Maybe Ich?

[Slick Fork]

Hi there,

I was looking at my tank today and noticed a spot on my foxface, just 1 spot that looks like it may be ich. Checked out my clowns and the female looks like she might have one as well. Unfortunately my camera crapped out so I can't get a picture. I checked out all the sites, unfortunately the pictures that are available all seem to be of massively infected fish so it makes it tough to say "Yeah, that's it" or "Whew, I'm safe"

Just the three of them (1 foxface, 2 ocellaris clowns) in a 100 gallon display (40 gallon sump) I also have a Blenny in quarantine with about a week to go. Now I've had this tank up and running since the end of November, The last one in was the foxface and he joined the crew in the display at the end of February. Since then, the last thing I added was some LR around the beginning of may, end of april. I have never noticed Ich in the tank before so to the best of my knowledge I thought I had dodged that bullet.

So here are my questions:

1) Can ich go unnoticed or in a mild state for months? Or could my spot(s) be something else

2) I hate to cause unnecessary stress, should I wait it out for a few days to be sure (see if it spreads) or send these guys into quarantine asap?

3) If the consensus is treat now because I'm better safe than sorry, my plan of attack will be hyposalinity, how gradually should I bring the salinity down? My target will be 1.009, how long should I keep them there. Since I may be going through all this, I should probably give the blenny the hypo treatment with the other three as well or is this a bad idea.

Thanks and Cheers

[Slick Fork]

Oh yeah,

Should also mention that they all have great appetites and are behaving normally

Thanks

[fishytime]

From what I understand ich is present in the tank all the time. A healthy and unstressed fish has the ability to fight off the parasite. Its when a fish becomes stressed (like when you bring them home from the store or being harassed etc) that the bug can take hold and go through it life cycle. Is it a fowlr or reef?

[Renegade]

to be honest i wouldn't go through all that trouble, run out to your LFS and buy a cleaner wrasse and 2 cleaner shrimp they take care of it for you. remember "not all bugs need drugs" sorry i couldn't resist just watched that commercial, but don't rush it. Sometimes i wonder if fish die from the disease or use trying to quire them. Theres no magic quarantine tank in the wild.

But thats my 2 cens

P.s> I have a power blue in my display (120) and a bunch of other fish, now my power blue has a case of ich, am i going to touch him no b/c he has a good apatite and he'll get better on his own, I have a UV sterilizer running cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp, i can see him going for "cleaning" all the time. moving him around is only going to stress him.

Kyle

[justinl]

cleaner shrimp are hit or miss with parasites. DO NOT get a cleaner wrasse. these are one of those fishes that don't even belong in the fish trade. they eat parasites well, which is great but that is ALL they eat. run outta parasites (easily done in a glass box) and you run outta food. fish dies. it happens all teh time with maybe one in a thousand surviving by eating frozen.

you want a fish that will pick at parasites? get a couple of neon gobies.

[howdy20012002]

I personally have had 2 for 2 for cleaner wrasses eating mysis. they also eat nori and whatever else i feed the tank.
Last shipment I brought in 5 red sea cleaner wrasses and they were all eating mysis from day 1 so you might see if anyone in your area carries the red sea cleaner wrasses.
If it is Ich, personally I wouldn't try to treat it.
I am pretty sure that I have killed more fish trying to cure ich more than the ich would have killed. Now I just let it takes it course.
Ich will not kill happy healthy fish.
If they are starting to show it all of a sudden, I would be more concerned about the conditions of the tank verses the condition of the fish.
If they fish are eating, IMO, leave them be and just make sure that all the parameters of the tank are GTG.
As well, if you do go the Hyposalinaty route, make sure you have no inverts or corals in the tank. Inverts will die and I am assuming most corals would as well.
HTH.
thanks
Neal