I dont know if ive have ich or what it is!!!

[mcintyre92]

HELP!!!!!

:help:

the fish i have in my tank are a rusty angel and a royal gramma and 2 peppermint shrimp
the shrimp have been fine. i have had them for like 8 months
but about 3 days ago i noticed like salt or like pencil dots on my rusty angel(it wasnt alot just about maybe 15 over the whole fish at the most) b4 i went to school
then wen i came home they were gone
i havent really seen them but now about the same amount is on my royal gramma!!!
i dont know if this is sand or what cuz my gramma goes down in a little hole around sand and the day b4 i saw the specks on the angel my water pump fell off the wall and pushed all the sand around the tank
could this have triggered ich to come back? :notsure:
because about 2 months ago i had:
2 percula clowns
a yellow tang
a blackcap basslet and
3 blue reef chromis
then all of a sudden i noticed the same specks on 1 of the chromis and then about 4 days later it died
then within 1 week all my fish were dead

i got the last 4 fish at the same time do you think i put to much stress on the fish?
and it looks exactly the same as last time and i cant lose any more fish because my parents said that if any more fish die soon then we are shutting down the tank!!!!!

and i really love animals and fish and i dont want to be a fish killing nazi
Please help me!!!!! :help:

 

[mcintyre92]

bump...

 

[squidd]

It's quite possible you are having another "bout" with ick in your tank with the current fish..
Did you do anything to treat the tank or eliminate the ick after the first set died/before you added the second set...?
(I'm thinking possibly leaving the tank fallow >fishless< for 4-6 weeks, or did a copper treatment or tore the tank down and started over..?)
If you didn't do anything to "purposely" eliminate the ick before adding new fish...the ick stayed in the tank and is re-infecting the new fish...
Read the sticky on the top of this forum on Hyposalinity and QT tanks and ick...

 

[mcintyre92]

i did 2 ick treatments after the fish died and 2 20%(15 gals out of 75) water changes b4 I got new fish
any new fish i got were 4 weeks after
I even got an inexpensive fish for 2 weeks to "test" if there was any ick left and i didnt see any sight of it for the whole time!!!
i havent seen any for the past 1 1/2 days and i did a 10% water change today

can you conclude anything from this?
Thanks a bunch
Posted: 8:30 p.m eastern time

 

[squidd]

I really hate to jump to a "conclusion"...nor do I want to instill false hope...
BUT... if you did do 2x an Ick "treatment" (not sure what that means)...AND you in fact did leave the tank fish less for "at least" 4 weeks...
"Maybe"...(and I say this cautiously)..."Maybe" all you were seeing was sand spots and not a re infestation of Ick...
After having had to "deal" with ick (no fun)...I Too, can get a bit paranoid...
I have a Trigger in one of my tanks that will occasionally scoop up some sand in his mouth and blow it out his gills as he swims around...and every once in a while I'll see the sand spots on other fish and a "Cold Chill" runs down my spine.... :scared:
But thankfully it's just sand and not an outbreak....
Maybe..just "maybe"..that's what you had "seen" ..
But still keep an eye out...and be prepared to deal with it...
In the mean time..Good water quality, good husbandry, low stress environment (no new fish just yet) and the inclusion of food "supplements such as Garlic and or vitamin/amino acid supplements will help "fight off" an outbreak "IF" you have the parasite in your tank..

 

[mcintyre92]

well i was going to go to the store today to get some cleaner shrimp because i heard they eat parasites and clean your fish of them
is this true?
plus ill have to look at my lfs and see what he has to help my fish out
Thanks a lot

:happyfish :joy:

 

[squidd]

ill have to look at my lfs and see what he has to help my fish out
I'm sure he'd be all kinds of happy to sell you all kinds of "medications" and "treatments"...

Please be wary of any "miricle" cure/claims and check on the board here first...before pouring anything into your tank...
Cleaner shrimp are not a "cure" for ick...but they can be fun to watch...

 

[jackspets]

I work at a pet store and i recently got ick in my tank. Instead of buying chemicals for treatment, i bought a cleaner shrimp, and it does work. Ick will still be in your tank, but it will eat it off your fish to get rid of it. It is a less expensive alternative and you dont have to go through the hassle of treating.