help! maroon clown fish

[eldo1998]

I purchased a maroon clownfish like 2 days ago. Tonight I just noticed that he is starting to get white spots on his face. Could that be the signs of ick?

 

[hiltymj]

Yep he has ich I would treat it soon. Maybe do a freshwater dip or bath

 

[curiousclam120]

or if you can qt it and possibly medicate.

 

[Sergie]

Freshwater dips won't cure your fish of ich. Ich will normally attach to the gills first where the mucus coating is thinner than the coating on the body. Freshwater MAY cause enough irritation to the parasite causing it to dislodge from the gill. Making it easier for your fish to breathe. I would recommend using a dip only if your fish is breathing heavily to hopefully make enough parasites detach making it easier for him to breath.
Recommended methods that will cure ich are hyposalinity or copper.

 

[curiousclam120]

Most inverts(starfish, snails, etc.) are extremely sensitive to copper so if you have any I would recommend putting the clownfish in a seperate tank for a while and treating it there. If the maroon clownfish is your only livestock right now...it would be your choice.

 

[slitherbomb]

Anytime I've had any ich problems, I dip in freshwater. Do this for about 6 minutes, and you'll literally see the white spots fall off.

 

[eldo1998]

He is still breathing and swimming like normal. You mention freshwater as in from sink to do a dip?

 

[hiltymj]

That's what I was going to say. The parasites aren't used to the freshwater and it will kill them. Your fish is perfectly fine in there for a couple minutes. Avoid using copper at all cost. There are plenty of different options. Copper is toxic to alot of marine animals

 

[hiltymj]

No use R/O water if possible

 

[eldo1998]

I got him from petland two days ago. So how is it he had ich already? Is Petland the worst place to buy fish at?

 

[slitherbomb]

He might've been stressed out, causing him to get the ich. Your other fish probably have ich too, it's just that they're healthy and can fight it off. Feed food that has garlic so it would help them fight it off.

 

[curiousclam120]

He has ich from being stressed out and no, don't blame it on one specific pet store lol. If you see signs of ich on a fish at your lfs then don't buy it. Ich can appear from a number of reasons and it spreads like wildfire...well maybe not that fast.

 

[hackteck]

I got him from petland two days ago. So how is it he had ich already? Is Petland the worst place to buy fish at?

which petland did you buy the fish from?