Salvatore

Just wanted to check with you guys and see if I am going to do this right. I have a 120 gal salt water fish only tank. It has been cycled and up and running for a few months now. My first purchases were a yellow tang and a flame angel. Everything was great. They were eating, swimming and happy. I did my water change about a week after they were purchased and that night I saw ich on the flame. Wanted to treat him separately but it was impossible to try to catch him and get him out. Long story short I treated and treated but still lost the battle. It just kept on getting worse. The tang was the first to go and then a few days later the angel. I feel terrible that it happened but it really was not my fault. I did everything I could.

So here is my question. No I have an empty tank. With the parasites still in it. Talking to my LFS they told me to raise the temp, lower the salinity and treat the water for about a week. Do a water change, get my salt and temp back to where it should be and buy a few damsel type fish to start off and see how they do. But with no live stock in my tank am I going to loose my cycle? Is this the right way to go about it. I know many people say the the people at your LFS are out to get you and make you spend money but I totally trust my people and think that they are the exception!

By the way, I checked all the water levels and they were fine. Will I loose my cycle with no fish for a week??

Tumbleweed

A week is not long enough. You need to leave your tank empty for at least 4 weeks. Ich can live in the water for 4 weeks without a host. I would just leave your tank alone and just let nature take it's coarse. You may consider doing 1 large water change first to try and remove as much of the medication from your tank as possible. And for future reference you never want to treat in your main tank. Most ich treatments use copper and that can permeate your silcone seals of the tank and stay in there for almost ever and you have no way to get rid of it. Be it that this is a fish only tank that is not a problem, however invertibrates and corals are extremly sensitive to copper, and it now being in your tank, may make it very hard in the fute to keep these if you decide to. Since it was only the 1 time you might be ok, but for future treatments you really want to use a seperate tank.
As for the cycle, you most likely will be ok. It might be a good idea when you do reintroduce fish to the tank to get 1 small hardy fish and let him be for a while. You might get a mini cycle but nothing major. I am not a big fans of damsels as they usually can't be kept in the tank with any other fish and you will have to just take them out and take them back to the store. And if you thought catching the angel was tough try catching a couple of damsels.

Salvatore

Thanks tumbleweed. I'm not a fan of damsels either but a clown or some croim will work but I guess I have a month to figure it out!

Tumbleweed

Chromis and clowns are also in the damsel family