clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 why is my 4 striped damself covered in white spots? ive had him for aout 2 weeks. one the 7th day i had him i added a clown fish. they fought at first but things now how seamed to settle down. now my damself has alot of white dots on him and he hides alot in my rocks. whats goin on with him? Link to comment
Neet Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Marine ick probably, you got any picture though? Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Just skip straight to getting that fish out of there.....and treating it with some meds. Do the same with the clown. Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 my cam wont be able to snap good pics. whats marine ick? Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Google "cryptocaryon Irritans". It's a parasite which affects marine fish. In many cases it ends up being fatal and it's highly contagious. The only 2 100% surefire treatment methods are copper medications (copper sulfate/cupramine are popular) and hyposalinity (around 1.010 S.G.). Neither of those can be used in a reef tank though without killing stuff. First, I would confirm what the fish has. If all the symptoms match ich and if you have a hospital tank, I would remove the damsel immediately and start treatment. I would also carefully observe the clownfish. If you're not sure of the diagnosis, continue to carefully observe both fish. Now would not be a good time to consider adding new fish. Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 ok will do. what causes the ick anyways? how was it added to my tank? how long will treatment last? is there a way i can prevent it in the feture? Link to comment
msujeff Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 All your questions are answered here, the second result from google: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Just an FYI Marine ICH is just a common name. It's a similar parasite to the freshwater Ichthyophthirius multifiliis parasite which is called ich for short (or white spot disease). Since the symptoms are visibly similar people refer to it as marine ich, but the actual parasite is cryptocaryon irritans. It only affects fish, so it was introduced into your tank through a fish you added. Signs of ich can sometime be apparent at the LFS, but many times it's only after you get the fish home that you discover the parasite. Once it's in your tank then the parasite will continue to run through it's life cycle until there are no more fish to infect or the fish build up a resistance to it. If you treat with medications then you're looking at between 14 and 20 days of treatment. I would not recommend using any medicines in your display tank if you have corals or invertebrates. Even if you plan on someday adding corals or invertebrates. You could do a hyposalinity in a fish only tank though as it won't leave any lasting effects. The only way to be 100% sure that the parasite is out of your tank is to let it sit without any fish in it (corals and inverts are okay) for 6-8 weeks. *Edit* The links msujeff posted are good. The author goes over many different treatment options, but I would caution you against just attempting the easiest/most convenient methods as they are certainly not all equally effective. Another note is to keep your treatments separated, in other words don't combine too many or you risk screwing them up and end up with less effective treatments. Also note that some treatments are not compatible with others. Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ok thanks I did some research and I guess it's good to raise the temp to 80-85F and to add salt(nacl, table salt ) to the tank to help get rid of it. Is this true? Link to comment
GokesReef Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ok thanksI did some research and I guess it's good to raise the temp to 80-85F and to add salt(nacl, table salt ) to the tank to help get rid of it. Is this true? No. Stop reading about FW ich.. not even close to the same thing This is all you need to read: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-d...yths-facts.html Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 A good way to get rid of it is to get all fish out(You can leave inverts they will not get harmed) then treat fish with copper in a QT tank. Leave fish in QT for 3 weeks with that ammount o time you know that your fish desnt have ick anymore and the parisite will die out in the tank. hth, M-D Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ok so j don't have money for a QT. What should I do then? Is there a way I can just treat my while tank? Or a quick way I can treat me one fish? Or should I just toss him? It was like $4 Link to comment
davelink Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 bro just buy a cleaner wrasse. quick fix. and youll have a new buddy the only thing these fish eat really are parasites off of other fish, although ive had mine for so long that he eats flakes, which i guess is uncommon, but he still keeps all my fish spotless if anything ever does happen Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 You can buy a cheap 10g tank from petco for like 5 bucks the just fill it with SW. No substrate or LR. Then treat copper. Don't toss! Fish murderer!!! Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 bro just buy a cleaner wrasse. quick fix. and youll have a new buddy the only thing these fish eat really are parasites off of other fish, although ive had mine for so long that he eats flakes, which i guess is uncommon, but he still keeps all my fish spotless if anything ever does happen Stop furthering this myth.........shrimp/wrasses/other parasite eating creatures will not cure ich. They cannot get under the slime coat of a fish (the white dots are slime) and they will not eat the ich in the sand/water/rock/free swimming stages. Read the article....... To the OP. If you cant afford 30-40 bucks for a hospital tank....then yes.....kill the fish sooner rather than later. Do it quick if you are going to do it. No need to make the fish suffer through being sucked dry of all blood and gasping for breath from ich.... Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Yeah but I also need a heater and Fitler Can I get a away with a 1 gallon goldfish bowl? Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Just get a cheapo heater And a cheap filter. No qt tanks are supposed to be relaxing not squished. Link to comment
holdorf333 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 bro just buy a cleaner wrasse. quick fix. and youll have a new buddy the only thing these fish eat really are parasites off of other fish, although ive had mine for so long that he eats flakes, which i guess is uncommon, but he still keeps all my fish spotless if anything ever does happen Stupidest suggestion ever. Yeah but I also need a heater and Fitler Can I get a away with a 1 gallon goldfish bowl? I'm not trying to be harsh here, but if you cannot afford a hospital tank setup, this hobby is not for you. Link to comment
clowe18 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Will it need light as a stupid question? Should I do the same with my clown then? Put him in the QT? Is there gunna be ich in my tank now? How do I get rid of it? Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 If you are willing to do frequent water changes, you can get away with a small volume of water. Might as well just buy a 5 gallon bucket. Cheap and easy. Put a small pump or powerhead in there for flow. No need for a real filter if you keep up on water changes. Heater.....yes....but you can buy a cheap 50W heater that is pre-set to a temp of 79 for about 10-15 bucks at Petco. This is mine..... http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3161576 Link to comment
holdorf333 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Take all of your stuff back to the LFS and buy some books with the store credit. Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Will it need light as a stupid question? Should I do the same with my clown then? Put him in the QT? Is there gunna be ich in my tank now? How do I get rid of it? If it is ich, then yes, it is all up in your tank. Yes, treat both fish. No, no light is needed other than room light. Read the article.....you keep asking questions that are really clearly answered in much more detail there.... Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 You can use a cheap lamp fro Wallyworld if you want. There is gonna be ick in your tank but if you wait 2 or 3 weeks without putting fish back in it will die off Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 You can use a cheap lamp fro Wallyworld if you want. There is gonna be ice in your tank but if you wait 2 or 3 weeks without putting fish back in it will die off 6-8 weeks. 2 or 3 might work, but it is risky. Why do all the hassle of a hospital tank if you just reinfect the fish after 2 to 3 weeks? Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 6-8 weeks. 2 or 3 might work, but it is risky. Why do all the hassle of a hospital tank if you just reinfect the fish after 2 to 3 weeks? Yeah I knew I had part of that wrong. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.