Is it really ICH?

[serotonin]

I have a 10 gallon QT setup with about 4 cups of aragonite and 4 good sized lava rocks from my MT in the QT to help keep ammonia and nitrite levels as low as i can. The angel is in the QT as shown here The tank has approx .35ppm which i am trying to get down to about .30 (using LFS copper test because i don't trust over the counter kits). Anyways, I first notice a couple tiny white dots appear on the fishes snout/nape area. I though to myslef, GREAT it's getting ICH. In a worry to cure it early before becommign a problem i called my LFS and asked them what to do. The woman i spoke with said that it was most likely from a rub/bump on something sharp and could be signs of healing tissue. It was that or an extremely mild case of ICH and would most likely go away on its own. So, I waited it out with the fish, staring at it, counting the dots, trying to memorize their locations to see if it was spreading. Loe and behold it started to get worse, over a few days. Initially counting 4 spots i could now see many extremely tiny dots around the dorsal fin region. This was about 3-4 days later. So i just went out on a limb and assumed that ICH is the case and i had better try to rid the fish of it, hence the copper salts and the QT.

The fish has been in the QT since Tuesday, it's now Saturday. So after four days in the QT, all but one of the original white marks are gone and there are four new spots on the caudal fin. Would it be normal for more spots to appear like this after four days? Also judging by the slow progression of white spots while in the display tank, is it really ICH? Could there be something else wrong or am i just worrying too much?

Thanks in advance for any comments/criticisms/suggestions and the like

[rickzter]

I highly doubt it's anything but ich. Yes, if the fish's stress continues, more ich parasites will jump on him, a good indicator that he is still pretty sick (duh). You should not try to stress him out even more with medicines, have you considered a water change for the QT?

[Bruce]

The slow progression would not be a sign of it not being ich. Ich will always be in your tank to some extent. But when fish are healthy the ich is not able use the fish. If the ich progression is slow, that might mean the fish's immune systems are fighting back...but its a slow battle the fish will likly lose without help. I would do a water change in the QT tank, and wait a few days to a week to see if the ich comes back.

[serotonin]

thanks for the replies i did do an approx 20% water change in the QT by taking water from the MT and replace the QT water with that(last night). Should i use treated tap water instead. I was/am torn between a worry for ammonia or nitrite spikes stressing the fish worse with the tap water. on the other handthen adding more of the ich from the MT's water.

thanks again

[Bruce]

I would probably not take water from the MT because it is more likley to still have traces of ich in it. If your LFS sells salt water, maybe buy some from them to use or make your own

[serotonin]

The lil dude is still in the QT tank and doing quite well. I have been taking water samples into my LFS and getting it tested for copper and ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. Nitrites peaked at 5ppm and went down to 2.5ppm a couple days later so I'm pretty confident the QT is finally stable. All signs of ICK are now gone, yay! I imagine i should leave the fish in the QT for a few more days just to make sure it's better, ya?

Also, for the MT, there are 4 hermit crabs and 2 perculas in there now. The MT fish are not/havent been showing any signs of ick. I wonder if hermit crabs can host marine ich? I tried looking for info on this but didnt find anything so im assuming they probably don't.

Also, since I did not QT all 3 of my fish ( i though that all 3 in the QT would be way too crowded), im sure i still have the parasites in my MT. I wonder if I need to purchase a UV light for the MT now? Is it possible that I can just acclimate the QT fish back into the MT in a few days and not worry?

I did do a 20 gallon water change in the MT and tried to clean the bed as much as possible, I read that ICK is not free floating durring lighted hours so I figured if there are dormant eggs/cysts/whatever the will be sitting down there. Should I continue to do this to help get as much of the parasites out of my MT as possible?

Once again, thanks !

[gkw]

I would leave him in there for at least 3 more wks for further observation before transfering to MT. He has just fought off the ICH and he needs time to recover. And you are right inverts don't host ICH.

Personally, I wouldn't disturb your sandbed because it will stress out your fishes and I am not sure if you can get rid of ICH or parasites that way. If there is a trace of it, they will multiply. But if you must I would do it at night when they rest and stir 1/4 of it every few days to a week to prevent any spikes.

UV light will work in FOWLR, but I would like to know if it's ok to use it once in a while (once every 3 months maybe?) in a reef.

[serotonin]

I have read on here that some people say no to UV in a reef, while others use them 24/7 in a reef. Hard to say one way or the other. Seems to me that it's best not to do it 24/7 in a reef or at least certainly not durring feeding times. but im a noob so take that with a few grains of salt

[gkw]

Yeah, that's what I read too. It will strip away the good bacteria that the corals need. Since there are people who use it in a reef w/ no problem, I think I am going to get one and run it once a month or something.