Trying to get it right - Beth or Terry.

[eden]

Beth or Terry,
1. My first indication my butterfly had something was thin white blotches on his fins only visible in certain light (does this sound like ich??). The next day full blown ich! He was covered in salt specs - eyes and everything! They went away as soon as I started the hypo, and now we are back to thin white blotches on his fins. Is this still the visible signs of ich? Do I wait for these to disappear before I start counting 3 weeks??
2. The butterfly was added April 21. From the moment he arrived he seemed to be breathing hard. Is this because he came with ICH and the parasite was in his gills? Would it take a whole month for him to show signs of the infection ?
3. Should I get a refractometer to make absolutley sure my salinity is no lower than 1.009? Will my hydrometer not be accurate enough?
4. What temp should my tank be during this time?
Thanks again!
Elysa

 

[eden]

Terry -
I have a large glass hydrometer, not a swing arm. Is this ok?
I raised the temp in the tank from 78 to 80 over a couple of days as I realized I would not not be able to keep the tank at 78 for the summer as it gets very hot here and my house is not well insulated. I was told that 80 that does not change would be better than 78 that does, so I thought it would be better for the fish. Should I just do a better job of keeping it at 78 with a fan on the water surface?
I noticed the thin white blotches on the Butterfly a day before the ICH - along with what looked like a light white dusting. Now I think the think white blotches never went away, I only thought so as they are very hard to see except in perfect light. I also see it on the front fins of my Yellow Tang. I have attached a pic. It is terrible of the fish, but you can actually see the white flecks. I hope that helps.
Would the stress of capture and transfer cause him to breath hard for a month?? I am sure my water conditions were all within limits and no other fish was breathing hard. He does not seem to be breathing hard after I lowered the salinity.
Thanks again,
Elysa

 

[beth]

Begin the hypo procedure immeidately. You can use the glass hydrometer, but it is not as accurate. You can only perfoum hyposalinity in a strickly FO tank......you have inverts, right? Any LR?

 

[eden]

Beth - The fish have been in hypo for 3 days now. My shrimp are in another tank. Can you determine what the splotches are on the fins?? Would a better pic help?? THANKS!!

 

[beth]

So is ick gone? How is the ich situation doing. It is common for fins and body tissue to deteriorate with a parasitic infection. Parasites feed on fish tissue. However, as a result fish can develop secondary bacterial infections.
See if you can post up more pics of the problem areas.

 

[eden]

Hi Beth - Yes the ICH salt-like spots are gone. However what ever this is was there before and not after as well. It is really hard to get a shot, but here is another. Can you see the specklyness of his tailfin in this pic?

 

[eden]

Good News!!! The fins are clearing up!! I am so happy!!!
Now, do I start counting weeks from when the ich fell off or from when these fin marks go away??
Thanks!

 

[beth]

From the disappearance of ich.