banggai needs help

[majakarot]

ok, this is another ick question, i have a cardinal w/ white spots on the webbing of it's fins, i assume its ick. the problem is i don't have a qt or a refractometer- it is not acting odd at all and has had these spots for about 2 wks, could they be finrot? anyways, can't hypo so should i Aull it out and freshwater dip him? B:cross my fingers and make sure i keep stress down? C:buy a cleaner shrimp or wrasse? D:remove him to a an empty tank and lower salinity by guessing, noting the only way to get cycled water would be to take it out of my main tank (i fear the move would kill him, i have not had luck moving banggais)
btw: he is new and i'm sure that is why he is sick

 

[majakarot]

that was a : and a p, not a face

 

[bang guy]

I vote B.
If it's eating then it should be able to fight off the Ick provided nothing is harassing it.
If it stops eating then you're going to have to quaranteen it.
Are you feeding it meaty foods?

 

[majakarot]

yes, i was feeding it live brine shrimp, but switched to frozen foods, it eats very well, i feed different frozen foods each night from a multipack and they seem to enjoy them all, it also does not show any signs of stress at all, if i didn't see the spots i would swear it was healthy, it has also been two weeks, shouldn't it have cycled by now? losing the fish wouldn't completely destroy me, but when it does cycle will it wipe out my stock, i was lead to believe that as long as they are extremely healthy they will be ok (i don't have any tangs)
i really appreciate the help, i know you guys get sick of answering ick questions

 

[bang guy]

I agree with everything you said.
I have to wonder if it's something else though. I'd suggest sticking to plan B: Since they're a rather docile fish maybe you can pick out a single Ick spot and keep track of it. If it's still there in a week I don't believe it's Ick.
By the way, you feeding regime sounds great. Variety is definately a big plus.

 

[majakarot]

thanks bang guy i really appreciate the advice

 

[hairtrigger]

I second bang. You might want to raise the temperature slightly too. That often gets rid of slight ich outbreaks. But, also keep the stress lowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

 

[beth]

Offer the fish garlic soaked food. Soaking food for at least an hr before offering it to the fish.

 

[majakarot]

i wanted to use garlic, but my cardinals won't eat flake and i don't know how to soak the frozen foods without them spoiling--also, can i use a garlic solution w/ actual garlic, or do i have to buy the elixer?
thanx again

 

[beth]

Actually garlic works well with frozen foods. Just place the frozen food in a small container, add the garlic on top and let it defrost in the fridge for at least an hr. As for fresh garlic, you can certainly use it. Chop up the garlic and be sure that the garlic juice is contained, then add the food, mix it up. I leave the chop up the cloves and just let them soak in with the food.
I commonly leave garlic soaked food thawing in the bottom compartment of my fridge [the compartment that is cold to preserve meats for longer wo placing them in the freezer]. Frankly, I find that the fresh garlic works better. If I actually had a disease problem, I'd use fresh garlic, otherwise, use the store bought for convenience at other times.

 

[majakarot]

OK, i'll get some garlic tomorrow... thanks again

 

[majakarot]

one thing, do you feed the chopped up cloves with the food, if not, how do you separate it?