I Got Ich....help!!!!

[coralitch]

i woke up today to find 2 of my clowns face down in the water and as a looked closely at the other fish i saw white spots. i am afraid that i am going to loose all my fish. what can i go to cure ich in a reef tank with out removing my corals? ????garlic, uv sterilizer, hypo salinity, hyper salinity, water change, quarantine?????? i don't know what the best thing for my fish and corals. if i remove my fish and treat them what about the water in the tank???? I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO HELP!!!!!

[alton]

Look in old emergency post for info on this problem. My only advice is feed food soaked in garlic and pray. Ich is like the Flu, if the fishes immune can fight it then they will over come it, if not then it's well over with. Before adding new fish to a reef system they need to be quarantined for a month in a seperate tank to make sure you do not add any disease's to your main tank, plus you can get them to eat and build up there immune system. Also Stress is one of the main causes of ich.

[Ping]

I had a Powder Blue tank that regularly came down with Ick. I was advised to install a UV sterilizer. This fish has not had an outbreak since I installed the unit.

[loans_n_fishes]

Buy some cleaner shrimp and feed the fish well. I don't think the shrimp actually get rid of the ich, but they do help with the white spots and I think this helps the fish recover faster. Adding a UV is a good idea if you have the cash.

Some people have had good luck removing the fish and treating them, but it has always wound up in death for me. The fish were already so sick that chasing them around the tank and moving them stressed them enough to do them in completely.

[loans_n_fishes]

Oh, and as I understand, ich just affects fish not corals or other invertebrates. If the fish are removed for a certain amount of time, the parasite's cycle is broken and it will no longer be in the water.

[loans_n_fishes]

Check your water parameters. If they are off, they could be causing the fish to stress out and come down with ich.

[erikharrison]

UV would be the easiest and best supplementation next to good diet and of course pristine water conditions.

[coralitch]

thanks everyone for the help. what i did was install a better filter and added a uv sterilizer and when culligan is open in monday i will do a 75% water change in the tank with ro/di water. as for the garlic ill soak the fish food and see if it helps.