Please tell me I don't have ich

[Jezzess77]

okay so, I have had ich in the past due to not having room for a quarrantine tank, and in my experience the ich is visible for a day or 2 then it drops off the fish and multiplies. Ever since I moved house a year ago ive been able to put a quarrantine tank in the spare room. so I took all my fish out of my display and into a quarrantine tank, treated them with copper for 30 days and left them in the tank for a further 42 days to make sure the display tank stayed fallow for 72 days total. I put all my fish back in and I hadn't seen a single spec for 6 months. fast forward to last week I decided to buy a powder blue tang as its a fish I've always wanted to try and I had gained confidence in my quarrantine procedure. Go to check my display tank and find that my coral beauty has a spec right in the middle of the left side of its body! I've checked it every day since then and the spec is still there. the fish is still eating normally and she's nice and fat with full color. I checked her fins thoroughly and couldn't see a single spec which is weird to me because everytime I've had ich it always hits the fins first. I also have in the tank, a sleeper goby, 3 clowns and a chromis and not a single one of them has any spots. I checked again today and the spot is still on my coral beauty after a week, and I'm certain its the same spot because I took a photo of the fish and marked it up exactly where i saw the spot as the spot wouldnt show up in the photo. I know its highly unlikley that ich would last this long on a fish but i just wanted some opinions because im freaking out that I might put this powder blue tang in after a month and a half of quarrantine just to end up back where I started. any input or opinions would be appreciated.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

okay so, I have had ich in the past due to not having room for a quarrantine tank, and in my experience the ich is visible for a day or 2 then it drops off the fish and multiplies. Ever since I moved house a year ago ive been able to put a quarrantine tank in the spare room. so I took all my fish out of my display and into a quarrantine tank, treated them with copper for 30 days and left them in the tank for a further 42 days to make sure the display tank stayed fallow for 72 days total. I put all my fish back in and I hadn't seen a single spec for 6 months. fast forward to last week I decided to buy a powder blue tang as its a fish I've always wanted to try and I had gained confidence in my quarrantine procedure. Go to check my display tank and find that my coral beauty has a spec right in the middle of the left side of its body! I've checked it every day since then and the spec is still there. the fish is still eating normally and she's nice and fat with full color. I checked her fins thoroughly and couldn't see a single spec which is weird to me because everytime I've had ich it always hits the fins first. I also have in the tank, a sleeper goby, 3 clowns and a chromis and not a single one of them has any spots. I checked again today and the spot is still on my coral beauty after a week, and I'm certain its the same spot because I took a photo of the fish and marked it up exactly where i saw the spot as the spot wouldnt show up in the photo. I know its highly unlikley that ich would last this long on a fish but i just wanted some opinions because im freaking out that I might put this powder blue tang in after a month and a half of quarrantine just to end up back where I started. any input or opinions would be appreciated.

My general observation is that if a fish has a white spot, in the same location, for more than 36 hours, it is unlikely to be ich. After a week, it really can't be ich. Not to say you don't have a sub-acute case of ich in the tank, just that this spot wouldn't be an indicator of that.

As you know - powder blue tangs will pick up ich first, before many other species. I think there is more of a risk that the PBT is carrying ich through the quarantine cycle and it might get into your tank that way. If you ran copper at full strength for 30 days, and then ran a course of praziquantel, you should be pretty safe though. One trick that some people do is after the prazi, they ramp the copper back up for a day and then move the fish out of the QT while there is full copper in the water. That helps eliminate any theronts that could possibly still be present. I usually don't do that myself, but some people do.

Jay

 

[Jezzess77]

My general observation is that if a fish has a white spot, in the same location, for more than 36 hours, it is unlikely to be ich. After a week, it really can't be ich. Not to say you don't have a sub-acute case of ich in the tank, just that this spot wouldn't be an indicator of that.

As you know - powder blue tangs will pick up ich first, before many other species. I think there is more of a risk that the PBT is carrying ich through the quarantine cycle and it might get into your tank that way. If you ran copper at full strength for 30 days, and then ran a course of praziquantel, you should be pretty safe though. One trick that some people do is after the prazi, they ramp the copper back up for a day and then move the fish out of the QT while there is full copper in the water. That helps eliminate any theronts that could possibly still be present. I usually don't do that myself, but some people do.

Jay

Thanks for the advice, I actually run my prazi first, two doses a week apart and then run the copper for 30 days and then transfer them. does it matter if I don't do copper first?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the advice, I actually run my prazi first, two doses a week apart and then run the copper for 30 days and then transfer them. does it matter if I don't do copper first?

No, not really, but I always run copper first - flukes don't kill fish very quickly, but protozoan diseases can, so I dose with copper first to control those, and then circle back and handle the flukes later on.

Jay

 

[Jay Williams]

My general observation is that if a fish has a white spot, in the same location, for more than 36 hours, it is unlikely to be ich. After a week, it really can't be ich. Not to say you don't have a sub-acute case of ich in the tank, just that this spot wouldn't be an indicator of that.

As you know - powder blue tangs will pick up ich first, before many other species. I think there is more of a risk that the PBT is carrying ich through the quarantine cycle and it might get into your tank that way. If you ran copper at full strength for 30 days, and then ran a course of praziquantel, you should be pretty safe though. One trick that some people do is after the prazi, they ramp the copper back up for a day and then move the fish out of the QT while there is full copper in the water. That helps eliminate any theronts that could possibly still be present. I usually don't do that myself, but some people do.

Jay

Hey I’ve got a sort of similar issue, my blue tang has had a couple spots for a few days and flashes on occasion but still eats…should I pull him out and quarantine with copper? I suspect it could be ich but none of my other fish show symptoms

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hey I’ve got a sort of similar issue, my blue tang has had a couple spots for a few days and flashes on occasion but still eats…should I pull him out and quarantine with copper? I suspect it could be ich but none of my other fish show symptoms

Since each case is unique, it would be best to start a new thread. Here is a link to some hints about providing us with good information about your case:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

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Jay