Black Ich

[fishguy597]

So i picked up a morish idol a little over a week ago. He is on the thin side but was eating when i got him and is still eating now. Hes not real agressive while eating and will only eat pellets off of the bottom.

When i first introduced the fish to qt i used melafix to help with the slime coat. I did not notice anything wrong with him. Afterwards I added 1 round of prazi pro. Fast forward 5 days later and i noticed the pepper on him.

Im not sure how to proceed. Prazi states that it will take care of turbellariuns. Since thats what the BI is I wouldve thought that shouldve done the trick.

I have done some reading but have not heard the results if it worked or not. The steps were fw bath(not doing it since the fish is thin), formalin baths,and hypo. Once again I do not know how the fish ended up.

I would appreciate any advice.

 

[JustinM]

You might need more than one round of prazi to kill it.

 

[fishguy597]

Thanks Shocker. I did a 20% wc last night and dosed again.

Just to clarify the black dots are not the worm correct? Its just were the worm exited the fish? When do you need to worry about secondary infections? Should i dose the tank with meth blue in 5 days after another wc?

 

[JustinM]

I honestly don't know if the black dots are the worm exiting. I would think it is not but I don't know.

As for secondary infections, I would wait for the second dose to be done and do your water change and then dose if you see anything.

 

[fishguy597]

Sounds good. Ill report back in 5 days.

 

[fishguy597]

Today he seems like a different fish. Hes eating rods out of the water column. This is the most aggressive that he has ate since i got him. I do have an air stone in the bottom 1/3 of the tank. Whats weird is he will sit in the bubbles. I do not know if hes playing or its a clue for lack of O2. He still has the black marks on him.

 

[JustinM]

Prazi sucks oxygen out of the water, that may be why.

 

[fishguy597]

A little update, after dosing with prazi on Friday i noticed by sunday his eyes were getting cloudy. I have had this tank running for 2 months and found out i had .25 ammonia. I never wouldve guessed it. So i did a 25% wc and added melafix. I have been doing 10-20% wc every other day along with melafix daily. The black ich has almost gone away except for a few spots.

If i can keep the water clean and it rids itself am i in the clear? Or is the parisite still in the water and laying low?

 

[JustinM]

The prazi should have killed off the worms by now. I know with flukes, sometimes it'll take 3 doses. Fix the ammonia and maybe do one more dose, a fw dip before the prazi dose may help.

Another option instead of a third dose would be use Ruby Reef Rally. It contains acriflavine which is known to kill black ich.

 

[fishguy597]

Just an update, ever since i got the ammonia problem resolved things have really turned around. I haven't seen a single spot on him. He has been putting on weight and looks nice and thick. The auto feeder with pellets seamed to help as well. He has been eating everything i put in the tank for the most part.

I just started copper this week and so far so good. A couple weeks and he will be in the dt. Cant wait!