Ich questions

[Brad Coughlan]

I made a thread the day about potential ich on my new royal gramma, however I am very confused since some days I notice spots and then the next day I don't.

The reason I am confused is because I have had the fish for 3 days and no other fish are showing signs of ich whatsoever, and also the royal gramma itself has never had more than 1 or 2 noticable spots. So I am not only questioning whether it is ich or not, but I am wondering overall how fast ich spreads and how serious it actually is.

My fish are very healthy and get fed vitalis food, which I know that healthy fish are less prone to ich.

I am just being very catious at the moment, it is an 85l tank, I don't have a QT tank but I do have a hang on the back UV filter and I am willing to set that up again if needed. What are the steps to treating ich on a tank without QT?

Thanks

 

[MnFish1]

This is pretty typical of Ich - and rules out some other things - like lymphocystis. The ich forms the lesions on the skin, the parasites fall off, goes through a couple life cycles and then spots reappear in different places. I'm not going to go through the whole cycle with the names of the various players.

Ich can be serious - depending on stocking density, the type of fish, and the immunity and underlying health of the fish - there are many factors. Did you quarantine this fish/the rest of them? It often takes a couple days to see the spots. I would watch all of them carefully

You can also send a picture - under white light which would be helpful - also if you have any other symptoms, etc

 

[vetteguy53081]

I made a thread the day about potential ich on my new royal gramma, however I am very confused since some days I notice spots and then the next day I don't.

The reason I am confused is because I have had the fish for 3 days and no other fish are showing signs of ich whatsoever, and also the royal gramma itself has never had more than 1 or 2 noticable spots. So I am not only questioning whether it is ich or not, but I am wondering overall how fast ich spreads and how serious it actually is.

My fish are very healthy and get fed vitalis food, which I know that healthy fish are less prone to ich.

I am just being very catious at the moment, it is an 85l tank, I don't have a QT tank but I do have a hang on the back UV filter and I am willing to set that up again if needed. What are the steps to treating ich on a tank without QT?

Thanks

All fish prone to ich, some are more resistant. As I stated the other day to you- suspect is grains of sand in which both fish hang near sand bed to hide
As requested again by MnFish- please provide pics under white light intensity for best view and assessment

 

[Brad Coughlan]

All fish prone to ich, some are more resistant. As I stated the other day to you- suspect is grains of sand in which both fish hang near sand bed to hide
As requested again by MnFish- please provide pics under white light intensity for best view and assessment

Ok I will attempt to picture the fish without it hiding

 

[Brad Coughlan]

It was pretty much impossible to get a picture of it under full white light since it kept hiding

The only thing about this that makes me think that it is not ich is because there is a spot on both sides at exactly the same spot, which makes me believe that it is just the pattern of the fish. I have been comparing it to images of other royal grammas and they have similar spots. I will just monitor the spots over the next few days, but any input will be appreciated. Also thanks for all the replies, I feel like I have been annoying with my constant posts about this royal gramma haha, but I just want to be sure

 

[MnFish1]

It was pretty much impossible to get a picture of it under full white light since it kept hiding

The only thing about this that makes me think that it is not ich is because there is a spot on both sides at exactly the same spot, which makes me believe that it is just the pattern of the fish. I have been comparing it to images of other royal grammas and they have similar spots. I will just monitor the spots over the next few days, but any input will be appreciated. Also thanks for all the replies, I feel like I have been annoying with my constant posts about this royal gramma haha, but I just want to be sure

You haven't been annoying, first of all. I guess to me the key is not the 2 spots per se, its are there other symptoms of disease? - which I thought you said there were (fish hiding, etc) Unfortunately - I can't see the spots on the new pictures - but at least the fish is coming out some. Is it eating yet? Is it being bullied at all? As @vetteguy53081 said - it could be sand grains (which is another thing that can come and go). I would ask you to carefully look at the spots - and try to conclude if they are sand, vs a disease. BTW - Ich spots will not move around in 3 hours or 12 hours, whereas sand grains likely would

 

[Brad Coughlan]

You haven't been annoying, first of all. I guess to me the key is not the 2 spots per se, its are there other symptoms of disease? - which I thought you said there were (fish hiding, etc) Unfortunately - I can't see the spots on the new pictures - but at least the fish is coming out some. Is it eating yet? Is it being bullied at all? As @vetteguy53081 said - it could be sand grains (which is another thing that can come and go). I would ask you to carefully look at the spots - and try to conclude if they are sand, vs a disease. BTW - Ich spots will not move around in 3 hours or 12 hours, whereas sand grains likely would

Thanks for the response

The fish is eating well and is very active, it is actually showing signs of agression towards other fish when it goes near its home, so the fish isn't showing any signs of stress whatsoever. I am leaning towards the conclusion that the two white spots are just the pattern of the fish near its eyes just because of the perfect symetry of them. But yeah as you said I will monitor them over the next few days.
I'll also try and get a picture of it under white light, which is really hard because it seems to hide lots in that light. Wish me luck haha

 

[Brad Coughlan]

You haven't been annoying, first of all. I guess to me the key is not the 2 spots per se, its are there other symptoms of disease? - which I thought you said there were (fish hiding, etc) Unfortunately - I can't see the spots on the new pictures - but at least the fish is coming out some. Is it eating yet? Is it being bullied at all? As @vetteguy53081 said - it could be sand grains (which is another thing that can come and go). I would ask you to carefully look at the spots - and try to conclude if they are sand, vs a disease. BTW - Ich spots will not move around in 3 hours or 12 hours, whereas sand grains likely would

I just took some more pictures but the 2 spots are so small I can't really see them on the pictures. I also just thought about another way of identifying what it is, which is monitoring the other fish to see if they get spots. How long would it roughly take for other fish to catch it from the royal gramma assuming that it is ich? It's been 3 days so far and the other fish are perfectly fine

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just took some more pictures but the 2 spots are so small I can't really see them on the pictures. I also just thought about another way of identifying what it is, which is monitoring the other fish to see if they get spots. How long would it roughly take for other fish to catch it from the royal gramma assuming that it is ich? It's been 3 days so far and the other fish are perfectly fine

Ich progresses differently in just about every aquarium. In some cases, it just dies out and goes away, especially if you take steps towards something called "ich management". In other cases, the trophonts (the spots you see) come and go, change location, but generally increase in numbers, and then, after a few days, spread to other fish. the two primary treatments are coppersafe in a treatment tank, or hyposalinity in your main tank (but with no invertebrates present).

Jay

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Ich progresses differently in just about every aquarium. In some cases, it just dies out and goes away, especially if you take steps towards something called "ich management". In other cases, the trophonts (the spots you see) come and go, change location, but generally increase in numbers, and then, after a few days, spread to other fish. the two primary treatments are coppersafe in a treatment tank, or hyposalinity in your main tank (but with no invertebrates present).

Jay

Thanks, I am certain that it is not ich now, but I have also seen products such as "kick-ich"
would they help in a tank with ich?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, I am certain that it is not ich now, but I have also seen products such as "kick-ich"
would they help in a tank with ich?

I’ve not used that, but many people have reported it did not work for them. In general, “reef safe” ich medications don’t work very well.
Jay

 

[Brad Coughlan]

I’ve not used that, but many people have reported it did not work for them. In general, “reef safe” ich medications don’t work very well.
Jay

Ah okay,
Thanks again