# ich or not?



## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

So there is this clownfish (nemo) which was all right yesterday. Today it was full of white spots exactly like ich. After ONE capfull of kordon ich natural and 3 hours later it is ALL gone. So.. 

1) if it was ich, what happened? I have treated ich many times before but it never went away like tgat

2) if it was not ich, what else could it be to have disappeared like that?


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## Toofem (Jan 20, 2013)

*Pictures are worth a 1000 words*

Would be good if you snapped pics...


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

you rushed! lol fish is stressed. thus ich.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Bayinaung said:


> you rushed! lol fish is stressed. thus ich.


the fish had ich already as I was advised by people and some online sources. They told me that marine ich becomes visible after some days it already existed in the fish. Also, my acclimation was very patient and slow (20 minutes floating bag and then every 20 minutes a cup of water from the aquarium to the bag for over an hour.

This is the worst case of ich (if it is just ich) i have seen.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

monk21 said:


> the fish had ich already as I was advised by people and some online sources. They told me that marine ich becomes visible after some days it already existed in the fish. Also, my acclimation was very patient and slow (20 minutes floating bag and then every 20 minutes a cup of water from the aquarium to the bag for over an hour.
> This is the worst case of ich (if it is just ich) i have seen.


I think he meant that you rushed putting fish in your tank. Didn't you just set that up last week? Even though you used live rock your tank hasn't cycled yet.


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

if you just set your tank up last week and you are already putting fish in it than you are in the wrong hobby.. you should probably start looking into doing crafts because you are just gonna kill it.. this hobby resorts to patient and time.. doesn't matter if you added seeded live rock or anything.. it still has to go thru the cycle..


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Marine ich is a parasite and I have a hard time believing that it would clear up that fast. The initial symptoms may have abated, but you need to wait 3-4 weeks with no symptoms before you can be assured that it's cured. 

Don't add anything else to the tank until that time. And even if the fish dies, the parasites' larvae are in the sand and rock. So either wait another month or drop your salinity for that time. Temperature changes don't work, its a completely different disease from freshwater ich.

There was a really good read on another site that Sig or somebody else posted a link for a year or so ago. I'll look for it when I get home.

And FYI: an hour to acclimate is not considered long for a marine fish. IMHO it is the bare minimum. 

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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

I have a question. After reading several articles online it seems to me that the only really effective way to treat is is hyposalinity.

Now, if u do it in your main tank you kill anything alive except for fish. If you do it in a quar. Tank you may leave ich behind in the main tank on other fish or in the water in general. So, what is the solution?


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

So yeah, if you don't QT, you see why it's such a risk... (We've all done it )

Who else lives in the tank with our sick patient?

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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

So what do u suggest doing?

Live rock
Snails
Hermit crabs
3 more clowns
An angel fish
A yellowtail damsel
And one I don't know the name. Small bluish with red stripes, thin


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

OK, ideally take the suspect fish out, and QT him. There you can treat him with hyposalinity and gear the QT to optimize his recovery. He should be in there for 4 weeks after the last symptom disappears.

In your DT you will closely watch for any flare-ups in other fish. Often if the tank is healthy and the fish not stressed, the fish will often be able to combat any new infection on their own. But watch closely, for if a fish shows growing signs of infection, take it out and QT it. You're dealing with an infection already on the go, so it's going to be a long and patience-requiring process. wait until the DT shows no signs of infection for 4 weeks before adding any new inhabitants.

Let us know how it goes.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

What should be in the qt tank equipment wise? 

Any suggestions on how to combat it in the main tank?

Seriously no store liquids work even though they claim to? How is this possible?


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Water and a powerhead. You'll have to keep a close eye on the water quality; you can also put in a hunk of rock to help with the cycle, but just make sure you kill it (the rock) after you're done with the QT.

I have you to hear of a medication that works effectively in the tank. Except copper based ones but they kill all inverts

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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Is it normal for marine ich to change hour by hour? Within hours it seems like the fish is FULL of spots, then empty, then some, then empty.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Yes. I have seen that happen myself. Which is why you want to say 4 weeks without symptoms = cured. 

But it is a good sign, indicating that the fish is trying to fight off the infection. Meaning he's not dead yet 

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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Ich only affects fish because of their mucus coating. Tank the fish and quarintine them and treat them with copper or hyposalinity. Then once the ich is gone put them back in the main tank. The best way is to let the main tank fallow for at least 3-4 weeks (no fish). That way the ich will go through its cycle with no host and die off. Its really the only way...

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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

you should wait 8 weeks minimum based on most opinions on Reef Central

here is still a lot of urban legend surrounding ich, but the two following articles are a great summary, they reference scientific writings, and they have been subjected to peer review in the aquaria and scientific communities. I highly recommend you spend 20 minutes reviewing these articles, and keep them as a reference. Some of the points they make include:

- Ich symptoms (white dots, etc.) disappear on their own as a normal course of the ich cycle, only to reappear later
- Ich cannot exist indefintely without a host
- The most effective, proven treatments for ich are copper or hyposalinity
- It is possible to create an ich-free aquarium
- Just because your fish aren't covered in white spots does not mean your tank is ich-free

Reefkeeping article by Steven Pro
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/

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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

sig said:


> Reefkeeping article by Steven Pro
> http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/


THAT'S the article I was talking about earlier!!!

Thanks Greg!

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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*ick*

The cure for ick is no fish in display tank for several weeks
And fish in qt set up........so why keep adding or trying to treat...


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