I recently bought 3 blue/green chromis from my LFS. I have bought all of my fish from this one location and have had great success. When I added the fish to my tank, I noticed that 2 of the chromis had a white spot on their back tailfin. (I used the drip method of acclimation which took approx. 2 hours) I wasn't concerned because I saw no spots anywhere else. I checked the tank 2 hours later and noticed that the 2 chromis with the spot on their tail were dead, but the chromis without the spot was still living. I immediately removed these fish and rechecked my water:0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20ppm nitrate, 1.024 specific gravity. I did a 30% pwc as a preventive measure. Today the living chromis appears to be thriving in my tank. Is there anything else I should do??
White Spot On Chromis
- Thread starter kmacc99
- Start date
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ryshark
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds like you have Ich in your tank now. Next time you want to add a fish you may want to look into quarantining ALL of your fish new and old and keeping the main tank fallow for 8-weeks. That is the only way you will get it out of your main tank unless you have no LR or LS then you can treat your main tank. Otherwise you are going to have to treat your quarantine tank when you get it set up. If you don't you will be dealing with whitespots again sooner or later. I am sure others will post the links on ich / crypt. In the mean time just search this forum you will find those links and plenty of other people who experienced the same problem. Including myself. As far as treatment, hyposalinity in a QT and main tank fallow for 8+ weeks worked for me.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
Did the white spots look like grains of rice? If so then you probably introduces Ich into your tank. Another great example of you should QT all livestock before adding it to the main tank. QT allows you to eheck your livestock in a more controlled environment. PWC's are easier to do in a smaller QT tank. You do not intoroduces pathogens/parasites into your display tank.
The fish may very have died for some other reason. If you do suspect Ich I would follow the advice to QT all fish and use a hyposalinity treatment.
The fish may very have died for some other reason. If you do suspect Ich I would follow the advice to QT all fish and use a hyposalinity treatment.
The spot did not resemble rice in any way. It was one white dot on the back fin of each fish. Is it possible that it was not ich, just an abnormality of the fin? The fish died within 2 hours of introduction into the tank. The other fish are not acting abnormally, appetite good, swimming freely. If it is ich, what will I start to notice.
Does ich only effect new fish or is it possible to have a fish for years and then get ich? Will the QT totally reduce my chances of affecting my whole tank with ich?
Does ich only effect new fish or is it possible to have a fish for years and then get ich? Will the QT totally reduce my chances of affecting my whole tank with ich?
ryshark
Aquarium Advice Addict
How big is the white spot? Yes QT does reduce risk by a lot.
Do you soak your food in selcon, zoe, and garlic ? If not, doing the mentioned greatly improves the health of your specimens imo. Small cases of ich can be reversed using viatems and garlic. It may not be a cure but imo it does work make a difference. I Introduced a hippo tang to my brand new tank 1 year ago that was covered in ich along with a yellow tang and 2 clowns. I never took my fish out of the tank and for the past year I have seen not a single sign of ich and not a single death in my tank. Qt is the best option, however garlic and viatamens can make a real difference !
The white spot was very small, but visible with the naked eye. There were no other spots on either fish except for the one spot on each of the back fins. The fish didn't last long in the aquarium, they both died within 2 hours of introduction into the aquarium. The remaining chromis appears to be doing well and does not have any white spots on him.
I feed my fish "formula one marine pellets." This is the food that was recommended by my LFS. It contains garlic and spirulina(??). I will buy a 10 gallon aquarium tomorrow and set it up as a QT. Should 10 gallons be enough, my display tank is 30 gallons..Thanks
I feed my fish "formula one marine pellets." This is the food that was recommended by my LFS. It contains garlic and spirulina(??). I will buy a 10 gallon aquarium tomorrow and set it up as a QT. Should 10 gallons be enough, my display tank is 30 gallons..Thanks
As far as nutrition I would branch out a little from the formula one pellets. At the very least I would get some frozen mysis, maybe some spirulina flakes. Also I have included some links to some commonly used viatamens and garlic additivies. I cant stress the importance of a varied diet including the use of garlic and selcon. I soak all my food in both products. Maintaing a healthy tank is alot easier when your making sure your fish have the best nutrition possible !
Reef Aquarium Fish Foods & Vitamins: Selcon
Search Results for garlic guard
Kent Marine Zoe Marine
Reef Aquarium Fish Foods & Vitamins: Selcon
Search Results for garlic guard
Kent Marine Zoe Marine
ryshark
Aquarium Advice Addict
10-gallons is big enough for a QT, especially for a chromis. Get a hang on the back filter with some sort of bio filtration. Then keep an eye on the water parameters...you will need to do a lot of pwc because the QT is not cycled. However, Ich looks like the fish was sprinkled with salt. As far as I know it is not typically just one single spot. I would give it a week or more and see what happens. It may not even have ich. I also use the nutritional supplements mentioned...Selcon and Garlic Xtreme.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Impossible to say without pictures, but I'll go out on a limb and say it's probably not ich. Ich normally isn't just a single spot. Sounds like it was a bacterial or fungal infection, but either way (even if it was ich) it shouldn't have died within a couple hours. You might've just gotten a couple bad fish. It happens.
I won't disagree though about the QT. In my opinion, it's a "must" in this hobby to protect having to deal with introducing new diseases to an established tank.
If it was my tank, I'd just keep the water as pristine as possible, and keep an eye on everyone like a hawk. If it was ich, you should see more spot show up on the existing fish in a week or two. In the mean time, I'd get a QT up and running, and seed it with a cocktail shrimp to get it cycled. Better yet, you could put a HOB filter on your main, or a sponge filter in your main, and after a couple weeks transfer over the seeded filter to your QT. That way you'll have the QT up and ready in case you need it.
I won't disagree though about the QT. In my opinion, it's a "must" in this hobby to protect having to deal with introducing new diseases to an established tank.
If it was my tank, I'd just keep the water as pristine as possible, and keep an eye on everyone like a hawk. If it was ich, you should see more spot show up on the existing fish in a week or two. In the mean time, I'd get a QT up and running, and seed it with a cocktail shrimp to get it cycled. Better yet, you could put a HOB filter on your main, or a sponge filter in your main, and after a couple weeks transfer over the seeded filter to your QT. That way you'll have the QT up and ready in case you need it.
I appreciate everyone's help in this matter. An update to my original post...the third and last chromis was found dead this morning. I found him stuck up into the intake of the powerhead. I checked him closely over the last couple of days and I can guarantee that he had no spots of any kind anywhere. My water parameters are excellent, he ate well, and really got along with his tankmates. The other fish, 2 clowns and coral beauty seem to be doing fine. I also have a yellow watchman that has paired off with a pistol shrimp living under my live rock. I will set up a QT today just in case of a breakout. In the future I was thinking of adding marine plants, wopuld the plants need to be quarantined before intorduction into my display tank?
ryshark
Aquarium Advice Addict
Green Chromis are one fish I did not have luck with either. I had 2 out of 5 mysteriously disappear, 1 of 5 found dead and then I returned the other 2 back to the LFS. Some people QT anything that is wet. I just QT fish. Never had any plants though.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
It depends on where the item comes from. Coral from a fish free frag tank may not need to be QT'd, but there are other organisms that infect corals, so they should also be in QT for a short period to make sure they are not carrying anything.
All fish should be QT'd too.
All fish should be QT'd too.
