Hey, I'm new to the forum. About three weeks ago, added a raccoon butterflyfish to a 50 gallon tank with a yellow tang, damsel, clownfish and coral beauty. It adjusted really well, started eating on the first day, no problems whatsoever. (I know butterflyfish tend to go on hunger strikes, but not this one).
This past week, though, the tank has been is bad circumstances. The coral beauty passed away, and a test of the water levels turned up high levels of nitrate. We've since been doing water changes to the tank, hoping to get the levels down. The butterflyfish then started darting up against the rocks like mad, nicking himself up badly in the process. We called the store where we got him, and they recommended doing a FW dip for about 5 minutes. We did so, and tons of things (parasites, I'm assuming) flew off the fish immediately. When we returned him to the community tank, he swam around fine and continued eating. In the days since, he's continued darting (though not nearly as much), so yesterday we did another dip and only one or two parasites flew off. This morning when we woke up, we noticed he had black dots on his body which he hadn't had before - a sign to me that he may have black spot ich (but oddly enough, he's still swimming and eating normally).
So I should add that this tank isn't mine; it's my boyfriends. He's had it for about four years now. Since the butterfly got sick, I've been trying to do as much research as I can to figure out what's ailing it. All the sites recommend a FW dip and a QT tank, however, my bf doesn't have one and doesn't believe in using one; he's also afraid to use Copper or any other kinds of medicine in the tank, fearing that it will get the other fish sick. So far, they've been acting normal. My question is, will FW dips and water changes alone cure this fish? Like I said, I'm not a saltwater hobbyist, but based on what I've reading, I don't think it will; I think this will probably spread to the rest of the fish in the tank, which I would hate to see happen. Also, could the butterfly be suffering from something other than black spot ich? Please help!
This past week, though, the tank has been is bad circumstances. The coral beauty passed away, and a test of the water levels turned up high levels of nitrate. We've since been doing water changes to the tank, hoping to get the levels down. The butterflyfish then started darting up against the rocks like mad, nicking himself up badly in the process. We called the store where we got him, and they recommended doing a FW dip for about 5 minutes. We did so, and tons of things (parasites, I'm assuming) flew off the fish immediately. When we returned him to the community tank, he swam around fine and continued eating. In the days since, he's continued darting (though not nearly as much), so yesterday we did another dip and only one or two parasites flew off. This morning when we woke up, we noticed he had black dots on his body which he hadn't had before - a sign to me that he may have black spot ich (but oddly enough, he's still swimming and eating normally).
So I should add that this tank isn't mine; it's my boyfriends. He's had it for about four years now. Since the butterfly got sick, I've been trying to do as much research as I can to figure out what's ailing it. All the sites recommend a FW dip and a QT tank, however, my bf doesn't have one and doesn't believe in using one; he's also afraid to use Copper or any other kinds of medicine in the tank, fearing that it will get the other fish sick. So far, they've been acting normal. My question is, will FW dips and water changes alone cure this fish? Like I said, I'm not a saltwater hobbyist, but based on what I've reading, I don't think it will; I think this will probably spread to the rest of the fish in the tank, which I would hate to see happen. Also, could the butterfly be suffering from something other than black spot ich? Please help!
