Are these white spots something to worry about??

[A13xander60]

Hi all,

I'm new to saltwater fish keeping. I've noticed my Royal Gramma has some white spots on him. You can see them on the tail in the picture but he also has some on his head too. If it is Ich, what treatments can I do? A QT tank isn't an option as I don't have the space for it or the money. I watched a BRS video and it doesn't look like Velvet but I'm not experienced enough to know the difference between Lymph and Ich yet.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm travelling to a marine fish shop tomorrow to pick up some supplies.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all,

I'm new to saltwater fish keeping. I've noticed my Royal Gramma has some white spots on him. You can see them on the tail in the picture but he also has some on his head too. If it is Ich, what treatments can I do? A QT tank isn't an option as I don't have the space for it or the money. I watched a BRS video and it doesn't look like Velvet but I'm not experienced enough to know the difference between Lymph and Ich yet.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm travelling to a marine fish shop tomorrow to pick up some supplies.

Pic is very fuzzy to determine
Assure glass and camera lens are clear
These fish susceptible to both ich and flukes
May be either

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

That does look like marine ich, Cryptocaryon irritans. That is a common protozoan disease that can spread to most/all fish in your tank if not treated. Without a quarantine/treatment tank, you may have a lot of difficulty in treating that in a newer system. Most of the "invertebrate safe" ich remedies simply don't work. There is a series of techniques called "ich management" that can be used with corals and invertebrates in the tank, but be aware that it often doesn't work well. Your very best bet would be to treat all fish with coppersafe for 30 days in a treatment tank, then hold those fish there for another 30 days before moving them back. I understand that you said you can't set up a treatment tank, but that really is the best way to go.

If you want to explore ich management, you should read this thread:

"Ich Management"

Because this topic continues to come up, I wanted to create a sticky thread so that it is more easily referenced. Please understand that I am NOT presenting this as an optimum method for controlling marine ich, just putting it out there for people who want to try it. Also, do not pick and...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[A13xander60]

Hi both, thanks for your input. I thought it may be easier to see on my clownfish as they are darker.
Is a smaller 15/20 Litre tank fine for a quarantine? Then I can break it down and just use it as needed?
And does it have to be that long that I leave the fish out of the "main" tank? Just as it'll look a little sad and I won't be able to do much better then a £10 filter for that tank. How would I maintain the QT tank for 2 months??

 

[A13xander60]

Additionally, how effective is Polyplab's reef safe treatment? As I've seen a lot of good stuff about that

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Additionally, how effective is Polyplab's reef safe treatment? As I've seen a lot of good stuff about that

You can try that, but it really needs to be only used as one part of "ich management". Used by itself, it often fails to stop active infections.

 

[A13xander60]

You can try that, but it really needs to be only used as one part of "ich management". Used by itself, it often fails to stop active infections.

I'm going to use that stuff along with ginger to increase their immune system. Gonna do a water change where I agitate the sand too and hope that works. Will start the ginger and polyplab stuff tomorrow

 

[A13xander60]

Went to bed after that last post and woke up to this...

That doesn't look good

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Went to bed after that last post and woke up to this...

That doesn't look good

Sorry to see - that has moved past the "ich management" phase, it is going to require an active treatment.

 

[A13xander60]

Sorry to see - that has moved past the "ich management" phase, it is going to require an active treatment.

Unfortunately so, I'm using the ginger and the polyplab medic and the clownfish are still alive. I lost the RG yesterday which was upsetting, especially as he was my first fish. I'm just hoping the clowns pull through. They're still eating enthusiastically which is a good sign.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Unfortunately so, I'm using the ginger and the polyplab medic and the clownfish are still alive. I lost the RG yesterday which was upsetting, especially as he was my first fish. I'm just hoping the clowns pull through. They're still eating enthusiastically which is a good sign.

That regimen often fails with advanced infections like this, but finger crossed!

Jay