Please Diagnose

[Agioniko]

I think it is Ich, but want to verify

Adult emperor angel. He has had this for about 2 weeks. No loss of appetite. EATS LIKE A PIG. Symptoms look better when I feed garlic, and vitamin enriched Mysis.

I feel he is slowly getting worst. No other fish are showing symptoms.
I will note that I have had ich in the past. So the parasite is present in the tank. Is it possible the other fish have a sort of immunity to it? Can he get an immunity? Also symptoms have gotten worse, but the temp over the last couple of days has increased dramatically. Tank was running at 80.4, but now down to 77.8.

 

[Agioniko]

Would it be advisable to give him a formalin bath?

 

[Triton_Z]

Yes, I would say you have a pretty serious case of an ich infestation and maybe some secondary infections (bacterial) as the eyes look cloudy in the pictures. I would recommend you move your angel to a HT and treat accordingly. A formalin bath will not eliminate the ich, however may remove any other parasites present on the fish and provide some immediate relief. A short duration dip in formalin or Seachem Paraguard would be recommended before entering the HT.

Copper treatment in a HT for a month would be advised. Take a look over the stickies as this treatment has been discussed in length already. It's great news that its appetite is strong and maybe you can nurse your angelfish back to a complete recovery.

You will have to treat all the fish in your DT before reintroduction, otherwise you will not be able to return this fish without having getting re-infected.

Yes, some fish develop resistance (i would not say immunity) to ich, however this is not a reliable method of control as environmental or water quality conditions (temp changes/wide swings for example) can allow the parasite to gain the upper hand.

Good luck.

 

[Agioniko]

Thanks