Need Help, Fish Sick, Idea's

[Thunder32]

Greeting's all:
First I want to thank you all for any assistance you can offer. I have a 90 gallon mixed reef - SPS, LPS, Softie's. This tank has been doing wonderful for about the past year. I'm a disabled vet, I spent 28 years in the military, I'm unable to walk, and I have anxiety and PTSD issue's (I wanted to tell you these things, as you can imagine what happens to me when my tank gets sick!), I have a lot of time on my hands and I truly baby this tank - I do daily filter cleanings, glass, water changes, observations, feeding's, I maintain this tank to optimal levels - being a perfectionist at times is draining! Also I have been in the hobby since I was 12, and I'm now 52. I'm truly amazed at what mother nature and God are capable off. I've seen it all from under gravel filters, and an incandescent bulb for light to where we are today - this hobby has truly amazed me along the way. I would say my experience in our hobby is experienced, but I'm always reading and open to learning more. I've had all different size tanks, and have raised or breed just about everything at one time or another. My tank parameters, details are as follows;

90 Gallon - sapphire glass - 48" x 18' x 24"

Equipment:
1. 90 Gallon tank / internal overflow / Sump
2. Trigger Systems Crystal Sump - 36' x 14' x 15 Growing various macro
algae's
3. Reef Octopus In Sump Protein Skimmer
4. Mag Drive 18 Pump
5. BRS Bio Reactor running GFO
6. Ultraviolet Sterilizer - 18 Watt
7. Aragonite Samoa Pink Reef Sand
8. Combination MH / T5's / LED's
9. BRS Pukani large show piece rock, live sand

I use Salifert Test Kit's (all new)
Various chemical media Seagel, Chemi Pure Elite, GFO, Carbon
I feed a varied diet of Flake (Assorted), Reef Chili, Snow, various frozen food's

My current water parameters;
Calc - 440
Alk - 9+
Sal - 1.026
Mag - 1340
Phos <0

My Problem - about two weeks ago, my wife bought me a new 6 lined wrasse for my B-day - she wanted to surprise me and floated the fish in my tank and released it without my knowledge (she was hoping to let me view my tank and see the fish as a surprise). After a day, and with no sight of the fish, she told me what she did! For those wondering - YES I have a quarantine tank, and follow all guidelines for getting and quarantining a new fish, but like I said - it was a surprise (Sigh). I for the life of me could not find the fish at all, I hoped with my fingers crossed that it would appear - it didn't. It has now been a about two weeks and now my Fox Face, a yellow eyed tang, and my starry blenny now are scratching and flashing on the substrate, rock etc. Also I have slight signs of Ick on my Fox Face. Obviously I know I have ick going on and have read and knew of all the articles on the issue. My dilemma is - What do I do - I only have a few fish and would like to try and catch them and move them to the quarantine tank, but as you all know as soon as I put my hands in the tank they all scatter into the live rock. I could possibly empty the tank and move all my live corals and live rock from the tank and catch them that way - but I hate to upset and ruin all the hard work of growing my corals (My main goal). I though of a fish trap, but not sure I'd have success or making one? I could just leave the fish alone and see if they could fight this off on their own! Their fat and were healthy till this has occurred!!!! Dose anyone have any idea's on what I might be missing? What would you do if it was your tank? Again - thank you in advance for the support and any help you could offer - sincerely Thunder

 

[tomtoothdoc]

hi thunder,

welcome to mr. and thank you for your service.

with your experience, you already know your options. so i will comment with my own subjective view.

first let me ask how difficult would it be for you to drain, moved the rocks, catch the fish and re-set up the tank? if it's a difficult option then you may have to leave things as is and see how your fish make out and what to do with the future addition.

i had fairly good success with the store bought fish trap. i had removed a kole tang, a melanopus clown, a hippo tang, and some wrasses. i don't recall the brand of the fish trap, it's out on loan at the moment so i can't get the picture for you. i tried home made traps with no success.

i also had some experience with the option of leaving things alone. i had a 75 gal. that got ich from a powder blue tang. the existing fish all survived the ich. every now and then they did have some white spots on them but eventually they disappeared. the problem came when adding new fish, i "qt'd" the new fish to make sure that it ate well and that it didn't carry any other diseases. some would be plagueq with ich within the first week or two, most survived, some died, and some never showed any sign at all. i supposed they developed some tolerance to the ich. i had that tank for about 2-3 years before upgrading to a bigger system. i did treat all the fish in the qt before adding to the new system.

glw whichever option you decide to do.