Is this ich

[ecancienne1983]

Yea they fall off but you dont actually see it these are microscopic organisims ill find that article i read and post it on here

[ecancienne1983]

Ok so here he is now dead the thing is how do i know this is ich or something else??? His body is all white looking

[Lshann14]

It was ich

[ecancienne1983]

How can u be so sure? Bc the tank had no fish in it for a few months and i put him and a nem in and now hes dead and all parameters are fine

[ecancienne1983]

Is there some evidence on the fish that says ich please tell me i really want to get the problem solved

[Lshann14]

He has a kinda slimy coating over him?
And he is looking rather white?
Then it's Ich
Believe it or not ich is always present in a fish, but just when the fish is stressed,like being moved from tank to tank, that's when it shows up.

To lower the rate of stress on a fish and to find the best, most healthy fish I would do one of four things

1.) find someone local to you who has wholesale fish, or who is a diver in coastal waters

2.) Get your divers license and a fish retrieving permit, would take a long while, but I have mine, and my life's never been the same

2.) don't buy from chain stores, because the fish they receive have been transferred from place to place, tanks to tanks to much. (Petco)

4.) Keep water parameters in check

[ecancienne1983]

Well i also heard it could be brooknellya any reason its not that?

[Lshann14]

Brooklynella is a type of ich caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Brooklynella hostilis.

It is most closely and commonly associated with subfamily Clownfish members of the Damselfish family, and therefore is typically referred to as Clownfish disease


This parasite causes an irritation in the gills which causes a thick mucus like symptom in the gills, and the fish to become lethargic. The main reason why it's not brooklynella is because the spots seemed to "fall off" and the fish suddenly seemed better, that is a very common thing with ich.

[ecancienne1983]

Ah ok got ya well than can u tell me why three of my fish in my DT are still alive bc i had an outbreak in there and lost a few fish awhile back and they are still alive and show no signs of ick they are two green chromis and a damsel?

[Lshann14]

Chromis and damsels are pretty hardy to the parasite ich.

[ecancienne1983]

Well i guess im going to get rid of them and leave all my tanks fallow again for 12 weeks bc this ick is starting to make this hobby be a pain for me

[Lshann14]

Good idea👍
I rushed it my first time through and well my bank account is lower now than it really should be

[ecancienne1983]

So you say 8-12 weeks should be good? To start adding fish again?

[Lshann14]

I would push it and say 6

[treemanone2003]

Dump all the water out, sterilize the tanks and filter, do a fish in cycle and you're good in 4 weeks.

[ecancienne1983]

Why dump all the water out

[Mebbid]

Originally Posted by Lshann14

He has a kinda slimy coating over him?
And he is looking rather white?
Then it's Ich
Believe it or not ich is always present in a fish, but just when the fish is stressed,like being moved from tank to tank, that's when it shows up.

To lower the rate of stress on a fish and to find the best, most healthy fish I would do one of four things

1.) find someone local to you who has wholesale fish, or who is a diver in coastal waters

2.) Get your divers license and a fish retrieving permit, would take a long while, but I have mine, and my life's never been the same

2.) don't buy from chain stores, because the fish they receive have been transferred from place to place, tanks to tanks to much. (Petco)

4.) Keep water parameters in check

Ich is not always present in fish. It's commonly present, but definitely not "always" It's a parasite and with proper control procedures you can prevent it from ever getting introduced to your tank.

Originally Posted by ecancienne1983

Ah ok got ya well than can u tell me why three of my fish in my DT are still alive bc i had an outbreak in there and lost a few fish awhile back and they are still alive and show no signs of ick they are two green chromis and a damsel?

The new clown was more stressed from the recent moving and came down with ich because of it. The other fish aren't as stressed so aren't as susceptible to it.

Originally Posted by Lshann14

Chromis and damsels are pretty hardy to the parasite ich.

Clownfish are damsels

Originally Posted by ecancienne1983

Well i guess im going to get rid of them and leave all my tanks fallow again for 12 weeks bc this ick is starting to make this hobby be a pain for me

Ich is something that comes with the territory. Every new fish should be quarantined for a minimum of 4 weeks (preferrably in hyposalinity) to make sure they aren't infected with ich. Assuming your DT is free of the parasite then if you follow these procedures it will never get introduced.

The big problem with ich is that it infects the gills before the skin so you can't see whether a fish has it or not. It's possible that ich hides out in the gills for a short quarantine time making you feel secure enough to add it to your tank.

If you keep your display tank fallow for 9 weeks then your tank will be ich free. Follow this up with correct treatment of your current fish and then everything will be fine.

[Lshann14]

Clownfish are actually not damsels, they are in the same family as damsels but are completely different than them.

[treemanone2003]

Originally Posted by ecancienne1983

Why dump all the water out

Why not ? Your tank has a parasite. Just to be clear, I said dump all the water out, STERILIZE the tank (and filter) and cycle it. You could be ready in 4 weeks as opposed to keeping the dirty infested water, treating it, and waiting 8-12 weeks. It's your choice. I'm just trying to give you a quicker option.

[Mebbid]

Originally Posted by Lshann14

Clownfish are actually not damsels, they are in the same family as damsels but are completely different than them.

That's like saying that an african american and a caucasian aren't the same because of their skin tone.

Damsels and Clowns are almost copies of each other with how hardy they are as well as their temperament. Adding that to being closely related and you are just splitting hairs.