Can things get any worse???

[Stephanie]

Ever since I switched my 20 gallon fish only to a 55, I've had nothing but problems. The water chemistry has been all over the place, I'm constantly trying to regulate it. My coral beauty has been in quarantine with marine velvet and I've been dealing with that and trying to keep that tank stable as well. The fish looks and acts fine but is not eating by the way. Now today I noticed that my false perc has tiny black specks all over! I'm assuming black spot disease. I'm going to scream!!! Now the other perc and blenny will probably get it too. Ugh.

I also have a 20 gallon fw and am battling parasites in there. I thought my goldfish was done for yesterday but it looks a little better today so I bought more medicine and am going to put it in.

I suppose I have to quarantine the clown now right? The only place to put it is with the coral beauty and let me guess, that ups the coral beauty's quarantine time now, right?


I'm going to cry. Thanks for letting me vent, and if there's anything I should know about black spot, please tell me. I was planning on treating it with copper.

~Steph

 

[Stephanie]

P.S. Is there any other way to treat this without quarantine, such as baths?

 

[reefrunner69]

Copper won't have any effect on black ick. FWIW, black ick is usually dealt with just fine by the fish. However, without seeing a pic of the clown I am not sure it has black ick.

 

[Stephanie]

FWIW, black ick is usually dealt with just fine by the fish.

What do you mean by "delt with." Do you mean that it just goes away? Its so frustrating because I do research on a disease and then I hear all these different things. I read that copper cures it. I wish that I could send you a picture but I don't have a digital camera or scanner. I doubt you would be able to see it anyway, the specks are very tiny. But there are a lot of them. They look like pepper. The clown acts totally normal. Its actually been more active than ever lately, and eating a lot of food.

Steph

P.S. The coral beauty died in QT today

 

[reefrunner69]

What do you mean by "delt with."

I mean the fishes immune system will take care of it, itself with little or no intervention in a healthy tank.

 

[Stephanie]

So...do you suggest that I just watch and wait?

And if I do have to take intervention, what should I use? Ich medicine?


Steph

 

[Hara]

another thing I noticed from your first post is that you say your water parameters are all over the place and that you are trying to "regulate' it..Unless things are in a severe state, I think you should let the tank rest and find its equilabrium before trying to regulate. Sometimes it takes days for things to balance back out once you have switched something.

 

[reefrunner69]

If this were my fish, I would let it be. I also agree with Hara, let the tank reach an equilibrium, what levels are all over the place? I think this is where we need to concentrate our efforts, this is the root of the problem, everything else is just symptoms.

 

[Stephanie]

My water has been really good for over a week now, and I have left the fish alone. The black ich is still there though. The smaller clownfish has gotten better, but the bigger one hasn't. What should I do?

 

[reefrunner69]

What should I do?

Continue what your doing, you might also consider adding a skunk cleaner shrimp.

 

[Stephanie]

I have a skunk cleaner shrimp. It has never cleaned the clowns, only the blenny.