Can this be ick?

[becky]

I had a damsel (black with white stripes) who started acting funny for about 4 or 5 days. Hiding, and opening his mouth real fast. At first i though it was stress..although my water is real good water. Now i am wondering could it be ick? What does this look like when it appears? Are there commong signs? Can i treat right in my tank. I have read a lot about what some ppl have written... a quartine tank or hospital tank. I don't have one of these. Maybe someone can tell me of a product to buy to use... in case it was ick.. or for future use.
Thanks for all the info

 

[b_ball12_99]

I don't think its ick. If your fish gets ick then they will start to rub on rocks and white looking fungus stuff will start appearing to grow on them. Once you can see the white ick things are getting bad. Keep an eye on the fish and keep us posted on its behavior.

 

[becky]

he died last night.. just to let you know! no what that i noticed... infact his white stripes were blackened when i pulld his out this moring

 

[babyfish]

Hi Becky. Can you give us a little more info on your tank? How long has it been running, is it cycled, what are your water paremeters ( ammonia, nitrite, nitrate )? It sounds to me that it might have been ammonia poisoning. Sometimes fish can get dark like that if the ammonia is too high for them. Do you have any more fish in there? What kind of water are you using? I am sorry you lost your fish. I know how that feels. Brooke

 

[becky]

Babyface.. i thik that was your name The water is great. amonia is 0 nitrites 0 ph 8.3 to 8.4, nitrates between 5 and 10. temp usually kept between 76 to 78
does this help?

 

[becky]

oooh sorry Brook Baby fish!! Got it now!

 

[babyfish]

You still haven't told me if your tank has been cycled yet. Ick looks like someone sprinkled salt on your fish. Tiny white dots that can cover the whole body. Sometimes the fish can act crazy like swimming back and forth really fast. Rapid breathing too. As for treating it in your tank,you can if you do Not have inverts, live rock, or corals. It is best not to just start throwing chemicals in the tank when you really aren't sure what it is your treating. In fact, hyposalinity when done right, is the prefered treatment of ick and certainly the best for them. You can also use copper but some fish like angels don't do very well in it. If I were you I would get a 10 gal tank and put all new fish in there for 3 weeks before putting them into your show tank. Preventing ick from getting into your tank in the first place is best because once your fish has ick it will always have it and when they get stressed out you are liable to have a serious outbreak and could loose alot of money. If you plan on having inverts, corals, or liverock I would also get a seperate hospital tank for your fish. This will end up saving you alot of money in the long run. I hope this helps.