White flakes on fish

[cypher174]

I just started cycling my 55 gallon tank with 40lbs of Tahitian Moon, 10 lbs of LS, 20 lbs of LR, a small crab (who was in the rock when I bought it) and 5 Damsels. Almost all my chemicals are within range with the exception of Ammonia which is at .25 ppm.
I noticed a few days after putting in the Damsels that 2 had white flakes on their head and tails. Did I get 2 blind fish and they keep rubbing on the rocks, or is my tank infected with something?
Has anyone ever seen this?

 

[sagxman]

First of all, I'll go ahead and tell you because if I don't someone else will, most people on the message board are against cycling with live fish. Most suggest using an uncooked shrimp from the grocery store.
Next, your fish probably have ick if they have white specs on them and are rubbing on rocks and the sand. Go to the disease and treatment board and do some research. Make sure you get all the info you can because there are some things that treat ick that are bad for many reef tanks. i.e. copper.

 

[rkhlk]

It's only my opinion but you may have ich I would check into the disease forum for an answer to this. also if you just started cycling your tank you may have also overloaded your bioload.
I cycled my tank with damsels and they all lived but most people cylcle with a dead shrimp or nothing at all if your live rock is un-cured
rkhlk