is this ich? quick...

S

sweeper7

Member
so my kole tang is new in QT and I am trying to figure out what is going on with him.

So the lights went off in the room and when i came back just to check on them i noticed he was at the top breathing fast as if he was struggling to breath due to ammonia or something since he was near the surface. So i did a WC of about 70% and he is still breathing fast and since he sin't hiding due to this weird state of mind he is in i got to snap a few pics of his fins.

here is some insight,

1) he has been through Quarantine at the LFS (formalin for ich)
2) he showed no signs of ich but did have specs on his fins but i was told it was lymphocystitis.
3) he wouldn't eat, he would spit out his food

I couldn't tell if A) he was asleep or B) not doing well.

any idea what this is?





the 2nd fish in the QT has it as well (i bought both fishes together) but this fish is fine, eats non stop swims all around very good so far.
 
i'm certainly no expert although i did have a kole tang go through a bout of lympho. what your fish exhibits looks more like ich to me than lympho (although the spots look bigger than what is typically seen with ich). usually, lympho is confined to the fins with an occasional spot on the fish's body.

since both fish are showing these spots, i would tend to doubt that it's lympho and more probably ich especially since you know the lfs was treating for it to begin with.
 
Might want to post this in the fish disease treatment forum and also read the stickies there.
On a side note, formalin is not an effective treatment for ich.
 
sweeper7 said:
so my kole tang is new in QT and I am trying to figure out what is going on with him.

So the lights went off in the room and when i came back just to check on them i noticed he was at the top breathing fast as if he was struggling to breath due to ammonia or something since he was near the surface. So i did a WC of about 70% and he is still breathing fast and since he sin't hiding due to this weird state of mind he is in i got to snap a few pics of his fins.

here is some insight,

1) he has been through Quarantine at the LFS (formalin for ich)
2) he showed no signs of ich but did have specs on his fins but i was told it was lymphocystitis.
3) he wouldn't eat, he would spit out his food

I couldn't tell if A) he was asleep or B) not doing well.

any idea what this is?





the 2nd fish in the QT has it as well (i bought both fishes together) but this fish is fine, eats non stop swims all around very good so far.
Click to expand...
It looks like ich to me. My tang with lympho never had more than a couple spots and it definitely never spread. And she never stopped eating. I'd never buy a fish that wasn't eating. sounds like your LFS doesn't have an effective quarantine system.
 
Have you checked NH3?

That looks like ich to me, and FYI formalin is not an effective ich treatment. Ich can be treated via:
Tank transfer method
Copper
Chloroquine
Sometimes hyposalinity
 
sweeper7 said:
so my kole tang is new in QT and I am trying to figure out what is going on with him.

So the lights went off in the room and when i came back just to check on them i noticed he was at the top breathing fast as if he was struggling to breath due to ammonia or something since he was near the surface. So i did a WC of about 70% and he is still breathing fast and since he sin't hiding due to this weird state of mind he is in i got to snap a few pics of his fins.

here is some insight,

1) he has been through Quarantine at the LFS (formalin for ich)
2) he showed no signs of ich but did have specs on his fins but i was told it was lymphocystitis.
3) he wouldn't eat, he would spit out his food

I couldn't tell if A) he was asleep or B) not doing well.

any idea what this is?


the 2nd fish in the QT has it as well (i bought both fishes together) but this fish is fine, eats non stop swims all around very good so far.
Click to expand...

That looks like ich to me. Ich also attacks the gills and makes it difficult for the fish to get sufficient O2 which likely explains why yours is at the surface gasping for air.. I'd strongly suggest adding an airstone to the display tank immediately as well as the QT tank to get some more dissolved oxygen in the tank.
 
It's ich. No doubt about it. Lymph is more of a cauliflower appearance and large, mainly localized unless really bad. The problem with tangs is they are very nervous always. Reminds me of the giraffe from Madagascar haha. Every tang I have ever had, initially had ich. No matter what qt anybody does they always get it it seems. The worst fish to have get ich is the hippo tang. They seem to have the hardest time fighting it followed by powder blues, yellows, koles. And the best fish to have it get it is a scopas(they're like tanks) I say best cuz they are the toughest. I've treated and not treated. If they already have it bad then the treatment is going to super stress them and maybe push them to breaking point. The most effective way to rid it for me is to use garlic on their food. Soak it in before feeding. Garlic nori also between feedings. This will keep their immune system up and they will right it off and hopefully never return. Qt if possible to an established qt tank. Any drastic change in water difference will further stress them out. The qt also allows to contain the spread of ich and allow for easy observation. This is just my way to do it and I'm sure there's better out there but I Hope this helps.
 
i don't know if it's too late but i would prefer tank transfer to copper. tt is pretty much fool proof and as close to 100% successful as you're gonna get, if done right.

feeding garlic might boost a weak immune system but it does absolutely nothing to rid your tank/fish of ich.
 
the fish is in a QT so not worried about the system and ich.

The issue I have is the kole tang 1) has a pinched stomach 2) hasn't eaten once.

I fed it pellets and he would spit it out then i tried mysis and he didn't even move from the pvc, he doesn't swim anyways but still, then tried formula 2 flakes and neither of the 2 even sniffed at it, then tried spectrum pellets and i think he ate maybe 1 or two but it was so small it was tough to see if he spit it out.

He doesn't look retarded today but still breathing hard and hiding in the PVC. last night he looked bad.

I just don't know what to do to get him to eat and help his case because his stupid *** isn't helping me help him so to say.
 
As stated, garlic won't cure ich, but it will boost immune and encourage eating so soak your food in garlic to start. Getting him to eat is a top priority then as stated, copper is your best bet for treatment. Good luck!
 
okay so by garlic do we mean i take a loaf of garlic, crush it, put it in water and put food in the water and let it sick?
 
sweeper7 said:
okay so by garlic do we mean i take a loaf of garlic, crush it, put it in water and put food in the water and let it sick?
Click to expand...
Yes. This works just fine in a pinch though if you can get your hands on garlic enriched fish food, it's better for the long term
 
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