clown question

adam13

adam13

Member
I have a false percula clown, two damsels with yellow teads and white bodies, a red coris wrasse, and two firefish gobies. 3 turbo snails, a bunch of hermit crabs and small snails, and a starfish. 90 gal tank with 3" ls bed and the tank is basically piled full of live rock.
All parameters are excellent, salinity 1.026.
problem: the clown has a single white spot on its side forward of the middle stripe. It isn't so much white as it is bleached color looking. It is not raised up, or indented in. Clown swims well, acts normally, and seems otherwise healthy. I would like to catch this problem before it becomes bad, or deadly.
problem part 2: the red coris wrasse occasionally dive bombs the sand and rubs her right side on it. She has some areas that lok kinda faded also.
PLEASE HELP
If I give him a freshwater bath and rub him down with stresscoat, how long do I leave him in fresh water?
All suggestions, diagnosises, and ideas are appreciated, thank you all.
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
This white spot. Doe it look like Ick? If so, and you do want to do the freshwater dip then i guess they say like 3-10 min. But i wouldn't go longer than 10. What you really should do if you could is put him in your QT and do hypo on him. That will be WAY less stressful than a dip. I've done a freshwater dip on a tang once and sure, i saw some of the parasite fall off but it wasn't enough. My tang died 36 hours later.
 
reeffeer

reeffeer

Member
im sorry to sound rough but a 10 minute dip? might as well put him between crackers and eat him.
if you detect something action should be taken quickly. dont panic but get your ill fish in a qt tank immediately! your not only trying to save them but the rest of your tank!
when sick fish are isolated the best ppart is that they are isolated.
what next... i happen to like malachite green as medcine. yes you can use copper based meds but most people will overdose the fish and copper is a sure death sentence when not tested properly.
dips can be beneficial, but more often than not very stressful leading to secondary illnesses.
whatever you chose, leave them in qt for 3 to 4 weeks this will allow the ick to cycle out of them and not multiply in your display tank.
with malachite green follow the directions to the tee never think that a little more will be better.. since a little more can kill them.
if performing a dip.. ph, temp must be exactly as in the diplay tank. i like to take some display water and get the salinity to about 1.09. ill leave them in the net so if they get stressed i can return them home.. in this case the qt tank. after about two mins you might see the fish freak out a bit. never leave them unatended! after three mins it about time to get them out. after five your seriously risking loosing the fish.
in your case a dip is not needed yet. go with the meds first and see if you can nip it without the dip. if they get really overrun i like to use a dip as a last resort, since fish have evolved excellent immune systems over the millenia they often just need a little help.
as for the main tank you mightr consider a uv sterilizer. read up on them they are quite helpfull. also if you tank is invert friendly and depending on size cleaner shrimp also help the fish a bit remove dead skin and parasites. I have skunk cleaners. they are not a total solution but they do a nice service for the fish.
good luck and most of all never panic! detection is step one and its clear you are attentive enough to notice the first spot.
:happyfish
 
adam13

adam13

Member
Are there any cleaner fish? My red coris wrasse would eat any shrimp. Should I treat the wrasse also since it keeps rubbing its side in the sand? what does that mean?
I have a 20 for a qt, should i put sand or anyhitng it it? Will it cycle and spike if I just set it up?
 
reeffeer

reeffeer

Member
qt tank should be bare of evrything! no sand no rock nadda. why? because your trying to keep the ick from multiplying. mine has only some pvc for the fish to hide. i use a sponge filter since bacteria colonize quickly on it. you will not use carbon because it will neutrilize your meds. yes it will need to cycle as any tank. set it up.. but some microbacter to help the cycle along. feed very little only once a day to keep them going and not fowl your water.
kepp very little light to avoid aglea blooms and because it will let your fish also chill out a bit. raise temp to about 80. this will speed up the cycle of the ick dying off. no short cuts 4 weeks in the qt, no less! yes bring in the wrass as well. give them each a hidding spot . you can also use a small clay pot on its side for them to hide in open side facing back. also use as much aeration as possible. with the temp at 80 there will be less oxygen in the tank so use a few airstones to increase oxygen. with meds i will use as directed,do a massive water change at conclusion of meds..let them chill for a week or so and observe. if needed i usually repeat and allow them to chill again. dont return them until they are cured!
best of luck :jumping:
 
reeffeer

reeffeer

Member
theres the cleaner wrass, but it might have the same fate as shrimp would.
i also sometimes employ a diatom filter, read up on this too. its helped me when ive had outbreaks when i first started. :scared:
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
As far as the dip goes. In a fish book i read, it specifically says 3-10 min. My tang was full of it so i went for the whole 10 min. Regular RO water. No salt added. And i don't remember haveing to put him on any type of crackers at all.
 
ace007

ace007

New Member
I would definitely have a UV sterilizer! I would treat Ick with garlic extreme, metronidazole, and focus. make sure that your UV sterilizer has the correct flow. I found out that mine was too slow. The above medications took care of the ick in a few days and I put a new power head on my sterilizer. I didn't loose a fish but I was stressed. Good luck! oh-I got the medications from my salt water fish supplier. She is great-has a phd in marine biology so she knows what she is doing! Ick will be in your tank so I am not sure that putting the fish in QT will help. I think that you need to treat your entire tank. I treated for about 10 days but symptoms went away in a couple.
 
adam13

adam13

Member
So is it ick that is that litle white/bleached spot on the clown and the faded areas on the wrasse?
What wattage sterilizer do i need and what flow through it do I need?
 
malounsbury

malounsbury

Member
Originally Posted by mwaraxa
And i don't remember haveing to put him on any type of crackers at all.
I think the cracker was intended to mean that you might as well just eat the fish on a cracker because its going to not be left of much life after 10 minutes in freshwater.
 
malounsbury

malounsbury

Member
Originally Posted by ace007
Ick will be in your tank so I am not sure that putting the fish in QT will help. I think that you need to treat your entire tank. I treated for about 10 days but symptoms went away in a couple.
I think because his display tank has inverts, it is not recommended he treat the fish in that tank, especially if he is going to do hyposalinity. Also, I think the medicine is not good for the LR and LS in the display tank.
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
Originally Posted by malounsbury
I think the cracker was intended to mean that you might as well just eat the fish on a cracker because its going to not be left of much life after 10 minutes in freshwater.

Yes i know what the cracker comment meant. My point was, i dipped for 10 min and my tang survived.
Since you all know so much. Here is a link that someone has on how to do a dip. Notice the length of time for the dip. http://www.bestfish.com/tips/052099.html
So before you mock someone, know what your talking about. . .
 
adam13

adam13

Member
so are bleached/pale looking areas, or small perfectly round whitish spots ick? Or could it be somethng else?
 
dmitry

dmitry

Member
Ich doesn't look like something on the fish is bleached. It literally looks like there's grains of salt (or sugar) on the fish's body.
 
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