ich identification
 

I do believe some people are mistaken in identifying ich even people that have been in the hobby for years.In the past I would give a fish a freshwater bath with what I thought was ich and nothing would fall off the fish.If you do this with a fish with true ich the bottom of the container is covered with flea looking creatures (ich).I khow from hanging around the local pet store people mistake other things for ich quite abit.I do not have a fish with ich right now but if somebody has a picture they should post it

ich
 

I have done this many times and they dont all fall off but quite alot do.

sorry I deleted my answer.
I had said that it wouldn't remove the ich embedded on the fish.
I then googled it and did a bit more reading.
apparently a freshwater dip will get rid of most of the ich as salmon kings suggests.
However, the deeper embedded parasites probably wont' be affected.

for whatever parasites are left, feed them garlic....LOL..jk..well sorta.
Neal

Typically "ich" refers to Cryptocaryon irritans, which is a protozoan; but there's also "black ich" which is Paravortex sp., which is a flatworm.

FW dips only work on "black ich" - the flatworms explode under osmotic pressure and fall off the fish. With the protozoans, there is the encysted stage, so while it looks like there may be no more infestation, they are still there. This is why a tank that's had an ich outbreak should stay fallow for a number of weeks - to allow the encysted tomonts to release infectious theronts, which without a host to attach to will die off, instead of repeating the cycle.

btw, was not trying to hijack thread.
just realized that you were looking for ICH ID, not discussion about treatment.
there are tonnes of pics online...just google it and yeah..more than enough pics for anyone.
Neal

I'm not sure how to tell the difference. I seem to recall that the visual appearance of the fish was more of a "fine dusting" with black ich, as if someone had tapped a pepper shaker onto the fish. The "particles" (for lack of a better term) had more of a 3-dimensional appearance to them. Sorry I can't be a better help with ID'ing one over the other. Just that if you do a FW dip and it fixes the problem, it's black ich, if it doesn't fix it at all then it's Cryptocaryon..

SK, you seem to think you have a pretty big ick...


The appearance of 'white spots' has led many to confuse the 'symptom' with the disease. Let it be said, in no uncertain terms, that the parasite is MICROSCOPIC and the 'white spots' is NOT the parasite, but mucous secreted by the fish. A poor understanding of this disease, its progression, and symptomology, as led to many erroneous conclusions, doubtful treatment suggestions, and needless fish deaths.

Just a little quote from someone who has been around a lot longer than you, and yes with FO.

http://community-2.webtv.net/deflizard/doc/page11.html