Can this be possible? Marine Ich Issue

[randalp]

Yesterday I noticed a 2 or 3 small white spots on the fins of each of my 3 fish. I did not see any of the fish scratching themselves at all, or behaving differently in any way, but it sure looked like ich to me based on pictures I have seen of it. I have 2 false percula clowns and a yellow tang. I thought I had the beginning of marine ich so i started researched various treatments people have tried. Well this morning I went to check to see if it has gotten any worse, and all the white spots are gone on all of the fish. If it was Ich is this even possible, I haven't read anywhere that this could happen? I mean do the white spots go away during the night and come back?? This is a newer tank, been up for 3 months, I have no corals yet. I do have a Blood Red Fire Shrimp that I know eats parasites off fish that present themselves to the shrimp, my only thought is that he ate the ich off the fish, I have no idea if that is possible or not.

Or could this be something entirely different then Ich?

I also have about 15 snails and 10 hermit crabs of various types in the tank, they all seem fine.

Thanks for any advice or comments, I will be keeping a close eye on them for the next couple of weeks.

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

since it was just a mild outbreak, I would just start with a mild treatment of garlic in the fish food for one week and a vitamin suplliment like selcon soaked in the food. if they appear after 10 days, then I would take the fish out of the tank and treat them with a Seachem Cupramine which has been 100% sucessful with out any death's a treatment for ich and marine velvet. Also, make sure that you get the seachem test kit to since you don't want to overdose the hospital tank with copper. Try to leave for display tank fishless for at least 7 weeks, so all the parasites go through thier cycle and die.

 

[randalp]

Again last night I noticed 1 white spot on the yellow tang, but this morning it was gone. The 2 clowns had no white spots last night or in the morning. The tang never appeard to scratch himself either. I am going to start the garlic and vitamin supplements this week.

 

[steve-s]

The on again off again appearance of the parasite is completely normal. As it goes through it's life cycle the parasite leaves the fish to multiply. Without a proper QT procedure and proven treatment, you will continue to have this problem as long as fish remain in the tank to feed the parasite. The best you can hope for without proper treatment is to possibley hold the parasite at bay and hope it does not reach a plague proportion.

I would strongly suggest you reconsider the suppliments and quarantine the fish instead. Hyposalinity or Cupramine would be a much more effective route. Once the fish have been treated and the main tank left fallow for about 6 weeks, you should never have this problem again provided all new fish are QT'd for 4 weeks prior to entering the display.

Cheers
Steve