Hippo with Ich?

[reefeel]

When I got my hippo a week ago and put him in my tnak I noticed he would scratch himself on the rocks. I s wasn't excessivly but he does it every time I watch him for a while. Then last night I noticed what look like tiny with scratches on him but otherwise he's fine. Could this be ick or him scratching to hard?

 

[paulnlex]

My Hippo is doing the exact same thing. I was just about to start a topic but then I saw yours. Only difference is that my hippo has white dots/ film stuff on him. Sooo ya I wanted to know what is the best treatment, and now we have to run out and get a hospital tank, whats the minimum size we could get?
Need help fast, he isn't looking good.

 

[elfdoctors]

You probably are aware that tangs have a reputation for being ich magnets. This is a very common disease for tangs.
Hippos like to squeeze in tight places, particularly to sleep. They rarely scratch themselves from this. However, with a new fish, which is probably quite skittish, it is possible that they are scratches. However, if you scratched yourself, you usually would not continue to rub it on rocks. More likely, you have ich.
As long as the fish is eating okay and otherwise seems healthy, you can usually watch the fish. However, in the meantime, you should try to get your new Quarantine tank/Hospital tank partially cycled in case you need to start treatment such as hyposalinity.

 

[elfdoctors]

PaulnLex - The minimum sized QT should be around 10 gallons. It really is determined by what size fish you plan on treating. You should try not to overload a QT with more than 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons (or at most 1 inch per 2 gallons if the tank has been cycled and has been up and running for a while). I found that a 20 gallon suited my needs better.
Welcome to the Boards!

 

[reefeel]

What about a freshwater dip? Should I increase my tanks temp? Right now it is at 78. He dosn't rub much I have just seen him do about 4 times in the last week 1 on the day I got him and 2 the next day and I just saw him do it again today. They look more like scrath marks then, though I have yet to experince ick.

 

[elfdoctors]

Freshwater dips do not kill ich as the trophonts are protected in the slime layer of the fish. It is also stressful for the fish. It may make some of the larger trophonts fall off, but it will not treat the disease. They are no longer being recommended.
The same applies to raising the temperature of the water a few degrees. This only speeds up the lifecycle of the parasite.
You may have been lucky so far and this may not be ich. However, if you plan on adding new fish to your tank, they should be quarantined (particularly if you buy them from a LFS - I have had much better luck avoiding disease by quarantining fish and by buying fish on-line from a reputable source (such as swf.com).

 

[reefeel]

I'm not too worried about my other fish my per clowns are easy to catch if needed, my trigger is pretty tough, my sfe eel can't even get ick, not sure on my 4 line wrasse, and I could only hope that my evil damsels that I can't catch would get it

. I'm just worried about my hippo cause I paid $40 for him and spent over an hour making sure he was okay and eating at the lfs. Ohh I forgot to say that the hippo got stuck in my in tank mechanical filtration part-she was okay but freaked out.

 

[reefeel]

I looked very carfully while my hippo was standing still sleeping and I think I might have spotted ick on her fins. I set up a hospital tank but the only tank I have is my freshwater hospital tank. It is only three gallons but that is all I have to use. It is already pretty much cycled and if it isn't I put 3 small pieces of live rock in from my main tank. I can't put it back in if I use copper right? I used water from my main tank and their is already the same kind of sand in my hospital. I plan on checking the water perimeters tomorrow and I will put the fish in on Friday after I go to my lfs. I have Friday off from school and I put the qt tank in my room where I am most of the time so I can watch to make sure nothing goes wrong.

 

[paulnlex]

My hippo is a baby, very very small. We don't have an extra 10 gallon , nor extra anything. We have to save money to go get a tank/acc. and then cycling and everything, with all that time, im afraid that it might be too late for the hippo? We paid $60 for him but that really doesn't matter to us, hes just too cute.
Anyways, we have no idea what to do because we're poor

 

[elfdoctors]

Originally posted by reefeel
I can't put it back in if I use copper right?
Correct. Copper permanently binds to live rock and live sand. You might never be able to get inverts to live if Copper has been used.
You can reuse the rock after hyposalinity. Hyposalinity will convert live rock into base rock, but it is still safe to put back into the tank.
PaulnLex - For the cost of your hippo, you can get a 10 gallon QT set up. This hobby is an expensive one. How big is your tank? Most people say that a 75 gallon is the minimum size for a blue hippo as they can get to be 12 inches long. I would probably try to do hyposalinity as this is an inexpensive treatment (the only added cost is some saltwater and perhaps a refractometer if you do not have one already) and is the preferred treatment anyway.

 

[reefeel]

Okay can you explain to me what hyposalinity is and how do do it?

 

[reefeel]

I was looking at the diseased fish pictures on here and I think I may have matched it with Lymphocyctis. My hippo dosn't have the traditional ick spots all over but has bigger spots mostly on the fins.

 

[paulnlex]

Well, i just read about the treatment you suggested but, we have live rock, live sand, and inverts. Soo I guess we need to get another tank for it all, but while we're treating the tang, we are leaving the other fish/inverts in the main tank. Can they get ich? As of now, the tang is the only one with any signs at all of ich.

 

[paulnlex]

Our Tang is looking much much better