So what does ich look like?

[HABS#1]

So I was at my BIL's place today and he picked up some fish from a shop in Sarnia and brought them home. Some of the fish have tiny white raised spots on them my question is this. Do his fish have ich? I have never seem it so I am not to sure. They are tiny white specs and there are only 3 specs on one fish and only a couple on he others.

 

[papagimp]

sounds like ich, a slightly raised (but not always able to visually tell) white bumps. If they only have a few at the moment, hurry and get them into QT or preferably a hospital tank and start some form of ich treatment. depending on the species, either a hypo treatment or some type of chemical treatment. It'll only take a day or so and they could easily be completely covered head to toe. Read up on ich treatment and QT procedures, keeping in mind that trying to cut down time in QT for ich, or trying to rush the treatment process will only end badly. Need to do a full treatment, and leave the display tank fallow (nofish) for at least 4 weeks, minimum. I'd recommend closer to 6-8 weeks to play it safe. If they were any other fish in the display tank with the infected fish, consider those infected as well and treat everyone. Most ich treatments are severely hazardous to inverts so no treating the diplsay tank directly or you'll risk killing alot of the benefical stuff as well as plenty of invert livestock.

fwiw, I rarely QT anything but recently purchased a couple small citron gobies, for kicks I stuck them in a small 2.5g nano for "qt" and found them covered in ich a few days later....came that close to infected a fully stocked dual 75g system.

 

[HABS#1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11583490#post11583490 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by papagimp
sounds like ich, a slightly raised (but not always able to visually tell) white bumps. If they only have a few at the moment, hurry and get them into QT or preferably a hospital tank and start some form of ich treatment. depending on the species, either a hypo treatment or some type of chemical treatment. It'll only take a day or so and they could easily be completely covered head to toe. Read up on ich treatment and QT procedures, keeping in mind that trying to cut down time in QT for ich, or trying to rush the treatment process will only end badly. Need to do a full treatment, and leave the display tank fallow (nofish) for at least 4 weeks, minimum. I'd recommend closer to 6-8 weeks to play it safe. If they were any other fish in the display tank with the infected fish, consider those infected as well and treat everyone. Most ich treatments are severely hazardous to inverts so no treating the diplsay tank directly or you'll risk killing alot of the benefical stuff as well as plenty of invert livestock.

fwiw, I rarely QT anything but recently purchased a couple small citron gobies, for kicks I stuck them in a small 2.5g nano for "qt" and found them covered in ich a few days later....came that close to infected a fully stocked dual 75g system.

Now he has a cleaner shrimp will that do anything to help get rid of it?

 

[papagimp]

while cleaner shrimps DO feed on the parasite, they won't erradicate it by anymeans. They are simply a nice little method of assisiting int he prevention of the parasite. But not a gaurantee by anymeans. You can have lot's of cleaners and still end up with ich. Your best bet would be to QT the infected fish and any fish tankmates they have had. leave the shrimp in the DT though, they don't get ich if memory serves and he'll help clear some of the parasites out before they die naturally from no host being in the water with em.

 

[HABS#1]

Well he put all fish in his DT and treated with copper I figure his fish are only going to be around for about a month tops he just put in a pile of fish and his tank has only been running for 4 days. I think if it is ich that will honestly be the least of his worries.

 

[spike78]

Say goodbye to the cleaner shrimp and any biological filtration he has. Is he trying to throw away money?

 

[HABS#1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11585157#post11585157 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spike78
Say goodbye to the cleaner shrimp and any biological filtration he has. Is he trying to throw away money?

Apparently LOL I tried to tell him he needed to read up on things and do some research and also to check out this site he had no time for this and blew it off like I was crazy.