Unresolved Almost rid of my ICH

Hey everyone this is my first post ever to a forum so hello to the best info on the planet!

I've been keeping my first saltwater tank for about 3 months now and thus far kept my casualties to a minimum (1 Flame Angel, so beautiful but wouldn't eat) My problem is ICH. I had kept a few damsels to cycle which have all been removed except for one royal pain in my a$$. Also, I have since added 4 osc. clowns (two black), a banghai cardinal, blue hippo & a yellow tang. When I added the 2 tangs and the flame angel, I immediately had an ICH outbreak and had to convert my brackish tank for my hospital. I've caught the two black clowns, the tangs, cardinal, and acclimated my brackish puffer, and moved them all into the hospital where I have treated them with copper. They are all super healthy now and ICH free. I still cannot catch my damsel or my other two clowns out of the main tank. My question lies here: If those 3 fish are still in the main tank where the outbreak happened where they never and still haven't shown any ICH lesions or abnormal behavior, will it be safe to release my other treated fish back into the main tank? Or, will the ICH have still been able to survive without forming visual signs of outbreak on the 3 uncaught fish?

I hope I was clear and brief enough for ya'll to help me. Thanks.

 

If the ich has a host..it can still be in your tank...those fish can still be hosts..even tho they show no signs of the ich

 

+1....

 

Yes, the ich will stay in your main tank unless all hosts (fish) are gone. The main tank needs to sit fish-less for several weeks for the ich to completely die off.

 

We had a problem with ich a year or so ago. It was a pain to catch our damsel. Have you tried using some inert flat material to section off your tank? We had a plastic TV tray that worked to corner our speedster.

Ended up leaving the tank fallow for a month or so. Even if fish look ok, tomont cysts will still be in the sand. Have to let them die off before tank will be safe, if ever.

We have new fish in the DT now and have had no further outbreaks. Good luck!

 

Ich can live on the gills of fish, which would prevents you from seeing small outbreaks, as gills are the most susceptible and least visible area of the fish.

What size tank is this? If it's smaller than "pretty darn big", you're stressing the fish by overstocking, making them more susceptible to ich to begin with.