New fish withpossile ich, tempted to just quit the hobby at this point

Elijah F · Apr 5, 2023

I just got my first fish for my tank a qeek ago, a bluestripe goby and two skunk clowns. They've been healthy and eating for the entire week I've had them, but I just saw the goby today with a bunch of little white spots on him. I fear this is ich, and I honestly don't know what to do. I don't have space for a qt tank, especially a long-term one that I'd need to treat this. I could take all the fish back to the lfs (no refund or store credit) to save them, which is probably what I'll end up doing. I'm just so passed right now, I finally felt happy with my tank this week and now it's going to ****. Don't really know why I'm posting this, just thought maybe someone here could give some advice or help me figure out what to do.

blaxsun · Apr 5, 2023

[HASH=55964]#fishmedic[/HASH]

Rick's Reviews · Apr 5, 2023

How old/ new is aquriam, better pictures would help alot

vetteguy53081 · Apr 5, 2023

Elijah F said:
I just got my first fish for my tank a qeek ago, a bluestripe goby and two skunk clowns. They've been healthy and eating for the entire week I've had them, but I just saw the goby today with a bunch of little white spots on him. I fear this is ich, and I honestly don't know what to do. I don't have space for a qt tank, especially a long-term one that I'd need to treat this. I could take all the fish back to the lfs (no refund or store credit) to save them, which is probably what I'll end up doing. I'm just so passed right now, I finally felt happy with my tank this week and now it's going to ****. Don't really know why I'm posting this, just thought maybe someone here could give some advice or help me figure out what to do.

View attachment 3097530 View attachment 3097531

While it appears a possibility, need pics of fish from the side to show location of dots.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 5, 2023

That does look like what ich looks like on neon gobies. Are the skunk clowns totally spot free? There is a chance that the spots are just mucus plugs, but the spots I see on the fins seems contrary to that, so I'm thinking this is indeed marine ich.

With ich, the spots will come and go at first, and may not show up on all of the fish at first. Since you don't have the ability to set up a treatment tank, I think you should just watch the goby closely for the next few days. If the spots change number and location, it is ich, but if they stay in the same spot for 48+ hours, it may just be mucus, fingers crossed!

Jay

Elijah F · Apr 5, 2023

Sorry, I'm in a better headspace now and can clarify some things.

The tank is a 20 gallon macroalgae tank, it's been up for over 6 months and has healthy parameters. I just got the fish a week ago as mentioned before, and I oy noticed the spots on the goby today. The clowns seem clear right now, though one of them did have a slightly nipped tail when I brought them home.

My tank is macroalgae dominated, and also has a couple corals, snails, hermits, and bristleworms calling it home. This severely limits my treatment options if I am indeed dealing with ich, and I don't have a good space for a qt tank/tub, or any extra heaters or filters.

I've been doing some more research, and it seems that the treatment methods vary wildly; some people have success with their fishs' natural immune systems, while others recommend removing everything for months on end. I'm hoping these are just mucus spots, but if I am dealing with ich, what's the best way to treat it in a small system without harming the other life in the tank?

I'll attach some better pictures if I can get them, though the fish are still active and swimming around, making it hard to get a clear shot

Jay Hemdal · Apr 5, 2023

Elijah F said:
Sorry, I'm in a better headspace now and can clarify some things.

The tank is a 20 gallon macroalgae tank, it's been up for over 6 months and has healthy parameters. I just got the fish a week ago as mentioned before, and I oy noticed the spots on the goby today. The clowns seem clear right now, though one of them did have a slightly nipped tail when I brought them home.

My tank is macroalgae dominated, and also has a couple corals, snails, hermits, and bristleworms calling it home. This severely limits my treatment options if I am indeed dealing with ich, and I don't have a good space for a qt tank/tub, or any extra heaters or filters.

I've been doing some more research, and it seems that the treatment methods vary wildly; some people have success with their fishs' natural immune systems, while others recommend removing everything for months on end. I'm hoping these are just mucus spots, but if I am dealing with ich, what's the best way to treat it in a small system without harming the other life in the tank?

I'll attach some better pictures if I can get them, though the fish are still active and swimming around, making it hard to get a clear shot

Any natural immunity of captive fish against marine ich is pretty weak, you often cannot count of that to control an infection. What happens is that the infective theronts from the ich cause stress by themselves, and hundreds of those, bombarding the fish in a small tank can overwhelm any immune response.

There really isn't any way to control a moderate to severe ich infection on fish in a small tank. In large aquariums, with a minor infection, some people have had been able to stall or even stop the disease progression by using a variety of methods: Using a UV sterilizer, siphoning the bottom of the tank each night to help remove the tomont stage of the disease, giving the best environmental conditions possible and then, possible using certain "reef safe" treatments. For the latter, the two that seem to have the best efficacy are: Polyp Lab Medic or Ruby Reef Reef Rally Pro. Neither of these are a sure thing, and should not be relayed on to treat moderate infections like this.

Jay

Tamberav · Apr 5, 2023

You could hook up a very large powerful UV but would have to watch temps on such a small tank. I don't mean no diddly green machine, I mean a big boy UV that will probably set you back 300-500 dollars. UV an be hit or miss but a big one on a small tank is much more likely to work since you are dealing with such a small water volume. I ran a Aqua UV 25w on a 20g before (for dino) and temps were okay for me.