Ich or Velvet?

[AndyR83]

As the title states, I’m trying to determine whether the lesions on my angelfish are more indicative of marine ich or velvet. I realize the two are managed very similarly and am about to initiate freshwater dip and a chemical bath with ParaGuard before moving into a treatment tank.

It’s worth noting that the fish has demonstrated absolutely no behavioral signs of either illness. She is eating well, not flashing or scratching on rocks, not swimming into power head current, and not hiding. If anything, she has been visiting the cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse a bit, but I don’t think it’s much more often than normal. These lesions were first detected today and I’m very confident they were not present as recently as yesterday (since I spend quite a bit of time looking at the tank.) Nobody else in the tank is symptomatic.

For the record, I do also have Cupramine and Nitrofurazone on hand (and I believe Methylene Blue as well if I dig around a bit.)

Thanks!

 

[35ppt]

Ich

 

[Ucyibd1]

I have always been told that if you can count the spots, its ich. If there are to many to count its velvet.
Beautiful angel by the way!

 

[Reef AquaCult]

If they popped up that fast and there’s that many it’s concerning for velvet. Treat ASAP

 

[Big G]

Beautiful fish. Looks like Ich. But sometimes we get both presenting. Take a small bright flashlight. Shine the light at an angle, like front to rear or opposite. Look for a dusty sheen, one of the presentations of velvet.

 

[AndyR83]

Hi everyone, thank you very much for the replies! I wanted to share some updates and get a sense of whether or not any of this new information changes anything.

As fate would have it, this fish has proven to be an absolute nightmare to catch. The tank is fairly large, heavily aquascaped with lots of rock, and she knows every nook and cranny big enough to hide herself in. Despite my wife and I each trying for literally hours, we’ve been unable to capture her. The effort is ongoing as we speak.

The thing that prompted me to come back to the group for additional thoughts is the dramatic change in the fish’s appearance. The pictures in the OP above were taken minutes before posting, which was about 15 hours ago. The pictures I’m attaching to this post were taken moments ago. She looks dang near 100% normal again! I’m a bit awestruck by the fact that she went from stone cold normal to covered in lesions and back to pretty much normal again, all in under 24 hours. Her behavior remains unchanged from a typical day and she still does not demonstrate any of the behavioral signs associated with either infection (crypto or velvet.)

What should I do now? I’ve had a hospital tank, freshwater dip, and chemical dip set up and ready to go pretty much since posting the OP. Should I keep it going and continue trying to catch her?

Thanks!

 

[Big G]

Catching fish can be quite the adventure. With some fish, I wait until the tank has been dark for a couple of hours. Use a small flashlight to find the fish sleeping. Shine the light into the eyes of the fish and keep it there. It will mesmerize the fish allowing you to net it.
So the parasites have dropped off to start another cycle. That's a pretty strong fish you've got there.

 

[Reef AquaCult]

Its ich then because the normal life cycle of ich forces it to release from the fish, travel down to substrate so it can reproduce.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

+1 to Big G's comments on the light and catching at night. If the fish is food motivated you can lower your net in slowly a few hours before and then drop some food near it.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

So question, if you catch the angelfish, how do you, treat...with copper? We have a potter angelfish in QT and we found three white specs, just used GC for the first time and don't know what else to use, well, I have been reading but the R2R form is awesome and has good advice.

 

[Big G]

So question, if you catch the angelfish, how do you, treat...with copper? We have a potter angelfish in QT and we found three white specs, just used GC for the first time and don't know what else to use, well, I have been reading but the R2R form is awesome and has good advice.

Check the other thread where you asked about copper