Ich woes, weighing my options before going full nuclear. Any help appreciated

[Thowninja]

TLDR-is this ich? How screwed am I? Logistical nightmares ahead

So the dreaded day has come.. I’m pretty sure this is Ich (tried to get a natural light photo during daylight. Pardon the blues in the video, that was taken this evening during low blue moonlight)
Some context, so I have a heavily stocked 50g lagoon. Before the tang police come for me, I’ve been planning an upgrade for when I move. The timeline for that was pushed back as every home I view is bought cash offer or way over asking, but that’s another discussion lol,
Dimensions are 30x24x16
I feed pretty heavy: auto feeder twice a day feeding tdo chroma boost. And i manually add nori daily (Julian sprung, full sheet. Alternating green and purple)
I have oversized skimmer and fleece roller. I carbon dose for corals, and generally have to dose somewhere between 1-5ppm nitrate a week to stay in the 5-10ish range. If i don’t do this i bottom out fairly quickly, even without carbon dose.

I went on vacation 3 weeks ago and there were power outages while i was away. Unbeknownst to me my battery backups were dead. Curse you ecotech! I’m assuming this was the catalyst for outbreak. Fish were looking okay but doing a little scratching here and there over the last 2 weeks. This week this white tail tang got blasted with what I’m thinking is ich Royal gramma a little salty too but this guy has it the worst by far.

So here are my questions ideas
1- before i rip this all apart, is this ich?
2-if it is, oh man im going to struggle. I ordered a uv sterilizer already, and reef medic, kick ich, ruby rally, and copperpower. I know a few of these are not proven to be effective but I’m willing to try it all before dismantling my system
3-so let’s say it’s ich or something similar. I am planning on getting Rubbermaid totes to setup as qt tanks. (I do have a 20g running as qt already but I’ve only ever done observational qt, never medicated. Jokes on me right?) realistically i can’t house these in that 20g or the totes for 90 days. So do i go grab a cheap tank and get it rolling as a fowlr for after the treatment?
4-the tank upgrade im looking at is essentially double the footprint of this plus an inch width. 60x25x16. The idea was to wait until i had a home and to get something shallow so the weight won’t be a problem. My current space however will be a TIGHT squeeze. Is it worth dropping to 48x25x16 fully knowing i will need to upgrade again after that//it’s not a huge jump from current tank?
5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once

If you made it this far and you live in NJ, please let me buy you a coffee/beer lol. Any and all insight, suggestions, tips/tricks are highly appreciated!!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thowninja Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[Thowninja]

I think I covered most of these bullet points in my original text but just in case:
White spots on several fish (But not all). Fish look like they scratching, and some that never really hung out in water column are actively in the column (Trying to shed parasites?)
I've had this fish for about 45 days. Been in display tank for 30. I do observational QT (Non-medicated) Jokes on me. I haven't medicated because I have fish/coral/rock in here from my original system going back 10 years. Used to plop and drop fish after temp acclimating.

Current water params:
Salinity 35ppt
Calc 420-450
Mag 1300
Alk 8dkh
Nitrate 4.4ppm
Phos- 0.18 (Riding high right now from the excess nori and selcon soaked TDO pellets I've been adding in hopes of raising health) Usually float between .08-.12 range. When dipping below .08 I back off carbon dosing to make sure I don't bottom out.
Pic was under predominantly white light with a tint of blue. Video was taken minutes before posting under heavy blue. I will try to get some daylight vids of fish behavior/ visuals tomorrow during my daylight spectrum

 

[MnFish1]

So here are my questions ideas
1- before i rip this all apart, is this ich?

Yes

2-if it is, oh man im going to struggle. I ordered a uv sterilizer already, and reef medic, kick ich, ruby rally, and copperpower. I know a few of these are not proven to be effective but I’m willing to try it all before dismantling my system

You should (if you can) set up a hospital tank for all your fish with copper as directed in the protocol in the sticky above

3-so let’s say it’s ich or something similar. I am planning on getting Rubbermaid totes to setup as qt tanks. (I do have a 20g running as qt already but I’ve only ever done observational qt, never medicated. Jokes on me right?) realistically i can’t house these in that 20g or the totes for 90 days. So do i go grab a cheap tank and get it rolling as a fowlr for after the treatment?'a

You gra b a cheap tank. Note your display (if the fish was in it) - should be left fallow for 5-8 weeks after


4-the tank upgrade im looking at is essentially double the footprint of this plus an inch width. 60x25x16. The idea was to wait until i had a home and to get something shallow so the weight won’t be a problem. My current space however will be a TIGHT squeeze. Is it worth dropping to 48x25x16 fully knowing i will need to upgrade again after that//it’s not a huge jump from current tank?'

I would not change tank plans based on ich in oe fish. Keep your original plan. IMHO
5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once'

You have to treat all at once. You need to leave any display tank/coral fallow for 6-8 weeks

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

TLDR-is this ich? How screwed am I? Logistical nightmares ahead

So the dreaded day has come.. I’m pretty sure this is Ich (tried to get a natural light photo during daylight. Pardon the blues in the video, that was taken this evening during low blue moonlight)
Some context, so I have a heavily stocked 50g lagoon. Before the tang police come for me, I’ve been planning an upgrade for when I move. The timeline for that was pushed back as every home I view is bought cash offer or way over asking, but that’s another discussion lol,
Dimensions are 30x24x16
I feed pretty heavy: auto feeder twice a day feeding tdo chroma boost. And i manually add nori daily (Julian sprung, full sheet. Alternating green and purple)
I have oversized skimmer and fleece roller. I carbon dose for corals, and generally have to dose somewhere between 1-5ppm nitrate a week to stay in the 5-10ish range. If i don’t do this i bottom out fairly quickly, even without carbon dose.

I went on vacation 3 weeks ago and there were power outages while i was away. Unbeknownst to me my battery backups were dead. Curse you ecotech! I’m assuming this was the catalyst for outbreak. Fish were looking okay but doing a little scratching here and there over the last 2 weeks. This week this white tail tang got blasted with what I’m thinking is ich Royal gramma a little salty too but this guy has it the worst by far.

So here are my questions ideas
1- before i rip this all apart, is this ich?
2-if it is, oh man im going to struggle. I ordered a uv sterilizer already, and reef medic, kick ich, ruby rally, and copperpower. I know a few of these are not proven to be effective but I’m willing to try it all before dismantling my system
3-so let’s say it’s ich or something similar. I am planning on getting Rubbermaid totes to setup as qt tanks. (I do have a 20g running as qt already but I’ve only ever done observational qt, never medicated. Jokes on me right?) realistically i can’t house these in that 20g or the totes for 90 days. So do i go grab a cheap tank and get it rolling as a fowlr for after the treatment?
4-the tank upgrade im looking at is essentially double the footprint of this plus an inch width. 60x25x16. The idea was to wait until i had a home and to get something shallow so the weight won’t be a problem. My current space however will be a TIGHT squeeze. Is it worth dropping to 48x25x16 fully knowing i will need to upgrade again after that//it’s not a huge jump from current tank?
5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once

If you made it this far and you live in NJ, please let me buy you a coffee/beer lol. Any and all insight, suggestions, tips/tricks are highly appreciated!!

There are many others with much more experience/knowledge about fish disease, but my thought is, if none of the fish are currently at death's door, then take a breath and consider going the "ich management" path. Basically, if you can keep your fish eating and reduce any stress, they have a good chance to fight off the current epidemic.
*I cannot see the video so I don't know how any of the fish appear... nor how many there are in your 50 gallon tank. A better option than the ones you suggested would be to get a second tank and move some fish over to reduce any overcrowding...
Good luck !

 

[MnFish1]

There are many others with much more experience/knowledge about fish disease, but my thought is, if none of the fish are currently at death's door, then take a breath and consider going the "ich management" path. Basically, if you can keep your fish eating and reduce any stress, they have a good chance to fight off the current epidemic.
*I cannot see the video so I don't know how any of the fish appear... nor how many there are in your 50 gallon tank. A better option than the ones you suggested would be to get a second tank and move some fish over to reduce any overcrowding...
Good luck !

I don't think being at 'deaths door' should be a criteria for treating a parasitic infection. It also leaves the problem of what do you do when you want to buy new fish. I have no problem with Ich management - but - many people just keep having fish dying. The higher the stocking density - the more likely that an ich outbreak will be a significant problem

 

[vetteguy53081]

TLDR-is this ich? How screwed am I? Logistical nightmares ahead

So the dreaded day has come.. I’m pretty sure this is Ich (tried to get a natural light photo during daylight. Pardon the blues in the video, that was taken this evening during low blue moonlight)
Some context, so I have a heavily stocked 50g lagoon. Before the tang police come for me, I’ve been planning an upgrade for when I move. The timeline for that was pushed back as every home I view is bought cash offer or way over asking, but that’s another discussion lol,
Dimensions are 30x24x16
I feed pretty heavy: auto feeder twice a day feeding tdo chroma boost. And i manually add nori daily (Julian sprung, full sheet. Alternating green and purple)
I have oversized skimmer and fleece roller. I carbon dose for corals, and generally have to dose somewhere between 1-5ppm nitrate a week to stay in the 5-10ish range. If i don’t do this i bottom out fairly quickly, even without carbon dose.

I went on vacation 3 weeks ago and there were power outages while i was away. Unbeknownst to me my battery backups were dead. Curse you ecotech! I’m assuming this was the catalyst for outbreak. Fish were looking okay but doing a little scratching here and there over the last 2 weeks. This week this white tail tang got blasted with what I’m thinking is ich Royal gramma a little salty too but this guy has it the worst by far.

So here are my questions ideas
1- before i rip this all apart, is this ich?
2-if it is, oh man im going to struggle. I ordered a uv sterilizer already, and reef medic, kick ich, ruby rally, and copperpower. I know a few of these are not proven to be effective but I’m willing to try it all before dismantling my system
3-so let’s say it’s ich or something similar. I am planning on getting Rubbermaid totes to setup as qt tanks. (I do have a 20g running as qt already but I’ve only ever done observational qt, never medicated. Jokes on me right?) realistically i can’t house these in that 20g or the totes for 90 days. So do i go grab a cheap tank and get it rolling as a fowlr for after the treatment?
4-the tank upgrade im looking at is essentially double the footprint of this plus an inch width. 60x25x16. The idea was to wait until i had a home and to get something shallow so the weight won’t be a problem. My current space however will be a TIGHT squeeze. Is it worth dropping to 48x25x16 fully knowing i will need to upgrade again after that//it’s not a huge jump from current tank?
5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once

If you made it this far and you live in NJ, please let me buy you a coffee/beer lol. Any and all insight, suggestions, tips/tricks are highly appreciated!!

This is ich and based on coverage on the fish, others too will need treatment in a separate quarantine tank using coppersafe at treatment level 2.25 for at least 30 days and leaving the display tank free of fish for 6-8 weeks
Also monitor quarantine tank for ammonia with a reliable test kit

 

[Thowninja]

1-Yes

Ouch Okay, at least I know what I'm working with

You should (if you can) set up a hospital tank for all your fish with copper as directed in the protocol in the sticky above

Yes, so I ordered the copper and hanna checker already. I can get the ball moving on that. I've dissected the sticky and watched an absurd amount of videos on qt and treatment this week lol

You gra b a cheap tank. Note your display (if the fish was in it) - should be left fallow for 5-8 weeks after

Would a stock tank (Horse trough) make the most sense for this? This is the part I'm struggling with most. Or is best course getting a 40 breeder/55 something like that and then treating them inside of that AND keeping them there after medicating? The hardest part of this would be the actual location. I read (Not sure if sticky or just randomly online) that the tank has to be 10ft+ away from infected tank, ideally in separate room. That part is tough. Is Ich REALLY airborne? or is this a safety measure to avoid cross contaminating water ?

I would not change tank plans based on ich in oe fish. Keep your original plan. IMHO

So the hard part with this is I'm already due for this upgrade.. But staying the course is probably best. Or getting the new tank and putting it where rubbermaid stock tanks would go. It's so hard for me to rationalize all the struggle involved with both scenarios. If I get upgrade tank at least the fish will be golden after treatment and rock can begin to mature. So when I do move it's already ready and will just be waiting on coral dt to run through fallow period.

5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once'

You have to treat all at once. You need to leave any display tank/coral fallow for 6-8 weeks

The treating in batches thing would be to ease off the current tanks bioload (Particularly to dial in how much nitrate/phosphate I'd have to dose while fallow) and to ramp up the new tanks bio filter to handle all these fish.
Once treated the fish would not be going back to the DT tank. It would end up going fallow after probably 2 rounds of treatment. Does that make sense or am I thinking too much about stability? (It's like being worried about a candle burning when the building is already on fire lol)

Really appreciate your time, thank you!!

 

[Thowninja]

This is ich and based on coverage on the fish, others too will need treatment in a separate quarantine tank using coppersafe at treatment level 2.25 for at least 30 days and leaving the display tank free of fish for 6-8 weeks
Also monitor quarantine tank for ammonia with a reliable test kit

Been reading so many of your threads, comments, etc. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge!
Is the 10ft/separate room thing actually real or did I stumble upon misinformation along the way? If I medicated these fish and then setup a temporary housing tank during the fallow period, can that temp tank be in the same room as the display tank? Is ich airborne/ able to move across tanks like that? Or is that a safety protocol to stop people from accidentally contaminating the water via tools, hands, equipment?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ich is said to be transferable when near a tank in treatment and had no impact with me but with others when in the same room . The bigger caution is using the same net and similar between tanks

Been reading so many of your threads, comments, etc. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge!
Is the 10ft/separate room thing actually real or did I stumble upon misinformation along the way? If I medicated these fish and then setup a temporary housing tank during the fallow period, can that temp tank be in the same room as the display tank? Is ich airborne/ able to move across tanks like that? Or is that a safety protocol to stop people from accidentally contaminating the water via tools, hands, equipment?

ra

 

[jtf74]

Just went through this. I used stock tanks and had ammonia trouble very quickly. Make sure to throw a seeded sponge or bioballs in there.

 

[apb03]

Of course the choice is yours but management may be a path for you to think about. Eradicating (and sustaining) ich is no small task and if you are not 100% dedicated to this massive effort, your fish may be worse for it in the end.

I wouldn't tear down a tank for ich, I'll tell ya that. Good husbandry may not be a cure but it will get the job done.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think you've told us what fish you have... just that it's an "overstocked" 50 gallon...

 

[SoFlo Reef]

What is your stocking list? You might be ok in a 20 gallon. It's temporary, your QT doesn't need to be the same size as your DT, just big enough to house your fish for a few weeks. Seed the tank with bottled bacteria (I use fritz turbo start and seachem stability together), dose the tank with copper @ 2.25ppm, and move the fish over. If there are any fish that aren't showing symptoms you may want to wait a bit to transfer them just to allow the biofilter to establish. The worst fish need to go in asap. Treat them for 30-45 days and leave the DT empty for 45 (increase temp in DT to 81-82 degrees), then you're done. I'm dealing with this now too, it's an annoyance, but not that big of a deal. I'm using a 10g QT tank for 7 fish from my 24 gallon DT.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

TLDR-is this ich? How screwed am I? Logistical nightmares ahead

So the dreaded day has come.. I’m pretty sure this is Ich (tried to get a natural light photo during daylight. Pardon the blues in the video, that was taken this evening during low blue moonlight)
Some context, so I have a heavily stocked 50g lagoon. Before the tang police come for me, I’ve been planning an upgrade for when I move. The timeline for that was pushed back as every home I view is bought cash offer or way over asking, but that’s another discussion lol,
Dimensions are 30x24x16
I feed pretty heavy: auto feeder twice a day feeding tdo chroma boost. And i manually add nori daily (Julian sprung, full sheet. Alternating green and purple)
I have oversized skimmer and fleece roller. I carbon dose for corals, and generally have to dose somewhere between 1-5ppm nitrate a week to stay in the 5-10ish range. If i don’t do this i bottom out fairly quickly, even without carbon dose.

I went on vacation 3 weeks ago and there were power outages while i was away. Unbeknownst to me my battery backups were dead. Curse you ecotech! I’m assuming this was the catalyst for outbreak. Fish were looking okay but doing a little scratching here and there over the last 2 weeks. This week this white tail tang got blasted with what I’m thinking is ich Royal gramma a little salty too but this guy has it the worst by far.

So here are my questions ideas
1- before i rip this all apart, is this ich?
2-if it is, oh man im going to struggle. I ordered a uv sterilizer already, and reef medic, kick ich, ruby rally, and copperpower. I know a few of these are not proven to be effective but I’m willing to try it all before dismantling my system
3-so let’s say it’s ich or something similar. I am planning on getting Rubbermaid totes to setup as qt tanks. (I do have a 20g running as qt already but I’ve only ever done observational qt, never medicated. Jokes on me right?) realistically i can’t house these in that 20g or the totes for 90 days. So do i go grab a cheap tank and get it rolling as a fowlr for after the treatment?
4-the tank upgrade im looking at is essentially double the footprint of this plus an inch width. 60x25x16. The idea was to wait until i had a home and to get something shallow so the weight won’t be a problem. My current space however will be a TIGHT squeeze. Is it worth dropping to 48x25x16 fully knowing i will need to upgrade again after that//it’s not a huge jump from current tank?
5-if i go jump into upgrade now before im in new house the logistics of then moving the setup again suck.. but here’s my thoughts : get new tank, pull fish from current display. Treat either in batches of most sick a handful at a time or all at once. Batches would make cycling the new tank annddd running the current tank easier so i could dial in the nutrient dosing I’m going to need. Once all fish are treated and moved to new system, dt goes fallow 72-90 days. Then corals are moved over to new system//or get house and put fish back in current undersized tank while moving upgrade to new place, transfer fish/coral at once

If you made it this far and you live in NJ, please let me buy you a coffee/beer lol. Any and all insight, suggestions, tips/tricks are highly appreciated!!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Thanks for the information about your tank, we often don’t get that from folks.

IMO - the tang has a moderate case of ich. I think it is past the point of being able to manage it. Here is a post I made about though:

"Ich Management"

Because this topic continues to come up, I wanted to create a sticky thread so that it is more easily referenced. Please understand that I am NOT presenting this as an optimum method for controlling marine ich, just putting it out there for people who want to try it. Also, do not pick and...

www.reef2reef.com

Have you considered leaving the fish in the tank, moving the invertebrates out and running hyposalinity? Otherwise you will need to move all the fish out and run them through a coppersafe treatment.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ich management is often a short cut and at the stage of ich endured, quarantine/treatment is best

 

[Thowninja]

Just went through this. I used stock tanks and had ammonia trouble very quickly. Make sure to throw a seeded sponge or bioballs in there.

This is a major concern of mine. Less so during medicating (As I can swing doing big medicated water changes for the 30 days.. Extending that out to 72-90 days is where it gets hard. Thanks for your input!

 

[Thowninja]

Of course the choice is yours but management may be a path for you to think about. Eradicating (and sustaining) ich is no small task and if you are not 100% dedicated to this massive effort, your fish may be worse for it in the end.

I wouldn't tear down a tank for ich, I'll tell ya that. Good husbandry may not be a cure but it will get the job done.

I don't want to tear down the tank, I'm really weighing my options to make this as painless as possible while simultaneously setting myself up for the best future going forward. I'm in panic management mode currently as I figure out setting up QT/hypo/long term solution for fish while display is fallow. I know time is of the essence so I'm trying to stay level-headed and assess the long paths in front of me. Thank you!

 

[Thowninja]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think you've told us what fish you have... just that it's an "overstocked" 50 gallon...

Arguably far too much for my current dimensions (Hence the upgrade plan). Icr if I posted dims but they are 30x24x16. Please keep in mind that my nutrients still bottom out and I have the system running like a well oiled machine aside and MINIMAL aggression. That being said, I will don the flame hat here.
Stocklist:
Adult Melanarus that's been with me through 2 upgrades already
Juvi yellow coris
Juvi red line wrasse
Royal gramma (Adult but not full sized)
Tail spot blenny
Starry blenny that is an absolute unit. Several years old, been with me for 2 upgrades
Clown "Pair" friendly but not breeding
And the flame part--Call the tang police (All are under 4" end to end including tail)
Tomini that's been with me since he was the size of a quarter, 2 tank upgrades
Purple- 3.5" been with me for a year, bought as the runt of the litter, has grown an inch and thickened up
White tail/yellow eye (The sickest fish) maybe 3.5" tops, newest addition (Ich likely came in on him)
Gem tang 3.75" (Also a recent addition, looking fairly healthy.

That being said I'm well aware an upgrade is necessary. It's been in the drawing phases for months but the home buying experience has pushed this back. I can order the upgrade now and deal with it later full knowing it's going to be a pain.

 

[Thowninja]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Thanks for the information about your tank, we often don’t get that from folks.

IMO - the tang has a moderate case of ich. I think it is past the point of being able to manage it. Here is a post I made about though:

"Ich Management"

Because this topic continues to come up, I wanted to create a sticky thread so that it is more easily referenced. Please understand that I am NOT presenting this as an optimum method for controlling marine ich, just putting it out there for people who want to try it. Also, do not pick and...

www.reef2reef.com

Have you considered leaving the fish in the tank, moving the invertebrates out and running hyposalinity? Otherwise you will need to move all the fish out and run them through a coppersafe treatment.

Jay

Thanks for the reply Jay, been thoroughly enjoying your threads. (I read over ich management, which was suggested to me by a fellow reefer) I think I'm past that point, at least for this particular fish. I could pull just this one to treat and manage the rest. Treating if/as they get sick. But the leads me right back to the original problem of where to keep them after treatment.
I have another system running for anemones currently but it's not enough space for all of my corals, nor do I have the proper equipment on it (IErobes, dosers, etc) for me to feel comfortable with the viability of moving all my coral there to ride out the fallow/hypo period.

Regarding Hypo, I might end up going that route on another avenue. Since I have rock cycled in the nem tank, in theory can I just pull a bunch of that out, add new biomedia/dry rock and seed it with my VERY aged rock. Putting all of that into a temporary tank (Or the upgrade tank if I go that route) and run it Hypo while the display tank is fallow? That might be the best option for me honestly. Keeps my current system running and easy to monitor while also giving me a temporary solution for housing my fish. And potentially makes the upgrade path/moving to new house easier as I will have two tanks to work with.
Potential plan:
Setup temporary home/upgrade tank. Move aged rock that has bacteria on it, add some extra media (Or pull the media from DT tank). Transition fish and rock to hypo. Ride out Hypo treatment and fallow DT. And then hopefully be ready to move houses: Transition fish back to 35 ppt, put back in display, move upgrade tank to new house. Get running, and then move fish and coral over simultaneously.

Is this a viable solution? Most practical?
Sorry for the wall of text lol. I owe so many of you a beer/coffee!!