Ich (B.S.)

[1carpenter]

Hello all! I recently purchased a pair of black clowns, it took a couple days but they now show signs of ich i think! I did not have them in qt they were in my dt for about a week. I did however setup a qt tank were they are currently residing, So my question is, Is my dt now infected & what is the best remedy as i do have some crabs and a few corals in the dt? i'm pretty sure its ich but not positive. All other fish show no signs of infection.

 

[snorvich]

Thanks for posting here! Can you describe what you are seeing? Are these tank bred or wild caught clowns? Wild caught can be susceptible to brook which is much more serious.

 

[snorvich]

Also, this thread is worth a read if you think it may be brook.

 

[1carpenter]

First thx for responding so fast!! They are t.r, And it looks like about a dozen or so very small white dots on the body and the fins. Can't get a very good pic as they are pretty active. They dont show any signs of stress, & their eating good if that means anything? Gonna check out the thread on brooks right now.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Correct me if I'm wrong, Snorvich. Tank-bred clowns aren't immune to brook; probably just have never been exposed, right? When tank-bred clowns go into a LFS system with wild clowns (or other fish) can't they still be victims of brook? I heard of a small clown breeder who wiped out almost all his stock by introducing a wild caught clown to his breeding line. It carried brook and he never gave it a thought, hard to believe.

 

[1carpenter]

Well just looked at the brooks thread and mine definetely dont look like that, So i'm pretty sure it's ich and i have them in a seperate tank. To tell the truth i'm not really looking for a better way to treat them i am wondering about my DT and how my other fish and corals are gonna fair? When i bought the clowns while i was doing a drip acclimation i added some paraguard and followed the directions for a dip. Does anyone know or have any experience with this product? It was recomended by one of my lfs.

 

[returnofsid]

If it is Ich and since they were in your DT, there's a chance that your DT is now infested with Ich. Unfortunately, your only sure way to rid the DT of Ich is going to be to remove ALL fish from the DT, treat ALL fish in either hyposalinity for 8 weeks, or copper AND to keep DT fallow (no fish) for the same 8 week period.

 

[1carpenter]

I've been keeping a good eye on the clowns and since i've put them in the qt yesterday i noticed all of the spots that i saw on them are gone? Does ich appear-dissapear-then reappear again? Just seems odd to me.

 

[snorvich]

Correct me if I'm wrong, Snorvich. Tank-bred clowns aren't immune to brook; probably just have never been exposed, right? When tank-bred clowns go into a LFS system with wild clowns (or other fish) can't they still be victims of brook? I heard of a small clown breeder who wiped out almost all his stock by introducing a wild caught clown to his breeding line. It carried brook and he never gave it a thought, hard to believe.

No you are absolutely correct. Just looking for clues since I am sensitive to Brook because it is so quickly fatal.

 

[snorvich]

I've been keeping a good eye on the clowns and since i've put them in the qt yesterday i noticed all of the spots that i saw on them are gone? Does ich appear-dissapear-then reappear again? Just seems odd to me.

Please read my sticky on ich which is located here. You will see that it has a life cycle that has a small portion of the life cycle that is sometimes visible; just because you do not see it does not mean it is not present. Remember that ich is often present in the gills which is evidenced by fast breathing. Also read the three sure fire treatments: copper, hyposalinity, and tank transfer. Choose a strategy and execute it.

 

[snorvich]

If it is Ich and since they were in your DT, there's a chance that your DT is now infested with Ich. Unfortunately, your only sure way to rid the DT of Ich is going to be to remove ALL fish from the DT, treat ALL fish in either hyposalinity for 8 weeks, or copper AND to keep DT fallow (no fish) for the same 8 week period.

Yes, this is correct.

 

[1carpenter]

Just finished the sticky on ich thread great information. I have started pulling all of my fish out of DT and am putting them in my QT i'm gonna go with the hyposalinity method. Now you say 8 weeks of no fish is there any other special note for the DT while all fish are out? What a pain but i'm definetely going through with it. 8 weeks is a long time to look at no fish!! This sucks maybe i'll start a new tank just so i have something keeping my mind off this!! LOL thx for the feedback.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Just finished the sticky on ich thread great information. I have started pulling all of my fish out of DT and am putting them in my QT i'm gonna go with the hyposalinity method. Now you say 8 weeks of no fish is there any other special note for the DT while all fish are out? What a pain but i'm definetely going through with it. 8 weeks is a long time to look at no fish!! This sucks maybe i'll start a new tank just so i have something keeping my mind off this!! LOL thx for the feedback.

It is a pain, and I'll bet everyone helping you has gone through it. I have. If you QT all new fish, you won't have to go through it again. Hypo works very well, but has to be precise. Be sure you have a well calibrated refractometer; the swing-arm hydrometers aren't accurate enough.

 

[MrTuskfish]

No you are absolutely correct. Just looking for clues since I am sensitive to Brook because it is so quickly fatal.

I always think "brook" with clownfish too. Scary stuff.

 

[1carpenter]

Yeah i do have a nice refractometer, how slow should i decrease salinity daily?

 

[dunc101]

You can decrease the salinity down to 1.008 over about 48 hours or so. Decreasing the salinity is not as harsh on the fish as raising the salinity. You need to be much more careful whenever you increase the salinity after the treatment as adding salinity decreases some of the oxygen in the tank. At least that is what I have read.