Need ich clarification PLEASE!

cbrynolf

Member
I have read many of the posts relating to ich. I am very new to this hobby and am not sure if I had/have ich.
I began cycling my tank with three damsels, two yellow tailed and one 3 stripe. After a few weeks when I was sure everything had cycled, I went to the LFS and bought two Percula Clowns. After a couple of days I noticed white spots so I immediately thought ich and went into action. I used Rid ich for a few days and everything looked ok(did not use for length of time as directed). One of the clowns had some mucusy stuff coming off his bottom fins and instead of flapping them while he swam they were slicked back all of the time.
I was especailly worried about this one and did a formalin dip. That seemed to work. All good after 4 weeks later.
Other than the white spots I have only noticed one other sign on One of the clowns and that is after 4-5 weeks he has been looking a little pale and in the morning and at night he stays really close to the sand and in one particular spot. They eat like pigs, they do twitch a lot(a second sign I guess) and they have been alive for the last 4-5 weeks since I first suspected ich.
The three damsels have not shown any signs and look in perfect health.
Is ich possible? Generally how long will ich take to kill a fish.
My tank is a 55g and has the 5 small fish I listed above.
Am I needlessly worrying?
 

dankell

Member
man it sure sounds like ich, but there are so many other illnesses also, you should really follow the directions on what ever product you choose to use, most of them reccommend about 14 days of treatment, i went through the same problem but with much more expensive fish, i saw better results in Kick Ich,,,and its not harmful to inverts and corals, i have a fish only tank so i didnt have to worry about any of that. sorry your having problems allready, but for the most part i think we all go through it, part of learning the hobby, it's just costly !!!
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Formalin really is not an effective treatment for ich, and it is highly toxic. What are the current water readings in your tank? And, what are your feeding the fish?
Can you describe the twitching?
 

cbrynolf

Member
readings are;
Ph 8.2
ammonia 0
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
Everyone seems to be doing ok. The one clownfish is active in the day then stays in one area in the evening and at night. He looks a little pale in comparison to the other one but when he decides to eat, he chows.
Right now I am not doing any medicating as I don't see much reason to at this point. I am just going to watch and see.
Chris
 

cbrynolf

Member
I think the twitching maybe a reaction to other tank mates getting to close...I don't know. Looks like he is trying to shake something off. Doesn't do it that often though.
C
 

cbrynolf

Member
I still would really like to no the progression of ich and if you have it how long would it take for the fish to die?
C
 
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