Can ick go away on its own?

[johnnyfish]

I have a white spotted toby. Friday he was covered with salt like spots including on his eyes. Now all the spots are gone except for one 1 or 2 very small ones on his left eye. He is eating and acting fine as are my other fish. Can ick go away on its own? Or should I start treatment anyway?

 

[nevurrmore]

He's actually not the only one that has it. All of your fish are hosts to this parasite. Treat immediatly with the method that suits your tank if you want to save them.

 

[nevurrmore]

If you don't know about hyposalinity do a search on this message board and study up. Its a lifesaver for your fish.

 

[kris walker]

I agree. The ich will probably not "go away". The only way it can die out in your tank is if the ich parasites do not attach to any fish in your aquarium for a whole month (they can't live without a host for that long). But odds are that some are always on that one fish you describe as being partially infected, so it will not go away by itself. We all suggest hyposalinity for ich. You can also use copper, but it will cling to things in your tank which will later be hard, if not impossible, to remove.
sam

 

[trigahappynigerog]

treat your fish and tank with hyposalinity. tha parasites will keep on reproducing if there host is present.

 

[johnnyfish]

Thanks for everyone's Input. One more question. How much time do I have. I am in the process of setting up another tank (125). I would like to get that done so I could move all my live rock and inverts into that before I start the Hypo treatment in the current tank. Could I wait a week? Or is this something that needs to be done ASAP? Everyone seems fine now. Can things get worse very quickly?

 

[exotickeeper]

You can wait a week, it's not like it will kill your fish overnight; however, the longer you wait, the more the ich will be multip. and therefore making it a little more difficuilt to treat.

 

[johnnyfish]

Update: He is totally clear this morning as well as my other fish. Perhaps it was something else? Maybe something just irritated his skin? Anyway I am going to sit tight and wait an see if anything reoccurs. Thanks for everyone’s help!

 

[bigred]

Mine disappears and comes back also. I'm trying the garlic right now and see if that works because I have a reef tank and I don't have a hospital tank. Let you know what happens.