fishorbust
Member
Can a fish fight off ich? My Blue Tang appears to have the ich. It has little tiny white spots on him, they appear to be raised off the skin a little. My Coral Beauty and Percula don't show any signs at all
Fighting Ich
- Thread starter fishorbust
- Start date
fishorbust
Member
No i don't have a QT. Hyposalinity? Does lighting or water flow have any effects on the fish with ich or stress?
fishorbust
Member
Yes it is in the 20G, is only 1/2" to 3/4" long, very very young. It eats fine and swims around fine. I have a Maxi Jet 400 in the top left corner blowing across the top of the tank. And when i came home tonight i noticed the spots on the fish. I just received my new Maxi Jet 600 and put it into the tank. And the fish seem to like it. I'm looking at the tang right now and it is swimming fine and i fed it just a little pinch to see if it would eat and it did. Its swimming into the water the powerhead is blowing
fishorbust
Member
This was taken from another post....
graff71884
White things on my neon goby!!
Can anyone tell me what he could have? I am pretty sure it isn't ick, the 8-10 things on him are not flat, but raised, and they are pretty big objects compared to salt grain sized ick. Almost looks like they are attached to his skin somehow on the outside, big enough that a person could remove them easily with a pair of tweezers. My purple firefish, clown, and mandarin are all doing fine, no signs of anything on them, but can't figure out what the goby has. He recently started glancing off rocks, which made me think it was ick, but I don't think so. I have had ich a few times, so I know what it looks like, so I am puzzled to figure out what this is and how to treat it! Thanks
Someone Thought it could be Isopods
Could this be what i have. its exactly how he descibes it
graff71884
White things on my neon goby!!
Can anyone tell me what he could have? I am pretty sure it isn't ick, the 8-10 things on him are not flat, but raised, and they are pretty big objects compared to salt grain sized ick. Almost looks like they are attached to his skin somehow on the outside, big enough that a person could remove them easily with a pair of tweezers. My purple firefish, clown, and mandarin are all doing fine, no signs of anything on them, but can't figure out what the goby has. He recently started glancing off rocks, which made me think it was ick, but I don't think so. I have had ich a few times, so I know what it looks like, so I am puzzled to figure out what this is and how to treat it! Thanks
Someone Thought it could be Isopods
Could this be what i have. its exactly how he descibes it
elfdoctors
Active Member
If the fish appears healthy, you can watch it for a few days. If it is ich(which is probably most likely), the spots will either get worse or seem to get better and then get worse within a few weeks as the trophonts fall off and then reproduce.
Do you have a QT? I would try to get that tank established now. It will help you with any new fish introductions and may have to be used for treatment if your fish get worse.
If the fish are otherwise healthy (under very little stress) and you have a less virulent strain of ich, your fish can often keep the ich in check and develop a low level immunity. A well-balanced diet (especially lots of veggies and plankton) and garlic will often help. Overstocking a tank is a very common cause of stress. A 20 gallon tank is tiny for this species which will often grow quickly. Most people suggest a 75 gallon minimum for blue tangs. These fish also tend to get sick with only mild elevations of nitrAtes so these need to be followed closely.
I doubt that the spots are from pods. There are rare isopod forms that attach to fish to feed. However, the primary signs with this problem are open sores on the fish rather than white spots.
Do you have a QT? I would try to get that tank established now. It will help you with any new fish introductions and may have to be used for treatment if your fish get worse.
If the fish are otherwise healthy (under very little stress) and you have a less virulent strain of ich, your fish can often keep the ich in check and develop a low level immunity. A well-balanced diet (especially lots of veggies and plankton) and garlic will often help. Overstocking a tank is a very common cause of stress. A 20 gallon tank is tiny for this species which will often grow quickly. Most people suggest a 75 gallon minimum for blue tangs. These fish also tend to get sick with only mild elevations of nitrAtes so these need to be followed closely.
I doubt that the spots are from pods. There are rare isopod forms that attach to fish to feed. However, the primary signs with this problem are open sores on the fish rather than white spots.
fishorbust
Member
Well the Tang has lost the spots. I was just last night he had them and this morning when the dawn light turned on i noticed he lost them. No other fish had gotten it. The fish is very blue in color and shows no signs of stress, sores, or tearing in the skin. It ate regularly and swims fine. So what could this have been? Mild case of ich? It had prolly 15 spots on each side so i couldn't say mild.
elfdoctors
Active Member
It could still have been ich. As part of ich's lifestyle, the spots (trophonts) get bigger over 5-7 days and then fall off. They then reproduce. If it was ich, the fish will likely have more spots within ~3 weeks.
There is another possibility which I have seen on my own blue tang occasionally. If you have recently cleaned the tank, sand granules will often get stirred up. Some of these can stick to the fish, get covered with mucous and then fall off (usually within 2-3 days).
Watch the fish. Get that QT up and going. If you have to do hyposalinity, it is much safer with another cycled tank. Quarantine tanks are really a necessity in this hobby.
There is another possibility which I have seen on my own blue tang occasionally. If you have recently cleaned the tank, sand granules will often get stirred up. Some of these can stick to the fish, get covered with mucous and then fall off (usually within 2-3 days).
Watch the fish. Get that QT up and going. If you have to do hyposalinity, it is much safer with another cycled tank. Quarantine tanks are really a necessity in this hobby.
fishorbust
Member
It was more like 6 to 7 hours for me when they fell off, heh. Thats what i was thinking, and after i installed my 2nd powerhead last night i think that could have blown them off.