I personally wouldn't bother with taking the fish out of their tank, and putting them into another tank. It just stresses them out more. I would recommend the following:
1. Getting a cleaner wrasse (I usually sell them for $15-$20) if you have 3+ fish.
2. Use fresh garlic in your fish food.
3. Make sure you are using good live or frozen food.
4. Have plenty of places (live rock, decorations, pvc pipes, etc.) for the fish to hide and rest.
5. Keep the lights on as little as possible.
You want to keep the fish well fed, rested, and relaxed as possible.
I have some problems with this advise. I don't completely disagree with some of these suggestions but I think that it could (and should) be elaborated on. This almost suggests to not have a quarantine system. Not having a quarantine system up, running and stable is one of the most encountered mistakes I have seen in this hobby. A quarantine system is not just for when you get a new fish. This situation is a great example of the importance of having one on stand by ready to go.
"I personally wouldn't bother with taking the fish out of their tank, and putting them into another tank. It just stresses them out more.";
This is going to depend on the severity of the outbreak. If it is a minor parasite outbreak or very early on into the parasite outbreak, then, sometimes leaving the fish in the aquarium and performing water changes and soaking the food in vitamin supplements (such as selcon & vitachem) and soaking the food in garlic extract can help. Water changes will decrease the population of the parasite & improve the overall quality of the environment. The vitamin supplements & garlic extract can strengthen the fishes immune system to help naturally fight off the parasite. However, if there is a large amount of parasites on the fish or is affecting the fish in some manner (stops eating, respiration problems, tissue damage, cloudy eyes, etc.) the absolute worse thing you could do is leave the fish in the aquarium. They need to be put into an environment with out an active pathogen. Sometimes that alone, with out any meds is all it takes for the fish to recover.
"1. Getting a cleaner wrasse (I usually sell them for $15-$20) if you have 3+ fish."Adding a fish into an aquarium with an active parasite outbreak is not sound advise. Cleaner wrasse are susceptible to most of the parasites that other aquarium fish are. If it is a severe outbreak it is likely the cleaner wrasse will contract the same parasite. Next, cleaner wrasse very rarely live for very long, they often do not adapt well to captive life. They are often treated as disposable animals bought to "fix" a problem and then die shortly afterward. Small fish, such as the average clown fish often won't let a cleaner wrasse clean them, it appears that small fish are more intimidated by "pesky" cleaner wrasse and run from them. Cleaner wrasse are at best a band aid, not a solution or cure to a parasite outbreak. If an animal was going to be used to help, a skunk cleaner shrimp or a neon goby would be better choices, Both adapt well to captivity. The shrimp is not susceptible to the parasites too. I would not add a neon goby into an aquarium that had an active parasite outbreak.
"2. Use fresh garlic in your fish food."
I agree, often helps with parasite outbreaks. Soak your food in vitamin supplements too like selcon and Vitachem to strengthen the fish and the fishes immune system.
"3. Make sure you are using good live or frozen food." I agree with this also, however there are not many saltwater appropriate live foods available. The most common live saltwater food is live brine shrimp. This is a really bad idea. Nutritionally the are worthless, gut loaded they are not much better but the really big problem is they carry parasites, disease and virus. Live brine shrimp are often the cause of disease and parasite outbreaks. Save yourself the risk and avoid them. Good quality multi ingredient frozen food is one of your best bets. Ocean Nutrition's formula one and two are a readily available food that is good quality. Single ingredient foods (mysis for example) are good also when used concurrently with multi ingredient foods. Avoid frozen brine shrimp, very dirty and nutritionally worthless.
"4. Have plenty of places (live rock, decorations, pvc pipes, etc.) for the fish to hide and rest.
5. Keep the lights on as little as possible. You want to keep the fish well fed, rested, and relaxed as possible."I agree, good advise. I would add to that to make sure the water quality is in tip top condition too. - test it!
The other thing that I think was skimmed over is what are the probable causes of this parasite outbreak? Was it an environmental issue, temperature instability, introduction of a new fish that was not properly quarantined, etc. Parasite outbreaks don't happen for no reason, something triggers the outbreak. I agree that removing all possible hosts from the aquarium for at least 30 days (more is better) should rid the aquarium of the current outbreak but what caused it in the first place? What's stopping it from happening again? This is a good thing to figure out to prevent a repeat and is very helpful information to share with others to help them prevent the same experience. If you are unsure of what caused the outbreak, I bet we can help figure out some likely causes. Bottom line is we want to try to determine the cause to help prevent it from happening again.
If I can help, let me know how and I'll do my best, Joel
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