Ich and stress

[dory36]

We bought an anenome yesterday that our clownfish almost immediately "bonded" with. The problem now is that he's become very territorial and is running everyone off who comes near. He and our royal gramma got into it a few times and I've noticed that my rg has white spots on his face and fins. I tried to catch him to put him in qt, but I can't get him out. Will this go away if I put garlic in the water as well as on the food? :notsure:

 

[elfdoctors]

Is anything besides the anemone new? If so, you are likely dealing with a disease. If not, this may just be from trauma. If this is the case, garlic and good foods may be all that is necessary. After the royal gramma realizes that the clownfish is not leaving, they will probably leave each other alone.

 

[dory36]

I added a sea urchin Saturday and the royal gramma was fine with that. My husband bought the anenome yesterday at lunch and when I came home from work, that's when I noticed my rg was hiding. When he did come out, that's when I saw the clown going after him and the white spots on his body.
This morning the anenome had moved and the clown was back in his usual corner. The rg was actually out and swimming around, but he still had the white spots. Hopefully those will go away like you said. He's IMPOSSIBLE to catch.
My other fish seem fine. Can they get ich from my rg?

 

[lefty]

Did the water the anemone come in somehow mix with the water in your tank?
-lefty

 

[dory36]

No, we never put the water from the lfs in our tank.

 

[lefty]

It is possible for ich to lay dormant in your tank until an ideal host presents itself. If your RG was stressed from his/her run-ins with the clown, it's very possible that his/her conditions were weakened enough for the ich to come out of dormancy and attach to its now suitable host.
Invertebrates, corals, anemones, etc. are rarely thought of as being able to carry the parasite. The parasites really have no reason to be on the anemone since they aren't a food source like fish are.
-lefty

 

[dory36]

That's what I thought, Lefty. I think my rg is totally freaked because the anemone is on his side of the tank and the clown is running him off. Hopefully he'll chill out and the garlic will make a difference---there is no way I can catch him to put him in QT.
I'll let you all know what happens! Thanks!

 

[lefty]

Glad I could help, Dory. The thing with garlic is that it won't cure ich. It's best used as a preventative measure. It helps strengthen the immune system of the fish, but if the fish already has ich, it's a bit late.
-lefty

 

[hondotech]

How does one use garlic to to help prevent ich? What about the copper that was mentioned?

 

[dory36]

Update: my rg is out and about and almost all his white spots are gone. He's moved to the other side of the tank out of range from my clown.
HondoTech, I don't know anything about copper, but there's liquid garlic you can buy at your lfs. You squeeze it directly onto your food and then put it in your tank. I use it with every feeding.