduce stress and feed the fishes well, also keep the water quality high.

[patrick123]

Heard that low temperature can help to slow down the multiplication of parasite. So don't know if it helps to lower temperature to 24 or 25 degrees.

I agree that quarantine is the best way, but that means that people who have fishes will have to remove them for upto a month for the parasite to die off. And a spare tank is available with equally good water condition to quarantine the fish for 4-6 weeks.

[patrick123]

BTW, if your AT is eating macro algae, that will be a good sign that it will start feeding. Just clip a piece of nori on the side of the glass and see if your AT eats it or not.

[typrobin]

Heard that low temperature can help to slow down the multiplication of parasite. So don't know if it helps to lower temperature to 24 or 25 degrees.

I agree that quarantine is the best way, but that means that people who have fishes will have to remove them for upto a month for the parasite to die off. And a spare tank is available with equally good water condition to quarantine the fish for 4-6 weeks.

issit?? wat i heard was high temperature...hhhhhmmmm...so many methods ah??

[Gouldian]

Thanks you for the kind advises.

After reading about the havoc Ich can bring to our tank, I eventually took the risk of adding medication to my display tank. Cuz, it is near impossible to fish out the AT without inflicting more stress to it and the rest of the inhabitant.

As mentioned, I went over to Eaquanature to get Kick Ich which claims to be Reef Safe. After reading through the reviews of the products from reef Central, I decided to risk it.

Tuesday, 07/09/2004 9pm: Although instruction is 2oz for 25gal, I added 4oz for my 34gal tank.

Wednesday, 08/09/2004 8am - 8pm: No sign of Ich. All Intervertebrates: 1 x Maxima, 3 x Croceas, 1 x Scolymia (Prata), 1 x Hammer, 1 x Torch, 1 x Frogspawn, 1 x Fox Coral, 1 x Platygyra (Pineapple Brain), 1 x Goniopora, 1 x Cleaner shrimp, 1 x Fire Shrimp & 2 x peppermint Shrimp - No sign of stress or reseading tissue.

Wednesday, 08/09/2004 9pm: Ich is back on AT again. No action taken as per instruction by Manufacturer to dose on 3rd or 4th day after initial dosing. So waiting to dose tomorrow.

[Gouldian]

Here is a pix of my AT with ICH.

It is the only fish with Ich in my tank. The rest including a hippo tang does not even have one spot on its body.

Dunno what this is telling me.

Any AT experts to advise?

[weileong]

I quote from a website.

The lifecycle of the ich parasite is interesting and it is important to understand it  when evaluating a treatment. The stage where the parasite is attached to a fish is called a trophont. The trophont will spend three to seven days (depending on temperature) feeding on the fish. After that, the trophont leaves the fish and becomes what is called a protomont. This protomont travels to the substrate and begins to crawl around for usually two to eight hours, but it could go for as long as eighteen hours after it leaves it's fish host. Once the protomont attaches to a surface, it begins to encyst and is now called a tomont. Division inside the cyst into hundreds of daughter parasites, called tomites, begins shortly thereafter. This noninfectious stage can last anywhere from three to twenty-eight days. During this extended period, the parasite cyst is lying in wait for a host. After this period, the tomites hatch and begin swimming around, looking for a fish host. At this point, they are called theronts, and they must find a host within twenty-four hours or die. They prefer to seek out the skin and gill tissue, then transform into trophonts, and begin the process all over again.

Therefore from what you described, it seems that when you see no spots on your other fishes, the trophonts has left the fishes and went on the other stage of their lifecycle. The reason why you don't see them on other fishes anymore is that the other fishes might have developed immunity to the parasite hence the theronts are not able attached to the fishes.

Best to leave all these medication alone. The only known treatment that works against the parasite are copper based medication and hyposalinity, both which cannot be used in a reef tank. Anything that can kill the ich parasites will kill the corals as well.

[Gouldian]

So bro, do you mean that if AT is feeding and happy, I should live with it?

[weileong]

Yeap. Just leave it alone if it is feeding. Remember don't stress it. Don't put your hands into the tank etc. Best don't even walk across the tank or go near it.

Usually it's not the ich that killed the fish but all the funny chemicals we throw in.

[Gouldian]

Last night go back AT scratching itself on rocks liao. Super heartache! No eating liao, can see that it is getting thinner by the day.

After lights off, saw cleaner rushing to AT's help.

Keeping fingers crossed.