Please tell me its not ich!

beamer · 09-23-2004, 04:29 PM

I guess I'm starting to get a little worried now. Not a little, but a whole lot worried. You guys please respond before I go nuts.

My hippo seems to have a few more spots than it did yesterday. They are very,very tiny. Around 16 on one side and 10 or so on the other. They are still just very tiny. *I don't know if I'm just starting to imagine things or not. My foxface has a few white spots on its nose. And it looks like my coral beauty may be getting one on its dorsal fin. I've never looked at my coral beauty that closely but it may have some spots coming out on its face, also not white. Hopefully this is normal and I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. On its dorsal fin Its not turned white yet but the color is lighter in that spot. I haven't noticed it on any of the others. I'm almost afraid to look.

*At what point do you consider it bad enough to start treating it? I know some say just leave it alone. *And once its determined that something needs to be done * how quickly should I act? *If I take all of them out there will be 20 fish and a starfish and clam. Do all of these need to be taken out if it comes to this point?

I bought a 30 gl rubbermaid to use just in case and I'm making up new salt water. I also bought some copper. On another site though I was told that cooper could be harmful to Tangs and not to use it.

They act just fine and have great appetites. The hippo I think has had the spots for around a week or so. Just a few to begin with and I didn't think anything of it since the spots are so tiny. I don't seem to notice them scratching. Could this be something other than ich?

I introduced a lawnmower blenny a few weeks ago. I think he is dead now. Maybe it came from him? Other than that nothing is different. I don't know if doing the frequent water changes that I do could have stressed them out or not. I do them weekly because of the high nitrates and phosphates. They never have looked stressed and I don't think they have been scratching. Please tell me what I should do. I tend to over react so I don't want to do anything too quickly that might cause more harm.[ smiley=worried2.gif] [smiley=wreck.gif]

Should I still just stay calm and leave things alone? *
I may be going out of town this weekend and didn't know what I should do.

Please give me some advice and not just the links. What has worked for you guys.

Thanks, Cindy
:huh:

pdlman · 09-23-2004, 04:40 PM

coral vital-and treat soon

pdlman · 09-23-2004, 04:49 PM

What are your water params? You say reef tank, but what kind of corals and inverts do you have, and how long has the tank been set up, and is one fish causing stress?? Why high nitrates, and phos? With a 120 you shouldnt be having problems-with such frequent water changes. ?? Do you have a fuge?

Matt Rogers · 09-23-2004, 06:30 PM

In addition...
Did you find the blenny yet? When it went missing did the spots show up?
Maybe that caused a spike in the tank.. water paremeters change since then?

JohnO · 09-23-2004, 07:01 PM

Cindy,

I think you fist have to be very sure it's Ich you are seeing. There are a lot of pictures on the 'net so do a bit of a search and compare.

Assuming it is Ich:

Ich is a parasite, a living organism. It is not caused by stress of water parameters that are not perfect.

The effect stress has on fish is that it can weaken them to the extent that Ich has a greater effect on the fish.

If it is Ich it could have only come from the Blenny, or maybe you just never noticed before.

I would certainly get a separate container ready to house the fish and treat them. Just remember that they will need to be in that container for quite a few weeks. It's hard to judge the best time to take action, but keep inmind that chasing fish around with a net, moving rocks etc will cause a great amount of stress, which could weaken the fish even further and make the effect that Ich has even greater.

It's a toss up really, so I would just keep an eye on them for the present, have a new home ready if it's needed, and use the new home if you see a decline in health.

Because Ich is a parasite and needs a fish to continue its life cycle you will probably have to treat the fish at some stage, but maybe it would be better done when the Ich is in the dormant stage.

John

Craig Manoukian · 09-23-2004, 07:13 PM

Can you post a picture?

Great stuff JohnO! Ich takes 6 weeks to run through its' life cycle.

beamer · 09-23-2004, 07:46 PM

Hey guys , thanks for the response.
I have not found the blenny and yes the spots were maybe even before blenny left. If I had to guess the spots have been there for about 2 weeks. There were so few that I didn't think much about it when I left for LA. After coming back I've noticed a few more and the hippos eyes are glazed a little with one eye having a bit of a spec.

I have taken a couple of pics and I can see the spots when I zoom in on it, however, I can't figure out how to save the zoomed in image so I can transfer it. Without the zooming you can't see it. I'll post it in case you are able to zoom in. They are tiny, tiny spots.

[quote author=Craig_Manoukian link=board=ASAP;num=1095992957;start=0#5 date=09/23/04 at 22:13:40]Can you post a picture?

Great stuff JohnO! *Ich takes 6 weeks to run through its' life cycle.[/quote]

beamer · 09-23-2004, 07:47 PM

Here's another

link=board=ASAP;num=1095992957;start=0#4 date=09/23/04 at 22:01:48]
Cindy,

beamer · 09-23-2004, 08:12 PM

Lets try this one. I played with it a little.

You can see the white spots in the black area. This was taken yesterday and there are a few more white spots today.

Jay · 09-23-2004, 08:23 PM

Whats kind of fish is that and how many inches will it grow up to be?

Sorry to say that looks like ich, but I am not the expert these others are. Hope its not thats a very nice looking fish.

Jay