firefish???

[shista]

hi everyone... i have a firefish and every morning he comes out of his cave with either a scratch on his fin, or some sort of white blodge on his skin... I keep thinking it might be ick but i swear its not cause theres no bumpy salt like things... does anyone have any experience with their fish sleeping in sandy/rocky places and coming out in the morning looking like ick/scratch/different??

 

[snakeblitz33]

Some fish change colors for different reasons... Sometimes it's because of the lights, other times because of stress.
If he doesn't exhibit signs of ich or other diseases that are pro-longed and harmful to the fish - then let him be. Most likely, it's nothing to worry about.
Make sure you read up on some disease articles first. I also suggest posting a picture of him on here so that we may get a more accurate diagnosis.

 

[shista]

the small white patches and the minor ick looking scratches on the fins are so small that it wouldent show up on picture... i have had ick like 10 times i hope im just buggin

 

[btldreef]

I have to ask, what in the world is going on in your tank(s)? It seems like your fish are always sick?

 

[shista]

man... i think i have the worst luck or something. everytime i get ick i qt the fish for 5-6weeks(hypo)... and then qt new fish(hypo),, and somehow i always lose the battle.... i dont think this is ick this time, im just sick and tired of it

 

[shista]

the only thing with parameters that could be a problem is my nitrates are 15-20... ive been slowly bringing them down

 

[btldreef]

5-6 weeks QT isn't long enough to treat ich. You need 6-8 and if it's an established tank that had the parasite that the fish will be put back into, I would recommend a full 8 to make sure it is out of the DT

 

[acrylic51]

Agree!!!!

 

[shista]

I remember everyone used to say they hypo for 4 weeks to kill ick... then it slowly went up to 5 and 6... now 8 weeks? has there been new evidence or something

 

[btldreef]

I don't ever recall it being 4 or 5 weeks, it's always been 6-8 as far as I've known. If it were a new setup that you were putting fish in, you can get away with the 6 week mark. But since this tank has seen ich, it really needs to sit fishless (fallow) for a full 8 weeks and the infected fish need to be treated for a full 8 weeks. Sure after 3-4 weeks you might not see the ich present on the fish, but the life cycle of the ich parasite is 6-8 weeks, which is why the QT needs to go on for that long. Any shorter and all you are doing is killing off most of the ich and than allowing it to slowly reproduce again.
Don't you also have a fish with pop eye right now?

 

[shista]

yes