Black ich question

[Tmoll]

I know that my fox face has black ich, but it is not feasible to break my tank down and pull out all the fish and I have lots of coral in my 350gal tank. Can fish fight these pests off? Has anyone gone through this and let it run its course And had the fish fight it off? Thanks.

 

[Jekyl]

@vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

I know that my fox face has black ich, but it is not feasible to break my tank down and pull out all the fish and I have lots of coral in my 350gal tank. Can fish fight these pests off? Has anyone gone through this and let it run its course And had the fish fight it off? Thanks.

These are turbellarian worms and likely the Paravortex version which are smaller and appear as grains of black spots
These worms have a single host life cycle producing several juveniles which can last up to 30 days but rarely do. Best is to treat with Praziquantel better known as prazi pro for two 8 day intervals with a water change on day 9.
other option is formalin based medication such as quick cure or ruby Rally Pro starting with a bath for 45 minutes followed by treatment
Do note that Prazi will lower both oxygen and appetite, so an airstone is recommended for added aeration and monitor water quality during treatment.

 

[Tmoll]

I should add that it is doing fine and shows no ill affects, eating and acting fine. But the spotting has increased, white dots falling off after a few days to leave dark marks on the flesh.

 

[Tmoll]

These are turbellarian worms and likely the Paravortex version which are smaller and appear as grains of black spots
These worms have a single host life cycle producing several juveniles which can last up to 30 days but rarely do. Best is to treat with Praziquantel better known as prazi pro for two 8 day intervals with a water change on day 9.
other option is formalin based medication such as quick cure or ruby Rally Pro starting with a bath for 45 minutes followed by treatment
Do note that Prazi will lower both oxygen and appetite, so an airstone is recommended for added aeration and monitor water quality during treatment.

I am not so sure I can capture the fish to get it out of the tank. Since it is single host, can I just try to keep the fish fed wand supplemented and see if it just fights it off? Is that feasible?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am not so sure I can capture the fish to get it out of the tank. Since it is single host, can I just try to keep the fish fed wand supplemented and see if it just fights it off? Is that feasible?

Fighting off may not be an option a these worms will stick with their host and grow in number.

 

[Tmoll]

Fighting off may not be an option a these worms will stick with their host and grow in number.

Ok, thank you very much. Does not sound like there is immediate risk to other fish where I would need to medicate tank, Per the single host comment?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok, thank you very much. Does not sound like there is immediate risk to other fish where I would need to medicate tank, Per the single host comment?

While it has a 10 day cycle, the worms are known to fall off into sandbed, cocoon themselves and re-emerge onto other fish. A fish trap such as the one shown may be needed to catch and remove fish or see if you can borrow one

 

[Tmoll]

While it has a 10 day cycle, the worms are known to fall off into sandbed, cocoon themselves and re-emerge onto other fish. A fish trap such as the one shown may be needed to catch and remove fish or see if you can borrow one

Thank you