Best Ick Treatment

[amanda_]

My sailfin tang used to be very active but about a week after I added a flame angel he has started to sit around a rock at the bottom of the tank. The flame angel is quite active but has a white spot on its gill and I thought I saw it flick against a rock. There is a yellow hawaiian tang, a firefish, watchman goby and percula clown in the tank also...they are still active with no signs of illness. My water params are great ( 0 ammonia and nitrite, very low nitrates, 1.024 salinity) I am worried it is ick. What is the best treatment for ick (which brand is the best), how should my (25 gallon) sick tank be set up (I know no substrate but can they have rocks to hide in, what filter should I use...), and how can I be sure the cured fish wont get another infection after being put back in my display tank since I can't use treatment in there because I have corals and inverts?

[Grins]

My Advice to Newbies link below has a post on QT tanks. I believe that hyposalinity is the best to treat ich in marine fish with Copper as a close second. I do believe in treating all the fish and allowing the display to go fallow (fishless) for 6-8 weeks. Do not try either hyposalinity or copper in your display tank if you have any inverts (including any that might be in or on rock and sand.

[amanda_]

Thanks! It turns out it isn't ick... I think the sailfin was stressed out that I added 2 new fish and corals in such a short time span. The white mark on the flame angel must have been a bite mark or scratch as it has started to fade. I am curious though, how is hyposalinity done?

[Grins]

You slowly lower the SG to 1.009 and measure with a refractometer to be safe. It needs to be slow, but not as slow as you must be when raising it.