Looks like ick, this sucks.

[Gimpster]

Ok I have had my share of the different problems associated with keeping a reef aquarium, fungal infections, aptaisa, Cayno, and the various algeas, but this one sucks. The little white spots just started showing up last night. and have increased as of today. What are my options on a budget and catching the fish and putting all 5 in a 10gal is not going to be pretty or nice for the life cycle of the paracite?

Looks like I might just be screwed.

Edit, maybe not as screwed as I thought...

 

[james734]

We've all fought something in this hobby at some point. So what kind of fish do you have? how many? Setting up a 10g with HOB filter will cost approx $20.00 to 30.00. The actual treatment is free. Do a hyposalnity treatment and it won't cost a dime.

But yes, you will have to catch the fish and place in a QT tank. Then in the future you will have a QT tank for any new items.

FYI: Petco had a deal going $1.00 per gallon on tanks.

 

[Gimpster]

I just cleaned out the old 10gal the reef was once in and am setting it up as a Hyposalinity quarintine tank. Might go get a second since one of the little clown gobies is being bullied but the biger one as needs its own home anyways.

Putting both clowns, one True & one False, the two clow gobies and the decorated gobie all in a 10aga togeather will be crule and I will have to change the water every other day to keep the wastes down. So I might need a second.

Only the True percula clown is showing any signs of Ich and has been the one fish in my system to get sick a few times now. White velvet the last time. Might move the small clown gobie and false clown in a new tank after treatment anyways to lower bioload. The wierd thing is the infected clown is now in the last two days become quite social with the other fish, which is not like her at all.

 

[james734]

Sounds like a good plan. it also sounds like you already know how to deal with it. If you have any questions or concerns post some photos and questions for Steve in his Fish Disease forum.

Good luck..

 

[liveforphysics]

I am near puyallup. I have had exellent luck with takeing in ich covered fish into my natural reefs. If you wish to have a really easy solution, you can drop the fish off in my 90gal reef, where I will feed the crap out of them and they will get to enjoy hunting natural foods etc. In the past, all traces of ich generally dissapear from the fish in about 1-2 weeks, at which point you can take them back home. My track record for fixing ich problems is 100% so far, includeing fish that entered the tank so covered in ich they were just panting and struggling to stay upright (PBT, coral beauty, green spotted dragonette, regal tang and many more). Its never spread from a rescue fish onto any of my own fish.

If you wana skip the trouble of the q-tank, just PM me and bring them by. Right now the tank has only 1 small friendly blue damsel in it, so I dont think compatibility issues would arise.

 

[Gimpster]

Well things are looking better this morning. The true clown has adjusted to the change of envirnment well, last nigth I was not sure as he starting breathing hard and acting frantic as soon as she hit the hyposalinity quarintine tank. But after and hour or two the white spots dissapeard and this mornig she looks her old self. We shall see if any of the other fish get it and if so they are off for a stay in the little tank as well.

 

[Slickdonkey]

Luke, can you explain why you think your fish are impervious to ich? I'm not challenging your assertions, I just find it really interesting. I for one would never toss an infected fish into my tank!

Gimpster, be sure to keep the clown in hypo for at least 4 weeks.

 

[james734]

It's a min of 4 weeks from the time you see the last spot.. Preferably it's 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[ronj]

I am near puyallup. I have had exellent luck with takeing in ich covered fish into my natural reefs. If you wish to have a really easy solution, you can drop the fish off in my 90gal reef, where I will feed the crap out of them and they will get to enjoy hunting natural foods etc. In the past, all traces of ich generally dissapear from the fish in about 1-2 weeks, at which point you can take them back home. My track record for fixing ich problems is 100% so far, includeing fish that entered the tank so covered in ich they were just panting and struggling to stay upright (PBT, coral beauty, green spotted dragonette, regal tang and many more). Its never spread from a rescue fish onto any of my own fish.

If you wana skip the trouble of the q-tank, just PM me and bring them by. Right now the tank has only 1 small friendly blue damsel in it, so I dont think compatibility issues would arise.

D no offense intended at all )i do not agree with this at all(JMHO)...ICH DOES NOT JUST GO AWAY!! it may remain dormant for a while, but it did not just magically disappear...he needs to treat them and be done with it and not just try to do a questionable quick fix...as long as all other additions(everything wet) are qt'd and treated properly, it will not return...also, the 10g tank is very small for that many fish to be treated in..you might even have to do daily water changes in a tank that size or bacterial infections could follow(beleive me, i am dealing with it as we speak)..it might simplify your life to just put a few extra dollars out and get a larger qt tank(20g long)...daily water changes get old FAST

 

[Gimpster]

I understand the issues and right now I am just treating the one fish that showed signs as a precausion. I do not intend to put all those fish in the QT tank at the same time. I may setup a few small tanks while I treat the clown. Then move all the fish out of the reef so I can let the life cycle die off in the reef before returning any fish in there. In the end I will not be putting back as many as are there already. I have to look at bugets and see what I have to work with, unfortunatly its not much unless one of you wants to buy my motorcycle.

 

[ronj]

that sounds like a plan!!! you may want to leave the fish in hypo treatment for at least 6-8 weeks...you can pretty much be sure that this will get them all!!! the same goes for your display tank....no fish for 6-8 weeks...8 to be on the safe side..have you done hypo treatment before???

 

[Gimpster]

No this is a first for me. Hell i have never quarentined any thing in my tank before. A quick read last night said to prep a tank with a 1.010 to 1.013 SG, with all the other parms equal to the display and then transfer the fish. Which is what i did. The tank has a heater, a piece of plastic elbow and an airstone for water movment and thats it. Water is stable at about 77F and the fish was looking quite good this morning. When ever i have problmes this is the fish that shows signs. None of my other fish have ever shown the same issues, this clown just must have a weak imune system i guess.

Live for Physics, i would love the oppertunity discuss with you your views on building and maintaining a more natural reef tank.

 

[ronj]

most of the time people start out with a normal salinity and then drop it over a 48hr period, but that way will be fine also...after the treatment, be sure you don't raise the salinity all off a sudden... thbey can handle a sudden drop in salinity, but if you spike it all of a sudden, you could kill it!!! also, i keep mine at 1.009 so that if i forget a day or it has alot of evaporation on a hot day, the salinity will not go above the safe zone for the treatment(just a thought)..here is another good article....also, be sure to monitor the ph a few times a day during the treatment..it could fall quickly!!
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

 

[liveforphysics]

Guys asking about the ich cureing-

From my own observations, fish who are very well fed and in low stress natural enviroments don't tend to get ich. Similarly, when I toss in ich covered fish, the paracites dont seem to be able to effect the the healthy fish in the tank. It might be something related to the thickness of the slime coating, perhaps natural immune system improvements, could even be something in the water that a skimmer would be pulling out, I really dont know what it is. I do know that the fish get to hunt from the massive amount of live shrimp and critters teaming in the tanks, and I know that live foods contain some delicate compounds that can't be provided (to the best of my meager understanding) in frozen or freeze dried foods.

So, perhaps thicker/differnt slime coatings? Perhaps live dietary changes? Perhaps some compound that helps fight ich that is skimmed out in other tanks? Pehaps my tendency to radically overfeed the fish till they look bloated 3-4 times a day, and often weird stuff like natural sponges from tacoma water front, or fruit, or whatever else i toss in? I make no claim to understand why, only the above wild guesses.

From observation though past experience, I know what has happened to ich covered fish that I add to my tank. It goes away and the fish recovers.

 

[steve-s]

No this is a first for me. Hell i have never quarentined any thing in my tank before. A quick read last night said to prep a tank with a 1.010 to 1.013 SG, with all the other parms equal to the display and then transfer the fish. Which is what i did. The tank has a heater, a piece of plastic elbow and an airstone for water movment and thats it. Water is stable at about 77F and the fish was looking quite good this morning. When ever i have problmes this is the fish that shows signs. None of my other fish have ever shown the same issues, this clown just must have a weak imune system i guess.

Please don't buy into the fish can beat it theory that too many hobbyist tend to put forth these days. It does not bode well for the future of your fish. Could it happen yes, are the odds in favor of it happening, no. Generally speaking, most "ich" problems that go away on their own where misdiagnosed from the start. It is by and large the most common misconception in the hobby in terms of disease/parasite maintenance.

FWIW, the science behind this parasite is quite well studied and very easily beaten when done correctly. If your going to treat which is very highly recommended if C. irritans is present, treat all the fish. Not just the visibley affected fish. Otherwise you are wasting your time. As long as the parasites food source is present in the system (fish), it's life cycle will remain unbroken. Just because there are not glaringly obvious signs of it's presence does not mean it is not there. The problem will persist for at least one year if left untreated provided no new sources are added.

Quarantine anything wet!!

What is just as likely to happen is the fish developes a low level bacterial infection or debris is getting trapped in the fish's slime coat. This does not mean you should automatically dismiss the possibility of a parasite but rather you should study the problem as it progresses if it does at all and plan the most appropriate action based on that observation. Do not jump to conclusions or act rashly.

If you do decide a QT and treatment is necessary, keep the clowns together. Mixing a percula and ocellaris in the same tank is of no issue at all.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Brenden]

I agree with Steve and Ron. Ich is not just going to go away on its own. Steve-s will not lead you wrong when it comes to fish sickness/disease.

 

[liveforphysics]

Steve S- Any ideas of what I regularly experience when I take a rescue fish covered in white spots and panting and having swim bladder control issues, and in a short period of time they no longer have any visible spots, slow easy breathing, and normal swimming behavior? At which point depending on the arangement, they go back home to the owner and no white spots or sickly behavior comes back.

I dont claim to be a fish diesese specalist, but I am more than willing to take in some fish that you could personally diagnosis with ich, we could toss them, and perhaps post a daily pic of the progress in ich dissapearing from them, and behavior returning to normal healthy fishy behavior.

Not trying to be a smart ass here, and I'm not trying to encourage people to stop treating fish with ich. I simply know what I've seen many times now when ich fish go into my tanks.

 

[ronj]

liveforphysics...aka..the fishwhisperer!!!LOL.. J/K...... i couldn't help it!!!! i would like to see this happen however.

 

[Brenden]

Only thing that could possible be going on is a reduction of stress or a increase in water quality. There is no way it magically eliminates ich. The ich is still present and now also present in your tank.

 

[Brenden]

the fishwhisperer!!!LOL..

That is funny. :lol: Can I tell them your name Ron? :badgrin: Never mind family site. Or was that Krish's name?