Ich help

I have a 90 gallon reef tank setup with sump that has been running for approximately 7 months. I was adding a new fish today and while i was watching to make sure they werent fighting i noticed that i have ich on all of my tangs! I am freaked out because i have never had Ich before in any of my tanks. My fish are all light colored so it was hard to see until i was closely inspecting it. I am assuming it was caused by the ammonia spike i had about a week ago! I have 3 tangs, a flame angel, and a sixline wrasse as well as a green and pink sea cucumber, assorted snails, a porcelain crab, and a serpent sea star. I also have mushroom coral, and zoanthids! I am concerned because i always heard to treat with copper but my inverts are non-tollerant to copper based medicines! What is the BEST way to treat. Does this mean that my fish are all going to die! Please help!

 

Are the tangs still eating normal? If they are I would Keep up on their food and vitamins. Moving them will only cause more stress on them. Keep up on your water changes. You could also treat with Melafix or Pimafix It will help them with their sores as the parasites fall off. Be aware it will drive your skimmer bonkers.

 

The best thing to do would be to set up a hospital tank and move your fish to that before treating. You are right, never treat your display tank with copper. Problem is that once ich is in your display, it will be there unless you let the tank go fallow (fishless, but can keep the inverts) for a month or so.

Did you quarantine the fish before placing in the display?

 

Another option is to optimize the health of the fish and try to tip things in favor of their survival. Ich won't necessarily kill them. It can be a pain though. We had an outbreak of ich a year or so ago and sent all the fish to QT, went the hyposalinity route until the cupramine showed up and we treated it.

 

Try Herbtana by microbe-lift it worked for me when I had the outbreak. Never use copper in your reef tank, that will kill all your corals for sure. Good Luck.

 

For a LOT of information, go to wetwebmedia.com and search at the bottom re: ich and treatment.

 

I wouldnt take the fish out of your aquarium... thats just a lot more stress for the fish to handle.
What i would do, if your fish are still acting normal and eating well, just keep up the feedings, keep your water quality, and maybe add some garlic to your tank when you feed.
I agree with RedGambit, maybe try some melafix or Pimafix to help with the wounds and prevent a secondary infection which is the real killer.

 

I agree. keep the tangs in the aquarium putting them in a quarantine stresses them and usually makes things worse... When my tang got ich I would soak my foods in garlic and keep up on the water changes.

 

+1 on the garlic and if they make it which we all hope that they do, their appetite will go crazy;D