Tell me about Ich please

[regaldragon]

I purchased a very small Regal Tang for my tank today (less than an inch for only $24) and I know that these guys are very susceptible to this disease. However, I know very little about it, or what a fish with it would look like. I also know nothing about how to treat it, so I want to be able to be informed on this if I have to deal with it (knock on wood).
Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[beth]

The best way to deal with ich is to prevent it to begin with. If you quarantine your fish prior to placing them in the display tank, you can just perform hyposalinity on the fish, whether the fish has ich or not. For info on hyposalinity, see the FAQ section above.
Ich looks like salt sprinkled on the fish. There is a wealth of info here, including the life cycle of the parasite and how to treat it. Do a Search using our Search Feature at the top of the website and type in Ick, Ich, white spot disease, hyposalinity, etc. That will give you everything you want to know.