help...ich or sand

darthmatt

darthmatt

Member
Does sand stick to fish? I have an orange spotted goby that has been stirring up the sand for the past week. Then Sunday I added a Flame angel. Last night everyone was clean. Now in the past 24 hours, my flame, yellow tang and tomato clown have spots. Its on the fins and also on the skin. It's very very small. Smaller than any ich I've ever seen. I did qt the flame.
My Q's are
Does ich stick to the skin?
Could it have spread that bad to all my fish? they are covered.
Could it be sand?
thanks matt
 
dragonfli

dragonfli

Member
90% SURE IT IS ICK.
ich has different levels during the process. it will grow on one of the fish, thenit will "jump off of the fish, lay dormant for a while and then all of the sudden multiply almost 100 fold. so if you get a bad ich outbreak it will get about everybody. it happened to me once and the only guy that lived was my blue damsel.(he's been to hell and back with me)
what are your water readings? and do they show any reason to the outbreak? (high nitrites, nitrates, ammonia???????)
was the goby stirring up the sand, or was he itching himself.......pretty big difference. itching=leaning o one side and rubbing pectoral, and or belly area on any harded substance.
 
dragonfli

dragonfli

Member
forgot to explain...when the ich is "dormant" and about to "attach" itself the fish need to have been stressed out a bit for the ich to have gotten through the protective layering all fish have. so an agressive fish, bad water conditions, etc will cause the fish's immune system to be lowered enough that the protective coating is thin enough that the ich can attach itself.
 
F

fonzoner

Guest
hey dragonfli quick ques.i have a neon dotty that loves to dive down on a rock i have in the sand n bounce his ab sections off it.he has done this since i got him 3mths ago n i havent had a ich attack yet.knock on wood.could he just like to do this or is this a warning?
 
dragonfli

dragonfli

Member
from what ive seen it is when they turn on their sides (45degrees) and do a quick brush. the second thing is the breathing if younotice their breathing pattern quicken. you gotta look close but you can tell when it is quicker. as for the diving i used to like jumping on a trampoline and i wasnt sick so if he doesnt have these symptoms he might just be havin fun:jumping:
 
darthmatt

darthmatt

Member
my readings are all fine. The goby is definately stirring it up. You can see it floating everywhere.
I cant exactly put everyone in the qt. So should I try hyposalinity in the main tank. Other inhabitants are a Condi, red leg hermits and snails. Will they be affected by hypo?
I guess I should have put this in the disease forum.
 
dragonfli

dragonfli

Member
darth
you dont have any corals? if not you can do hypo. i would, but in varying degrees. my friend has a little (clear) tupperware and he gives them a freshwater bath for a few minutes and the ich literally jumpes of of the fish. i dont do this with mine but check that method out for some of your fish. it worked well for his angel, and one of his butterfly fish. but my cardinal died. but look it up
 
fishcrazy2

fishcrazy2

Member
Im treating ich with a chemical called kick ick right now and ove used it before and it works and its reef safe Get it fast before your fish die
 
darthmatt

darthmatt

Member
dragonfli
Ya I've heard many conflicting stories on freshwater dip, some say the shock from the dip might be even worse for the fish.
As far as hypo, I can't do it with live rock or my anemone.
I came home today and they were ALMOST completely clean. Then in the evening when the goby is sifting, they are covered again. They are NOT scraping themselves,nor are they breathing heavy. I'm really thinking it's sand. But does sand stick that much to fish? Maybe the fish's coating is gone allowing it to stick. I'm stumped.
 
dragonfli

dragonfli

Member
i forgot you had the anemone. yeah dont use hypo. how fine is the sand inyour tank? does it clear up and then when he "plays in the mudd" it shows up?
i had a few fish that had ich and i could only see it when the lights were on in my tank. it was so fine that i could only see it then.. try making the room dark in the day time and turn the lights on to see if it is just the lights bringin it into the open (visible) if it is not then i guess =sand does stick to fish.
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member

Originally posted by Fishcrazy2
Im treating ich with a chemical called kick ick right now and ove used it before and it works and its reef safe Get it fast before your fish die
A snake oil with no proven ingredient that kills parasites. The only proven treatments that actually will kill parasites are copper and hypo in my opinion. You can also try boosting the immune system of your fish with garlic soaked food and food soaked in vitamins. Fish with strong immune systems can kick the disease on their own . You also need a healthy diet, steady temps with no constant fluctuations of more then two degrees and good steady water quality
If you use Kick Ich and your fish get better it is because their immune systmes strengthened and/or the ich eviornmental factor improved.
Whenever you add a fish to the tank is places stress on the newbie plus the old ones.
 
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