Help with possible case of ich

[BradJ]

I have had a small onespot foxface (~3 in.) for little more than 3 weeks. For the last couple of weeks, he has had fairly consistant white spots only on his tail fin. While at first glance it looks like a classic case of ich, the spots don't appear to have changed at all. Doesn't ich have a life cycle of about 3-7 days hosting on the fish and then drop off before reappearing (more than likely in a new location)? These spots aren't dropping off.

He does at times have spots on his body but they usually don't last more than a day, or at most maybe 2 days, so I am thinking it is just debris or small air bubbles clinging to him. I do have a lot of tiny particles in the water column. I only have 2 other fish that are completely clean (clown & mandarin)

I've thought about doing a 5 min. fresh water dip just in case it is some other parasite. I'm also considering adding a UV. Would anyone recommend this?

It is a reef tank with soft corals and inverts. I've considered trying Ruby Reef Kick Ich as my LFS claims success with it as long as the ich outbreak is not too bad. But I really hate to treat the whole tank.

Any suggestions?

[pham411]

i would take him out and quarentine him with fresh sea water and meds, then figure out whats wrong with the tank before putting him back in. you should check all your parameters and make sure they are in range. Uv lights are a great way to kill off little floating organisms and bacteria but will not solve an ich problem. best thing to do is get your water in check.

good luck

[BradJ]

Water parameters are fine. Ca and alk are on the low side of the range but shouldn't be affecting the fish. ph is 8.1. Temp 80. Zero ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. SG is 1.025.

I'm really hoping not to have to go the quarantine route.

[Amphibious]

I have had a small onespot foxface (~3 in.) for little more than 3 weeks. For the last couple of weeks, he has had fairly consistant white spots only on his tail fin. While at first glance it looks like a classic case of ich, the spots don't appear to have changed at all. Doesn't ich have a life cycle of about 3-7 days hosting on the fish and then drop off before reappearing (more than likely in a new location)? These spots aren't dropping off.

He does at times have spots on his body but they usually don't last more than a day, or at most maybe 2 days, so I am thinking it is just debris or small air bubbles clinging to him. I do have a lot of tiny particles in the water column. I only have 2 other fish that are completely clean (clown & mandarin)

I've thought about doing a 5 min. fresh water dip just in case it is some other parasite. I'm also considering adding a UV. Would anyone recommend this?

It is a reef tank with soft corals and inverts. I've considered trying Ruby Reef Kick Ich as my LFS claims success with it as long as the ich outbreak is not too bad. But I really hate to treat the whole tank.

Any suggestions?Any outbreak of Ich is bad enough to treat. You can have excellent tank parameters and still get Ich. They are not the determining factor. You have excellent parameters and possible have Ich. The Ich parasite can be dormant or not visible for a long time and then bam there it is. It's appearance is caused by stress. You mentioned having the Fox Face for three weeks. The act of purchasing him and taking him home is a cause of stress, as is his prior capture and shipping to the retail from the wholesaler. Our fish are in a constant state of stress until we get them home and provide them with a stable environment and the chance to rest and recuperate. That's when the Ich appears if it's not apparent at the LFS. If Ich is what the FF has, it's a classic case.

I understand Kick Ich works in a reef tank. There is another reef safe remedy that I recently took on, "No Sick Fish". This company has a whole line of reef safe medications. If you are interested you can read about them on my website - HERE (http://www.theculturedreef.com/nosickfish.htm)

What ever decision you make, good luck.

[gwen_o_lyn]

Check out this podcast before you dose

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164

I recommend a freshwater dip.

[Boz]

I agree with BOTH Amphibious and Gwen_o_lyn. In addition, I have had good success with using a UV sterilizer... as it genetically disrupts the parasite. The trouble with ich is that once you see it on a fish in your show tank, the "life cycle" has already started. So even if you quarantine the fish, you may have viable parasites reproducing in the tank, infecting other fish. So, I would hit it from both ends.

Quarantine the fish with a medication and perform a freshwater dip - the parasite cannot osmoregulate and will drop off. Get a quality U/V unit and run it on your display tank, thereby eliminating pathogens from the water column. Hopefully this will minimize the remaining threat in the display tank, and ultimately eliminating it.

Good luck!

[shrevis]

One thing that I've learned that will help with ich problems is quarantining prior to introducing the fish into the tank. That way you can keep a closer eye on the fish, and give it a little more 'one-on-one' time. I've got a friend of mine that lost almost everything he had in his tank over a couple day span, probably due to what he introduced into his tank along with the fish.