Should I Treat Him or Not?

[c2rn]

We have a Flame Angel that seems to be having a bout w/ ick. He had a few spots all over his body but w/ in a couple of days they seem to have mostly gone away. Now he just has a few spots on his tail. The reason I haven't already put him in a hospital tank is that he seems to be holding his own. His breathing is totally normal, is just as active as usual, and he is not scratching. We have a cleaner shrimp but he isn't interested in cleaning him. I am worried that the stress of catching him, putting him in a new environment, and treating him w/copper will only weaken him enough so that the ick will get the best of him. Do you think it is okay to just watch him closely for now? His tank mates are totally healthy w/out any signs of ick and I am feeding everyone garlic soaked food.

 

[b_ball12_99]

I agree the garlic should do it. The cleaner shrimp might be full from cleaning it off the other fish in the tank. Once it is visible cleaner shrimp tend not to eat it off.

 

[tangs_in_pacifica]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing. Eye him closely and continue with the garlic feedings for about a month. Remember, just because you don't see Ich doesn't mean it's not in the water. Garlic will help you in repelling the nasties when they come back to find a host.

Ich Life-Cycle
A= The trophozoites in the host's skin. B= Trophont leaving the host. C= The mature trophont with hundreds of maturing tomites. D= The realeasing of tomites that penetrate the skin of the host fish
Hope this helps?

 

[03]

well i wouldn't treat with copper hyposilinity is the safe way to go i don't know what you have for inverts in the tank.
can you tell us?

 

[c2rn]

We have LR/LS, several blue leg hermits and a cleaner shrimp. So I am gonna have to take him out to treat him I think.

 

[03]

i would tank some of your existing filter material and use it in the sick tank and fill the sick tank with water from where the fish is now,put the fish in with lots of aeration and drop the salinity slowley to 1.017 over a perioud of 5 days and take it from there 1.017 might do the trick i have done this before with 100% results i wouldn't wait but that is up to you.also you will probley have this problem again this is why i don't uasully mix inverts and fish because you can't treat the tank,also if you don't get all the fish out of your show tank for 1 month the parasites will continue to live in the sand bed and rocks they need not to have any fish to eat so they will starve and die within this months time the parasites will continue to hatch in the sand bed and rise into the water looking for a host if there are no fish they will die.