Foxface- Is this Ich?

[EvolvedMonkey]

Does this Foxface have Ich?

We’ve had her for about 6 months in our 160 gallon reef that has been up for about 18 months.

She’s always had a spot or two, but this is the most I remember seeing on her.

None of our other fish have any sign of Ich.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

EvolvedMonkey Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

She has never had any eating issues or lethargy, but from the first day the LFS put her in, I was asking questions about a spot or two.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

I feed her mysis, brine, seaweed extreme, and Julian Springs Sea Veggies.

What steps do I take from here if it is Ich?

Install UV filter? Get her out of the tank and treat her? Treat in tank?

 

[Uncle99]

I’m not seeing any video

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Other fish in tank include:

Purple Tang
Firefish
2 clowns
Royal Gramma
Lawnmower blenny
3 blue eyes cardinals
Red Margin Wrasse
Magnificent Wrasse
Solar Wrasse
Mandarin Dragonet
Diamon Goby
Longnose Hawkfish



Inverts:

Spotted Porcelin
2 Blue Porcelin
Emerald Crab
2 sexy shrimp
2 cleaner shrimp
2 blood red shrimp
5 bumblebee snails
10 hermit crabs
3 turbo snails

There is very little fighting and intensity in the tank. Very peaceful.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Another video in white light.

 

[Idech]

Another video in white light.

Most people can’t see this format. It’s best to post on Youtube and link it.

 

[JayM]

Videos aren’t visible to most people when posted directly to R2R. It’s best to load it to YouTube, then post a link here.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Most people can’t see this format. It’s best to post on Youtube and link it.

Make sure the settings are on 1080P, and you should be able to see the spots quite clearly (particularly in blue light).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Does this Foxface have Ich?

We’ve had her for about 6 months in our 160 gallon reef that has been up for about 18 months.

She’s always had a spot or two, but this is the most I remember seeing on her.

None of our other fish have any sign of Ich.

Clearly ich and fish will need to be treated in separate treatment tank with either coppersafe or Copper Power at therapeutic level 2.25-2.5 For a FULL 30 days (do not interrupt this 30 day period) monitored by a reliable Copper Test kit such as Hanna Brand- No API brand. Also monitor Ammonia levels while in quarantine with a reliable test kit and add aeration during treatment using an air stone.
The display tank will have to be kept fishless (FALLOW) for 6-8 weeks to assure the existing parasites go through their life cycle without a host fish and die off
A quarantine tank can be as simple as a tank from a second hand store or a starter kit from Walmart which most of the needed essentials.

 

[Doctorgori]

odd that purple tang doesn’t have it in tandem, I’d be prepared and vigilant…

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Clearly ich and fish will need to be treated in separate treatment tank with either coppersafe or Copper Power at therapeutic level 2.25-2.5 For a FULL 30 days (do not interrupt this 30 day period) monitored by a reliable Copper Test kit such as Hanna Brand- No API brand. Also monitor Ammonia levels while in quarantine with a reliable test kit and add aeration during treatment using an air stone.
The display tank will have to be kept fishless (FALLOW) for 6-8 weeks to assure the existing parasites go through their life cycle without a host fish and die off
A quarantine tank can be as simple as a tank from a second hand store or a starter kit from Walmart which most of the needed essentials.

Thank you.

If I was just going to accept that I have a tank with Ich, what do you recommend?

Can I go down the UV sterilizer route with a flow rate / wattage that kills parasites? Or is this just recipe for disaster, and I'll eventually have a major outbreak that kills all my fish?

I believe she's had ich for over 6 months and everything else is just kind of surviving just fine. But I do think that this is the 'worst ich' I've ever seen on her.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

odd that purple tang doesn’t have it in tandem, I’d be prepared and vigilant…

She has nothing going on.. What does preparing and being vigilant look like? Are you suggesting that it could be some other disease?

 

[Doctorgori]

She has nothing going on.. What does preparing and being vigilant look like? Are you suggesting that it could be some other disease?

I’ve had more itch outbreaks than any human should endure…

In the ich pecking order, tangs “usually” get it before their fox face relatives, again that’s all thing being equal with nothing written in stone… just IME

I’m also gonna say as ich and tangs go, purple tangs are pretty far up from powder blues, and pacific blues (Dori) on the resistance scale, my purple tang pulled through easily, I’m guessing with treatment so will your foxface…again all things being equal/normal

I hate giving contrarian advice here but with some tolerance from @jayhemdal or @vetteguy53081 I’d say try treating the tank with some of the peroxide protocols might be your only recourse (in lieu of or in addition to UV)

I’m gonna guess the lack of official endorsement is due to the scarcity of competent proven/documented protocols using oxidizing agents (like polylab medic) ..too many variables

Apologies that I can advise any further with precise details or competency but in summary I used a combo of peroxide,Poly lab medic and finally UV

.

added. there is a lot of info/threads on ich management techniques so I’ll defer to better advice

 

[Dom]

She has nothing going on.. What does preparing and being vigilant look like? Are you suggesting that it could be some other disease?

I believe it means that if one fish is infected, others will likely show infection soon.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I feed her mysis, brine, seaweed extreme, and Julian Springs Sea Veggies.

What steps do I take from here if it is Ich?

Install UV filter? Get her out of the tank and treat her? Treat in tank?

The video is a bit too blue, but it does look like ich. The best way to confirm that is to "map" some of the spots and check their presence/location over a few days. If the spots change in number (either increase or decrease) and change location, it is probably ich.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Clearly ich and fish will need to be treated in separate treatment tank with either coppersafe or Copper Power at therapeutic level 2.25-2.5 For a FULL 30 days (do not interrupt this 30 day period) monitored by a reliable Copper Test kit such as Hanna Brand- No API brand. Also monitor Ammonia levels while in quarantine with a reliable test kit and add aeration during treatment using an air stone.
The display tank will have to be kept fishless (FALLOW) for 6-8 weeks to assure the existing parasites go through their life cycle without a host fish and die off
A quarantine tank can be as simple as a tank from a second hand store or a starter kit from Walmart which most of the needed essentials.

I've been reading an expert's detailed explanation of the benefits and limitations of UV as it relates to Ich based on his 34 years of experience, and then I realized that you were that very expert

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

The video is a bit too blue, but it does look like ich. The best way to confirm that is to "map" some of the spots and check their presence/location over a few days. If the spots change in number (either increase or decrease) and change location, it is probably ich.

This is a good idea.. They are definitely moving and changing. Specifically over the months, the dots have come and gone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you.

If I was just going to accept that I have a tank with Ich, what do you recommend?

Can I go down the UV sterilizer route with a flow rate / wattage that kills parasites? Or is this just recipe for disaster, and I'll eventually have a major outbreak that kills all my fish?

I believe she's had ich for over 6 months and everything else is just kind of surviving just fine. But I do think that this is the 'worst ich' I've ever seen on her.

With this fish infected, others have been exposed to ich and may too be infected and you will want to treat all of them. UV helps but does NOT erase what is existing already and only what protozoans will pass through the units's channel