Porcupine Diagnosis?

[metalhead789]

Hi, I have a porcupine puffer and he seems to be developing ich. He only has a few dots on his tail and a couple on his top fin. Other then that he is swimming around and eating normally. Should I let him try to fight it off on his own? Or should I step in now? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[b0bab0ey]

I think that's Lymphocystis, not Ich.

Feeding vitamin-enriched foods and maintaining excellent water quality should assist his immune system to fight the virus off naturally.

 

[metalhead789]

I think that's Lymphocystis, not Ich.

Feeding vitamin-enriched foods and maintaining excellent water quality should assist his immune system to fight the virus off naturally.

The white blotches are gone and now it's just spots. Here's a more recent picture.

 

[MrTuskfish]

This pic looks familiar. Are any spots salt sized whites spots coming and going? The doesn't look like ich, I agree with b0bab0ey. The spots on the dorsal in the 1st pic do look like ich. Have they disappeared? Any new spots that are the same size? BTW; fish seldom "fight off" ich; some fish may develop some temporary immunity. If this is ich, your tank has ich, not just this fish. IF its ich; it will return.

 

[b0bab0ey]

The white blotches are gone and now it's just spots. Here's a more recent picture.

Now from that angle, I think I can see "sprinkles" in that pic. Do any of your other fish have white sprinkles on them? Like MrTusk said, if one has it odds are they all soon will.

Puffers are one of those fish that reportedly don't handle copper very well. I've also never used a quinine drug on one. And I don't know if TT would be a good idea for a puffer because you would have to catch him every 3 days, causing him to puff up.

This might be one of the very few times I'd actually recommend hypo:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991470

 

[metalhead789]

thank you. and no they haven't gone away. they are still on him. he has about 7 or 8 tiny dots. doesn't seem to bother him at all, and no no one else in the tank has them.