Seanano Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Well as some may have read my clowns have ich. i started them on garlic treatment yesterday. i woke up this morning the spots seem to be lesser, however, they now have what looks like a peeling of their skin, its clear/white and falling off, i was wondering if this is the regeneration of the slime coat and the ich is coming off or what? any thoughts would be great. i'll try and get some pics. Link to comment
Masoch Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Dude, your fish are probably going to die unless you remove them from the tank and treat them properly. Sloughing their skin is not a good thing -- it might even be too late for them. If the spots are fewer, that only means that the parasite hos dropped off and is in a different stage of its life cycle. In a few days to a couple weeks, the parasite will be back with a vengeance. Please, do some reading. After you have a hospital tank, you can use it to quarantine any new fish additions. If you don't put them in a hospital tank and they die, for god's sake leave your tank fishless for at least a month, otherwise the parasite will simply attack your next additions. Sucks, but having a hospital tank is cheaper than adding new fish every two months. Link to comment
neubauer16 Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 hey sean. if you want i have a small plastic 5g you can have if you want to quarinteen them. let me know and we'll meet up. if you do take it get some copper and treat it with that. it should clear up after a couple days. -jon Link to comment
Seanano Posted December 23, 2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2003 Thanx for the info, they are eating less, but still go nuts when i put food in so i am not sure what to think. the ich is less but the skin i guess is sloughing. Jon i am gonna hit you up about the tank... prolly pick it up tom'r form you if you have time. I appreciate it man. Altho i fear it maybe too late. i do hope its not tho.... Link to comment
Masoch Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Yeah, fish with ich will eat, but it doesn't really help them much. What seems to happen is, in the first wave of the infection, the parasites go for the gills (little slime coat there to repel them). Then, the parasites fall off, hit the substrate, and get ready for round 2. Each "speck" can become 256 more parasites, so this is often when all hell breaks loose. They go for the gills again ... the fish gets weakened ... leaving the rest of the fish open to attack. By this point, the fish often gets secondary infections, like bacteria on the skin, or internal parasites that otherwise aren't a big deal to healthy fish. If your clowns have stringy turds hanging from them, it means you also have to treat for internal parasites. I hate to say it, but it sounds like you've got more going on than just ich now. If they make it to quarantine, add some Pipzine and formalin to the water per the manufacturer's instructions. Link to comment
Seanano Posted December 23, 2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2003 well, i am finally accepting that they are more then likely not going to make it. i knew better, but did what i wanted anyways, last time i'll make that mistake. however i am not sure how ich affects corals or inverts if at all... but since i cant do any fish for a while. i was thinking of getting a good clean up crew and a cleaner shrimp and maybe a few shrooms and some zoos to kill time of having an empty tank. Thanx Masoch I appreciate all your help. sorry if i've come off hard headed. Link to comment
Masoch Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Leave your tank fishless for a month (or longer). Ich only goes for fish; it will not bother any other animals. When you get more fish, pop 'em into your friend's five gallon and watch 'em for 2 or 3 weeks. Any signs of sickness, start treating them. Hypo / copper for ich, formalin for a boatload of other external beasties, and Pipzine for worms. The meds are cheap, and daily 10% water changes on a 5 gallon tank don't cost much either You'll have happier fish for it, too. And remember ... clowns can live over a decade in captivity with good care. Link to comment
Masoch Posted December 28, 2003 Share Posted December 28, 2003 Did your clowns make it? Link to comment
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