HOW DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN Ich STARTS?

[lazybug]

i have one oscar in a 55 gal tank, i do regular 20-30% water change once and sometimes twice a week . the filtration unit seems to be doing its job and the water is always clear.

however a few days ago i saw these small very tiny unusual white spots on my Os fins and one or two on one of its eyes.. is it Ich? but my O wasnt acting any diffrent, he was still eating hearty and was very active.

not wanting to take a risk i did an immidiate water change, nearly 50% of the water if not more, and waited. it was gone in 2 days. could it have been Ich? does any one here have any pics of Os with Ich when it first starts, how does Ich look like when it starts, is it like what i described? if it reapears, and i do a water change it doesnt help and my O gets worse, whats the next step i should take!

please help!

 

[buddha_red]

Ich looks like grains of salt or sand. If it went away with a water change it probably isnt ich. have you introduced any fish into the tank lately?

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.phphttp://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm

 

[Zagz]

Ich indeed looks like grains of salt. It can also go into the gills, keep an eye out for flashing (or scratching) of the fish on objects in the aquarium.

 

[lazybug]

Buddha red thanks for the link it helped.. and i did have i fish in with the O. i had a BP in with him for a few days but the BP kept bullying the O so i put him in a seperate tank. then the spots appeared and like i said i did a water change and it was gone in two days... could it just have been from stress from having the BP constantly chasing him around?

And Zagz thanks for the tip... no flashing (so far) but i am seeing those white spots again, but no change in my Os normal behaviour. ill continue with regular water changes and see if it helps.