I would only dip the clownfish you saw scratching. The primary purpose of the FW dip is to use it as a diagnostic tool, to confirm whether or not flukes are present.
Clownfish Scratching
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I would only dip the clownfish you saw scratching. The primary purpose of the FW dip is to use it as a diagnostic tool, to confirm whether or not flukes are present.
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clark griswold
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Thanks I have the water heating and aerating now. I haven't seen him scratch since last night but he's definitely acting odd.
This morning he was mostly hanging around the top of the tank. I saw him swimming kinda vertical which was strange. Still see no outward signs of illness other than pale lips.
If I didn't learn something new everyday, this hobby would get boring.
thanks for today's lesson.
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clark griswold
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Just finished the freshwater dip. I only see one white spec at the bottom of the bucket. Didn't see anything like that video in the freshwater dip thread where there was stuff flying off the fish. Honestly I didn't see anything coming off him.
So, we can eliminate flukes from the equation. I would just observe for now. If you don't see scratching again (or just every now & then) AND no white dots/splotches show up on the body, odds are they just have ich: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/
Which won't become a problem unless you start adding Acanthurus Tangs or other thin slime coat species to the tank.
So for future reference - if flukes would have been discovered would you dip the second fish? Or begin a treatment or observation on the one fish? Trying to learn a little more.
Sorry Clark, not trying to hijack your post. Just trying to learn more.
If a lot of flukes turned up during the dip, I would FW dip all the other fish before beginning Prazipro treatment. But if only a few flukes were present, I would just get on with Prazipro.
The reason you want to FW dip fish heavily infested with flukes before using Prazipro, is because the latter works by causing flukes to spasm before dropping off. But if too many flukes are spasming on a fish all at once that can actually kill/cause great harm to a fish.
Thank you sir!
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clark griswold
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Thank you humblefish. I’ll just observe and slightly bigger water change tomorrow.
If white spots do show up is that still indicative of ich or something else?
white dots would be ich. It will look like a small pinhead immediately under the skin. Once you see ich you can tell it from a mile away.
I pretty much assume every fish has ich these days. If you see a fish in your LFS with ich on it... now the ENTIRE system has ich...forever. It's not a death sentance but for people like me..with 6 tangs... I can not have any ich in the tank.
and thanks for taking the QT shaming in good spirits. it is really really important and I think it isnt emphasized enough because people don't want to invade the "safe space" of the forum.
I pretty much assume every fish has ich these days. If you see a fish in your LFS with ich on it... now the ENTIRE system has ich...forever. It's not a death sentance but for people like me..with 6 tangs... I can not have any ich in the tank.
and thanks for taking the QT shaming in good spirits. it is really really important and I think it isnt emphasized enough because people don't want to invade the "safe space" of the forum.
Post up photos if that does happen, but it would be unusual to see ich on a clownfish.
They mostly show Brooklynella on the body, and sometimes Lymphocystis on the fins.
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
lol, It's emphasized a lot here actually; someone mentions the importance of qt in pretty much every new post about an infectious disease.
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clark griswold
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I don't know if this another data point but the other one. The phantom who isn't scratching just had a long stringy poop.
Maybe internal parasites?
Maybe internal parasites?
Was the long stringy poop white?
If so, intestinal worms: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/
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clark griswold
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It looked kind of pink, white, brown. Mixed colors.
I don’t know what to make of the fish. Last couple hours they’ve eaten and been out swimming normally and happy. The freshwater dip seems to given the scratcher some pep. Haven’t seen him scratch today though he thought about and had some erratic swimming right after the dip.
Either way I’m gonna go pick up 10 gallon tank and some prazi or general cure to have on hand. Even if I don’t need it at least I’ll have a QT/HT if needed in the future.
Thanks again for all your help humble. Much appreciated.
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clark griswold
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@Humblefish sorry to bug you again. I’ve been observing my fish last 4-5 days. Behaviorally seems much better. Acting more normal but appears to have some appetite suppression. I see him eating but appears to spit out about half the food he nibbles on. I’ve only seen him scratch 3 times in the last few days. He’s definitely scratching his mouth/face area and not gills.
Physically he still has white lips but has developed a white spot in the forehead area between his eyes. My best guess is he has a slight bacterial infection from injury due to scratching. But I still can’t rule lymphocstis or flukes. The freshwater dip seemed to really help. Personally I think ich, brook, velvet can be ruled out as it likely would’ve exhibited more severe symptoms by now.
I’ve been trying to get a good pic or video of the white spots on face. I’m not sure if you’re able to discern from this video but curious if you have any thoughts?
Physically he still has white lips but has developed a white spot in the forehead area between his eyes. My best guess is he has a slight bacterial infection from injury due to scratching. But I still can’t rule lymphocstis or flukes. The freshwater dip seemed to really help. Personally I think ich, brook, velvet can be ruled out as it likely would’ve exhibited more severe symptoms by now.
I’ve been trying to get a good pic or video of the white spots on face. I’m not sure if you’re able to discern from this video but curious if you have any thoughts?
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clark griswold
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I lean towards just leaving him be for awhile to see if he can fight it off on his own as I’m not sure what he has or what to treat him with. Would another freshwater dip do anything?
