ich or morning sickness?

[cafowlr]

this morning before heading off to work, I said goodbye to my 2 clownfish. they both appeared to have ich, some tiny white salt specs around their bodies and fins. and one wasn't moving around too much.

after getting home tonight, all specs are gone and they're swimming around as if nothing happened. could those specs this morning have been just debris or dust from the tank? and the lethargic attitude of the fish just have been it being still half asleep?

if it was ich, would/could it have temporary effect like that?

 

[Coral Hind]

Ich always seems worse in the morning. I am not sure if the tiny parasite living under your fish's skin actually fall off the fish in the light or if they just retract into the skin. When my large grouper had ich, as soon as the lights were turned on it would go to the surface right under the metal halide light. Strange behavior for a fish that likes to stay under overhangs all day. I could actually watch the spots disappear from his surface.

Ich attacks the gills and starves the fish of oxygen. Most fish that die from ich will die with their gills and mouth wide open as they try to get oxygen. That lack of O2 may have caused the fish to be lethargic as you witnessed.

 

[clownaround2]

Strange...never heard of ich just disappearing...would be nice...

 

[Coral Hind]

It doesn't just completely disappear. And when the lights go out the next night they seem to come back in force.

 

[cafowlr]

This morning, I woke up and saw my clownfish fine (without any ich spots). I did notice that they were still sleepy/sleeping until I woke them up and started to feed them some breakfast. ALSO, I noticed on the tank wall, particle residue from my snails... like small substrate all over the glass. Is that normal? After about 15-20 minutes, my clownfish had some of those substrate on him again as he was swam across the glass side (his usual morning ritual). Could that be Ich coming back from the glass???? Or is that just substrate from the snails???

Please share your thoughts! Should I quarantine and apply copper treatment??
Thanks

 

[Coral Hind]

I think what you saw on the glass was the snail leaving a mucus layer as it moved. The particles in the water then stuck to the mucus.

 

[patriots81]

that sounds odd for that to be ick.

 

[Coral Hind]

Yeah, the snail trail is not ich.

 

[clownaround2]

Can you post some pictures?

 

[patriots81]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15685699#post15685699 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Coral Hind
Yeah, the snail trail is not ich.

oh i know that haha. i ment bout the ick disappearing