gaberosenfield
New member
Hi RC,
I finally got my new system up and running. The DT and QT have been running and cycled for several months now, but I just put the first fish in QT two weeks ago. They are a pair of ocellaris clowns bred by a friend of mine. He has tons of clowns in his breeding system and none of them have ich. However, about a week ago I put a green Pocillopora from an LFS in the QT with my clowns. The coral developed RTN and died 2 days after I put it in QT. Since then, I started seeing small whitish things on my clowns. They come and go and are not very noticeable. I certainly wouldn't describe them as grains of salt or sand stuck to the fish; more like tiny flecks of peeling skin. A given fleck may be there one day and gone the next. Here are the best pics I was able to get:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303752&stc=1&d=1421131027
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303753&stc=1&d=1421131027
Look at the small whitish specks above the fish's pectoral fin. Am I being paranoid? Could this be ich? Opinions? If it is ich, my clowns could only have gotten it from the coral or rock it came on from the LFS. The tank at the LFS that the coral and rock came from did have fish in it, but they appeared healthy and have been in that tank for over 6 months. The clowns are still active, don't seem to be gasping or breathing heavily, and have healthy appetites. The larger one even seems to defend the PVC elbow in which they sleep when I put my hand in the tank. I might also add that I obtained some very nice frags of more SPS and some zoas from a fellow reefer, and they seem to be doing well in the quarantine tank with my clowns. I'm not sure why the first coral from the LFS RTNed. Someone please tell me that I'm just being paranoid about my fish!!!
Just as a formality, here is proof that I read the stickies:
1. How old is this aquarium?
~12 weeks old
2. If less than six months old, what is ammonia level?
To be honest, I never measured this. This isn't my first tank, and I took my time with cycling. I did measure a rise in nitrates about 6 weeks ago. The nitrate levels eventually stabilized, which I took as a sign that the tank was fully cycled. I have reduced the nitrates to ~3 ppm via skimming and water changes. The QT gets a 10% water change daily with used water from the main system, so the parameters are the same.
3. What is SG of this aquarium? How measured?
1.025, measured with Sybon hand held refractometer.
4. When was the last fish added to this aquarium?
Both clowns were added to QT 16 days ago.
5. Was it quarantined? If so, how? And how long? Was it prophylactically treated? How?
No treatment. The rest is previously explained.
6. If you are using a copper based medication, which one? How often do you measure level? When?
N/A
7. If you are using hyposalinity, how did you calibrate your refractometer?
N/A
8. Please describe in detail, the appearance of the fish? If there is one or more pimples, are they lumpy? What color?
See above.
9. Please describe the behavior of the fish as best you can. Is it acting reclusive? Is it always up towards the top of the aquarium? Is it avoiding light? How active is the fish?
See above. I'll add that the two clowns mostly like to stay in the dimmer regions of the tank, but the did that from the moment I added them to the QT.
10. Is the fish eating? What?
They are eating a pellet food designed for marine fish. I can't recall the brand at the moment cause I got some from the guy who bred these and don't own the original container. The fish have been trained to eat this and so far, the only things I've been able to get them to eat are these pellets and bits of food from a couple types of dry filter feeder formulas (like reef chili).
I finally got my new system up and running. The DT and QT have been running and cycled for several months now, but I just put the first fish in QT two weeks ago. They are a pair of ocellaris clowns bred by a friend of mine. He has tons of clowns in his breeding system and none of them have ich. However, about a week ago I put a green Pocillopora from an LFS in the QT with my clowns. The coral developed RTN and died 2 days after I put it in QT. Since then, I started seeing small whitish things on my clowns. They come and go and are not very noticeable. I certainly wouldn't describe them as grains of salt or sand stuck to the fish; more like tiny flecks of peeling skin. A given fleck may be there one day and gone the next. Here are the best pics I was able to get:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303752&stc=1&d=1421131027
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303753&stc=1&d=1421131027
Look at the small whitish specks above the fish's pectoral fin. Am I being paranoid? Could this be ich? Opinions? If it is ich, my clowns could only have gotten it from the coral or rock it came on from the LFS. The tank at the LFS that the coral and rock came from did have fish in it, but they appeared healthy and have been in that tank for over 6 months. The clowns are still active, don't seem to be gasping or breathing heavily, and have healthy appetites. The larger one even seems to defend the PVC elbow in which they sleep when I put my hand in the tank. I might also add that I obtained some very nice frags of more SPS and some zoas from a fellow reefer, and they seem to be doing well in the quarantine tank with my clowns. I'm not sure why the first coral from the LFS RTNed. Someone please tell me that I'm just being paranoid about my fish!!!
Just as a formality, here is proof that I read the stickies:
1. How old is this aquarium?
~12 weeks old
2. If less than six months old, what is ammonia level?
To be honest, I never measured this. This isn't my first tank, and I took my time with cycling. I did measure a rise in nitrates about 6 weeks ago. The nitrate levels eventually stabilized, which I took as a sign that the tank was fully cycled. I have reduced the nitrates to ~3 ppm via skimming and water changes. The QT gets a 10% water change daily with used water from the main system, so the parameters are the same.
3. What is SG of this aquarium? How measured?
1.025, measured with Sybon hand held refractometer.
4. When was the last fish added to this aquarium?
Both clowns were added to QT 16 days ago.
5. Was it quarantined? If so, how? And how long? Was it prophylactically treated? How?
No treatment. The rest is previously explained.
6. If you are using a copper based medication, which one? How often do you measure level? When?
N/A
7. If you are using hyposalinity, how did you calibrate your refractometer?
N/A
8. Please describe in detail, the appearance of the fish? If there is one or more pimples, are they lumpy? What color?
See above.
9. Please describe the behavior of the fish as best you can. Is it acting reclusive? Is it always up towards the top of the aquarium? Is it avoiding light? How active is the fish?
See above. I'll add that the two clowns mostly like to stay in the dimmer regions of the tank, but the did that from the moment I added them to the QT.
10. Is the fish eating? What?
They are eating a pellet food designed for marine fish. I can't recall the brand at the moment cause I got some from the guy who bred these and don't own the original container. The fish have been trained to eat this and so far, the only things I've been able to get them to eat are these pellets and bits of food from a couple types of dry filter feeder formulas (like reef chili).
