Poor fish just can't get better!!! Please help!

T

TriniStylez

New member
I have posted a bunch of times before and can't really get any answers or advice...Just thought I would try one more time. I have now had my new Stars and Stripes Puffer in QT for 6 weeks, 4 of which, he has had ich spots on three of his fins. He has been in Hypo also for 4 weeks now (1.009) and yes I am using a hydrometer. I am worried because the actual spots never dropped off of him and he still has them! I have never heard of them lasting this long on the fish, its now been a month! Besides the white spots, he has no other symptoms and seems happy, although lately he seems very bored and cramped in the 20G he is in...I really wish his QT was way bigger.

Any advice? I know I should keep him in QT until it clears up but has anyone seen ich stay on the host for so long, even in hypo???

Should I use copper? If so, when? I am worried about copper because he is scaleless and I have heard it can be pretty hard on puffers...

I really dont know what to do at this point!!!
 
First off, you say your using a hydrometer, is it a swing arm? If so check your water at your LFS to see if its actually at .009. If its at .010 or a bit higher it may not be working. At this point, if it is at .009, i would think you have the strand of ick that is immune to hpyo....the strand we've all been dreading and waiting for. If this is teh case, your going to have to copper. I've used copper on a DFP before and been successful. You have to realize, it is very tough on there skin and you must watch the copper level very closely. Also, they say to copper for 4 weeks....i wouldn't go over 2 with a puffer. It may start to burn his skin if you go over that much. But your right, the ick should have been gone after a week at teh most in a hpyo'd tank. But first thing go to your LFS and get that water tested. Your hydrom might be off, and if you have a refract it may be mis calibrated. Let me know if you need any more help.
 
My guess is that this fish does not have ich but just has a couple of white spots. The reason I say this is because during the life cycle of Ich the parasite comes and goes as it goes through different stages in it's life cycle. Can you get a look at the spots with a magnifying glass? What do they look like exactly?
 
The spots appeared about two weeks after I got him and look just like ich. I am pretty sure though they are the same ones and have not dropped off and reappeared because they are in the EXACT same spots. I have had fish with ich before and yes, it came and went during treatment but never lasted anywhere near a month.

I just find this so strange because any fish I have had with ich that has not gone away after three weeks of treatment have died. In this case, its been 4 weks of treatment with no changes and the fish seems fine besides the spots like I said. I have noticed that he is getting a bit irritated and skittish around people lately...I think because he is getting more and more stressed being in such a tiny tank for 6 weeks now!

I guess I should try copper then...sigh.

I guess I should also raise the salinity back up?
 
sunfish11- I was starting to think that they might just be some harmless spots but they really just look too much like ich, small, white, slightly raised, a few clusters here and there...
 
Ah, lets wait before we do any copper...are they more like goosebumps than random ick spots? If so this is not so uncommon in puffers. It isn't ick if this is the case, i think its lymph for puffers. Its a bit larger than ick and that could be it, could you take a pic?
 
It eventually clears by itself after some time, and perfect water is the best treatment imo. I've had the run in with this and wanted to qt and treat my puffer, but it wasn't ick. Ick is more like salt covereing the fish, this is more like a strange bump, like a white zit, its not ick. I've learned that stress does increase these dots, so you may want to get him back to your main tank if this is what it is, but a pic would be great.
 
Does that sound pretty acurate about the goosebumps though, its like the bumps are the same skin color?
 
Here is the best pic I could get, you can see that I circled the three fins that are infected. His tail and other fins are fine and have never had any spots. The spots really have not gotten any better or worse since he first got them 4 weeks ago from monday.

crushich1.jpg
 
Lymph.........a good think compared to the alternative.....my DFP has it right now...they get it from stress. It goes away on its own. Its like a wart for humans...except it goes away eventually. It usuallly doesn't last more than a month in perfect conditions. but in a QT it will actually get worst or stay the same, but won't get on the body.


Please, someone else give there Opinion. But i'm pretty positive. This is the same thing i'm workin with in my DFP.

I know you hate to hear this but a stars and stripes as an adult needs more than a 250g tank.......but anyhow i wish you the best!
 
Hmmm...Never heard of this Lymph before but sounds like this could be it. Makes sense because he was fine for the first two weeks I had him but probably got stressed from the small QT. It also has not really gotten worse since it has shown up, although I think the same spots have gotten a little bigger. Not spread though. He does also have two bumps on his head and back that are the same color as his skin, now that I look closer (I wasnt looking for this kind of thing before). So, do you think that since its been 6 weeks in QT and doesnt seem like ich, I should spend a few days raising the SG back up and then getting him back in his display tank???

BTW, He has a 230G ALL to himself, so should be large enough for a while...
 
So I read more about this disease and found some things that make sense. Apparently with Lymph (Cauliflower disease) it looks just like ich but the fish do not "flash" (He has not) and it doesnt affect their breathing (which it has not). They also say, as you have, that it drops off eventually on its own in good water conditions, usually only leaving a slight scar or nothing. Sounds like it only affects certain species of fish too and is not very contagious...Its actually a great thing if thats what this is, instead of ich, I guess...
 
Forgot to mention that the spots on my puffer are exactly how the articles I have read describe the disease...Like ich but larger and less spots, which grow in clusters and look like cauliflower...
 
I think you are on the right track. From the picture the spots are way to big to be Ich. I would put him in the display and at least give him a little more room. Concentrate on diet. You are going to need a bigger tank.
 
OK, how long can he live in a 230G tank? I was told by my LFS that he really only needs a 180G, so I thought that my 230G would be great...I did do my own research too over the net and from a few books and found that most were saying around, 120G, which I figured was too low as is usually the case...I dont think I can upgrade in the next few years...
 
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