Saw a white spot on fish in tank, but not out of water?

[Tango451]

A small yellow chromis that I have had for too many years was causing problems in my DT so I caught him out after many attempts and he is now in my rock filled sump/ refugium. I swore I saw a white spot on his upper back, caught him out (feel bad for stressing him out more), put him in a bucket with an airstone - saw the white dot in the bucket, but then on closer examination [i took him out of water to inspect him very closely] there was no white spot. I checked both sides, put him back in the bucket and used an led light to look again - still no white spot.

Is this even possible for a white spot to be present and then "fall off" and disappear?

Ich would be visible even when the fish is out of water correct?

I just put him back in and feel bad for stressing him out so much

 

[Deinonych]

Could have been a fluke if it fell off in the bucket. Or, it could have been a bit of sand or detritus. Being in the sump, I would guess the latter.

With Cryptocaryon (ich), the white spots are not the parasite itself, but rather a localized reaction to the parasite embedded in the epidermis. The spots go away when the parasite drops off the fish. So, unlikely it was Crypto. If you have added unquarantined livestock recently, I would keep a close eye on the fish.

 

[whodeydan76]

Yea I agree probably sand or something from sump.