The Dreaded Ich

Hi All,

It appears that Ich may be livin' large in my tank. I was thinking after 2 1/2 months I would be out of the woods with Ich, but I guess not. I thought it was more of a "new fish" disease. But I guess that's my newbie opinion!

My clown fish has one small iridescent dot on it's dorsal fin and my damsel appears to have a raised white spot near his eye. The clown's dot has been there for a few days and all the other fish looked fine so I thought I would just keep my eye on it. The clown's dot is still there, but there are no new spots on the clown. The spot on the damsel appeared this morning. So far the other two fish seem fine, and besides the obvious spots, none of the fish are showing signs of distress and all are eating well.

Water params are fine. Ammonia and Nitrite are 0 and Nitrate is 20 ppm. pH is 8.2.

I've read on this forum two different opinions about what to do when Ich strikes: QT tank and leave the fish be. Any opinions about what to do? I really don't want to lose any of my fish! I also have crabs, snails, star fish, etc. so treating with medication is riskier...although I don't value them as much as my fish.

Thank you very much!

 

i wish i could help, but don't have experience with ich, so good luck, hope someone can help

 

Well, thanks for responding any way! I hope someone can help too.

 

As long as they are eating and acting normal leave them be.

 

I fattened my fish, and they havent had ich since! *nock on wood*

I occasionally when they did have it Dose the tank with Kordon Ick Attack, and used my UV Steralizer. Probably another big help!

 

My theory is that ich and other diseases are always there. Usually the defenses of the fish are strong enough to fight it off. When they get stressed the disease gains a better foothold. Its kind of like going outside on a cold day without a jacket. Makes you more likely to catch a cold but you didn't catch the virus because you were outside in the cold. The virus moves in because your body was stressed.

 

tell me about ich............................... what i did was i QT my fish. you probably dont want to do that. unless they get any worse. i did that and i paid the price. i lost half of all my fish. ( although my case was pretty bad so i had to QT anyways) like ocean paradise said.. if they are eating well, let them be. i recommend to give them the most nutritious food you can get them.. that should get their immune systems strong.

 

I don't know why they would be stressed...unless they hate each other?! The only thing that's changed in the tank from before the ich to after is I added a Koralia 2 power head. I wouldn't think that would stress them out, could it?

I did go on a short vacation....maybe they missed me?!

 

Yeah, I'm hoping that I don't need to QT them, because I feel like the stress of all that would be incredible. Hopefully they can get through this! My clown eats pellets and frozen mysis, but my damsel only eats the mysis. Hopefully that diet is healthy enough. I do have some garlic extract as well.

 

Have you got a ground probe? Maybe the Koralia is leaking some electricity into it? I'd think that could be stressful. Do you add any vitimans to their food?