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aj

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I have a problem with either ick or some parasitic worms. I want to treat my reef tank... Any recommendations?

Currently I have live rock - Most of my corals died :( And I have 2 tangs in there... One died not too long ago and I replaced it with another... I guess I should have waited longer :(

PS. Corals died of long age possibly <-- Chemicals not a issue here.
 
A

Anonymous

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alot more details are needed-what size tank, how old is your setup,water chemistry, etc.

welcome :)
 

aj

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It's 60 Gallons... Water Chemistry is fine.


7.8 PH
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
3 Nitrate <-- Low, but not bad


Oh and the setup is a couple of years old...
 
A

Anonymous

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for starters-pH is LOW-how do you maintain the tank?(water changes, etc.)
 

aj

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I hardly do water changes. But I just did one in like 3-4 months. I have a good skimmer running which makes me OK in that sense. The PH is between 7.8-8.2 Which is normal I think...

But How do I treat the tank :( I do not want to restart it from scratch. I did that once and it was not a fun job :( Plus you can never kill everything bad because the live rock may still have it.
 
A

Anonymous

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first off-the best way to treat diseases is to first provide a healthy environment for your critters-don't take this the wrong way :wink: -but your basic parameters and maintenance are really lacking here.

the first thing i'd suggest is get a good book, so you can get a firm grasp on the basic environment desirable for your tank. :)

skimming is NOT a substitute for water changes, regular maintenance,and is not a magic bullet that relieves you from the basic care of the tank!

if the environment is not corrected, all the treatments in the world won't help you.

i'd suggest you start with a few good water changes of 20% weekly(even twice a week!)with mixed, aged (24hrs. min.)new salt water, to bring the environmental levels back to where they should be:

s.g.-1.023-1.025
pH 8.2-8.4
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate <5
Po4-as close to zero as possible.

i can assure you that your corals did not die of old age! but rather improper care-please make sure you can meet their requirements(lighting,Ca levels, etc.) before purchasing any more.no offense, but it does appear that you aren't aware of their requirements.

it's good that you are asking for info-folk here will try to help(no intent on being condescending, or patronizing :wink: )

before you treat for anything-you should be sure that you know exactly what you are treating for.what symptoms do the fishes have?

fwiw-fishes immune systems function more poorly in a poor environment. water changes alone will help them out.also-most medications are not coral safe, and your skimmer will also remove them from the tank.

HTH
 

aj

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Thanks vitz,

I will do what you told me...

I will start doing water changes regulary now :) As for chemicals I doubt I went overboard with any. But you are probably right....

Still though, I think I will be moving my fish to a hospital tank shortly to treat them with copper probably. I just doubt the parasites will actually die off :(

One note, not all my corals are dead... My mushrooms seem to survive anything ;)
 
A

Anonymous

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a good start :D

fwiw-treatment for ich takes a minimum of three weeks to be truly 'effective'-if you're dealing with tangs-get a nice size quarrantine tank-a small tank will stress them out further-exacerbating the problem.
during this time, the concentration of parasites in the tank will go way down, reducing the chance of re-infestation.

are you sure you are dealing with ich?
 
A

Anonymous

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a description of what you see would help- be as detailed as you can in your description-also your fishes behavior-breathing, swimming,-how they 'hold' their fins, etc.

any decent book will also have pictures, to help with i.d.- and you should be able to find pics on the net, too.

fwiw-is your temperature stable- swings can help trigger various disease outbreaks, as well.

search the board for ich(search button at the top of the page)
 

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