is it ich or is it not? this is the question.

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

So been watching my trigger for two days now because the wife (who looks and talks to the fish every morning) says WHATS THESE WHITE SPOTS ON BOB? i see my trigger has what appears to be ich. white spots like pimples.that grew in numbers over the two day we watched him and did not move. so I removed him & Qt him..

NOW..I know what ich is, I know what ich looks like, i am aware if its life cycle. and all the so called ways to remove it from a tank. "What is ich"--- is not what my post is about.

You see, Whats odd is, just secs after i put him in the QT..i see no white spots....was it really ich? Maybe micro bubbles? His whole head was somewhat covered when he was pulled from the DT. As i stated earlier We observed him for two days before pulling him out, So it was not a random pet owner freak out... lol. does good lighting play tricks on the mind? Im so confused over this one.

Hes now been in QT for about 12 hrs and being treated for ich, i really dont want to treat him if there is noting wrong? i mean we as humans dont take penicillin as a daily supplement right? HAHAHAHAHA

4FordFamily · Mar 1, 2019

If you didn't QT your fish, there's a very high chance it's ich or velvet.

Can you post a photo when the spots return? It will be immensely helpful.

AcroNem · Mar 1, 2019

Was the change immediate when you placed it into QT? Hard to think something non parasitic that looked like Cryptocaryon would stay on your fish for days before being moved. I'm thinking it probably is Crypto, hopefully not velvet. What are you treating it with? What other fish are in the display? If you aren't going to treat them all anyway then it's no use running it through a treatment IMO, as it will just be reinfected immediately. Get a pic if you see it again, but if you're thinking it is a parasite, you should be ready to pull the others that you have too.

4FordFamily · Mar 1, 2019

AcroNem said:
Was the change immediate when you placed it into QT? Hard to think something non parasitic that looked like Cryptocaryon would stay on your fish for days before being moved. I'm thinking it probably is Crypto, hopefully not velvet. What are you treating it with? What other fish are in the display? If you aren't going to treat them all anyway then it's no use running it through a treatment IMO, as it will just be reinfected immediately. Get a pic if you see it again, but if you're thinking it is a parasite, you should be ready to pull the others that you have too.

Spots increasing in number sounds much more like velvet, unfortunately...

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

AcroNem said:
Was the change immediate when you placed it into QT? What are you treating it with? What other fish are in the display?

Yes the change was sec after the drop into the QT TANK. Im treating with ich x,..... oh boy other fish are fox face, 10 chromis,1 davinci clownfish, diamond goby, 2 blennys, emperor angel, coral beauty , and a mandrian goby, i think thats all.

AcroNem · Mar 1, 2019

4FordFamily said:
Spots increasing in number sounds much more like velvet, unfortunately...

I did just see they mentioned the increase over a couple days, it does sound a lot more like velvet.

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

i believe i have a photo. i do.. i do.. i do have a photo lol

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

ok first pic is pre qt move.. and second was taken just now. as you can see the second pic is 12 hrs in qt and zoomed in so i now see small small specks. but they are not visable to 50 year old eyes. maybe it is was the right move to qt him. oh all other fish are healthy.

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

Fyi

4FordFamily · Mar 1, 2019

Tough to tell but the dusting around the face looks more like velvet but it’s odd that it’s not on the rest of the body. Do you see small spots on the pectoral fins? Is the fish breathing quickly?

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

4FordFamily said:
but it’s odd that it’s not on the rest of the body. Do you see small spots on the pectoral fins? Is the fish breathing quickly?

no to the fins, and yes hes breathing and eating just fine. buti agree its odd that is not on the rest of the body.

Humblefish · Mar 1, 2019

4FordFamily said:
Tough to tell but the dusting around the face looks more like velvet but it’s odd that it’s not on the rest of the body. Do you see small spots on the pectoral fins? Is the fish breathing quickly?

^^ Agree; treat with copper or Chloroquine and you'll be covered either way.

Only other possibility is flukes, but you show see those slowly crawling over the fish. A 5 min FW dip would tell for sure though: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

HotRocks · Mar 1, 2019

I agree, I would have diagnosed velvet based on just the pic.

The light source could be perhaps the reason it's not as noticable in QT vs DT under reef grade lighting.

Also agree that copper or CP are the only "real" options to treat the fish.

ddc0715 · Mar 1, 2019

copper. sounds good. any brand recommendations? i LOVE GOING TO THE LFS. LOL...... Do yall think i should go FALLOW? Since i have spotted a disease on one fish? tank is a 1 year old 175TG, with alot of coral and rock. It would be an all day task to try and catch them if i can even catch them... orrrrrr. start adding meds to the homemade food i make. if i add preventative meds what would yall recommend? i have metr0+ on hand and have read that it is safe if eaten by the fish.