I think i have the Ich

[badfish]

Well, my yellow tang that was flashing a couple days ago now has two white spot, that i can see, i can barely see them, but they have been there for two days. He has sinced stopped flashing, and is still breathing, eating, swimming and acting normally. The cleaner shrimp has been cleaning him a lot. No other fish shows white spots, but in preperation i set up my quaranitne tank (20 gal tank, with biowheel, heater, pvc fitting, eggcrate top). For the Quarantine tank i took 10 gallons from my main, and added a fresh ten to it. I picked up some Cuparmaine, and a test kit (pharmacueticals, they didnt have seachem). Do you think i should wait a couple days and see if it gets worse? I am not 100% positive it is ich, no other fish has any spots. At what point do i pull him out. The guy at the LFS told me i only have to QT the tang, but i know thats wrong, although i want to beleive him because im gonna have trouble catching my firefish and yellow watchman. Any ideas on what i should do? Big thanks to Steve-S for all your help so far, and to all newbies, trust me, QUARANTINE YOUR FISH

TIA,

Jeff

 

[electrikat]

Wait a few days and see if the cleaner can take care of it. We lost a regal to ich recently and the cleaner was taking care of it and none of the others got it. Tangs are just more likely to get ich. Have the qt ready to treat.

 

[badfish]

Hey Electricat,

The tang has been the only one that i seen the spots on, and i can barely see them, My other tankmates are 2 O. Clowns, yellow watchman, and a dottyback and they have nothing, And it would be a lot easier to see it on them. Anyway, the tang does not have cloudy eyes, he is breathing normally, and his gills are clear. I also read that it attacks there gills first, is this true. And i also havent seen him scratch/flash in days. I will keep a close eye on him though, at what point do i put him in QT (its set up and running right now). I was also reading the saltwater disease treatment sticky and it says move the infected fish, not all of them. Which should i do. So how bad was the ich on your regal, was it really noticable, you wouldnt be able to notice it on mine unless you were looking for it, it is really hard to see.

Thanks again,

- Jeff

 

[badfish]

as of today (sunday, 5/15), no spots on any fish, not even the tang (maybe one spot, not quite sure). No fish shows signs of stress, all are eating, swimming and acting as they normally due. Quarantine is still up and running just in case. What do you guys think?

 

[badfish]

well, it looks like my Tang has some more spots on him now, just a couple, should i move him to QT now, How long should i accimilate him for? and should i move all my other fish, they do not have any spots.

Thanks,

- Jeff

 

[badfish]

also, wil the Pharmaceuticals test kit work with cupramine?

 

[steve-s]

should i move him to QT now, and should i move all my other fish, they do not have any spots, How long should i accimilate him for?

Yes to both. Acclimate the same as you would any new fish. The QT was set up a little while ago so the water specs will no longer be the same.

What are the water parameters of the QT?

wil the Pharmaceuticals test kit work with cupramine?

It should but not as accurately as the Seachem kit.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

now today, no spots, does he have the ich or not. i stopped of at the pet store to get another net to prepare myself to catch some fish, and he is now spot free, all are spot free, eating and acting normally. What should i do. I know the ich goes away and comes back ten fold, but does it totally disapear like i am seeing. The tang is the only one that i have seen spots on. Im gonna hold off for now, let me know what i should do. This is the third time i thought hes had it, then didnt.

- Jeff

 

[steve-s]

Hard to say. If you have seen C. irritans before "up close a personal like", it's pretty unmistakable. If you never seen it before, there are certain anomalous spots that fish get and then disappear. If it comes back again or you see anything on another fish, don't hesitate.

There are two fears with this sort of uncertainty. One, the longer you wait the higher the infestation may become. Two, you may end up treating something that isn't there. :?

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

There are two fears with this sort of uncertainty. One, the longer you wait the higher the infestation may become. Two, you may end up treating something that isn't there. :?

Thats what i was thinking, at one moment i think its ich when i see him in the morning it looks like he has spots, but that is also at 6:00AM and my lights arent on yet, then again, within 1 week you would think i would see a spot on at least one other fish. Is it possible that the cleaner shrimp is taking care of all his spots? I am gonna post some pics later, as soon as the images get approved.

Thanks again Steve.

 

[badfish]

Heres a couple of pics, right now no spots present, but i will be keeping a watchful eye, hopefully i am just being paranoid.

 

[steve-s]

within 1 week you would think i would see a spot on at least one other fish.

Not really so, it can take upwards of 7-10 days depending on what stage the parasite was at when the tang was introduced.

Is it possible that the cleaner shrimp is taking care of all his spots?

The outwardly visible spots possibley but not the trophonts dug into the epithelium. This is what commonly fools people into believing it's not there or that symbiotic animals have "cured" the fish in question. That and you never know at what developement stage the tomont may be at.

I am gonna post some pics later, as soon as the images get approved.

I checked the pics in your gallery but unfortunately the clarity is not enough to say one way or the other. The tang is definately a beautiful specimen otherwise.

For now at least I say play wait and see. Your QT is set up so you can afford to be a little more patient.

Cheers
Steve